Informed Consent by Sandra Glahn

Author:Sandra Glahn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Thriller
Publisher: David C Cook
Published: 2012-03-12T00:00:00+00:00

That afternoon Angie sat watching Jak, hoping Dr. Barlow had the cure for whatever nasty bug had hold of her son. Portia had gone to lunch with her husband, and Jeremy was down taking care of Devin’s daily treatment in the clinic.

She was watching her boy sleep, alone in her thoughts of Ravi and fears of losing another child. A tapping at the door brought her back to the present. It creaked open. She expected Portia or Jeremy, but it was someone else. Penetrating gray eyes looked at her and flashed with immediate recognition. “Hello—Mrs. Cramer? Angie, isn’t it?”

As the doctor with chestnut-colored hair approached, she stood and extended her hand.

“You remember me—Alex Combs?” he said. “Portia introduced us.” He held her hand with both of his.

“You have a good memory,” Angie said. His hands felt warm.

“Some faces you don’t forget,” he told her. “I understand you’ve had a terrible morning. I’m so sorry. Considering all you’ve been through, you look amazing.”

She stammered. “Uh … thanks. Um … have a … uh … a seat.” She felt like an idiot. She expected him to sit across the room, but he pulled a chair over next to hers. An awkward silence ensued, so Angie looked at her son’s IV fluid bag and pretended to read the numbers. “Mrs. Cr—may I call you Angie?”

“Sure, I guess. Sure.”

“All right. And please call me Alex. Angie, I’ve seen the EKG results and I wanted to talk with you—and your husband, of course—about them.”

She glanced at the clock on the wall. “Jeremy’s not due back for another hour.”

“That’s all right,” Alex said. “I can tell you, and then you can pass along what I’ve said.” Angie nodded. “I’m not a pediatric cardiologist. Our best one is out until next week. But Dr. Barlow asked me to take a look at the EKG, which I did. And I do have some concerns, but I don’t have enough information yet. So with your okay, I’d like to order an echocardiogram on your son.”

Angie burst into tears. She wished she were stronger. She hated crying in front of other people, especially people she hardly knew. “I’m sorry.”

He lay a comforting hand on the back of her neck. “No reason to apologize. You’ve been through quite the traumatic—”

When he stopped midsentence and whipped his hand away, Angie looked up to see why. Portia Barlow had walked into the room. She stood frozen.

“Uh … hello—Dr. Combs,” she said icily.

He stood. “Hello, Portia. How’ve you been? It’s been awhile.”

“Yes,” she said. “It has.” She focused intently on Angie. “I need to run, but you call me if you need anything. And I’ll phone you later. Promise.” She disappeared as quickly as she’d arrived.

“Excuse me,” he said. “Be right back.” He ducked into the hall, and Angie heard him calling out Portia’s name. Angie took the opportunity to blow her nose and wipe her eyes. Alex returned seconds later.

“Already gone?” Angie asked.

He nodded. “Well that was awkward.”

At least he’s honest, she thought. Angie didn’t dare utter a word.

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