Too late , wife

A doctor's hands

The operating room was silent except for the steady beeping of the heart monitor. "Scalpel."

Jonathan extended his hand without looking. The instrument was placed into his palm. His eyes remained fixed on the patient lying unconscious beneath the bright surgical lights.

"Clamp."

A nurse immediately obeyed. Sweat trickled down the side of Jonathan's face.

He blinked.

For the briefest moment the patient's open chest disappeared.

In its place, he saw Diane standing beneath the Disneyland castle, smiling at Damien and his daughter.

His hand trembled. "Doctor?"

The scrub nurse looked at him nervously.

Jonathan snapped back to reality just as the tip of the scalpel drifted dangerously close to an artery.

His heart lurched. "I'm fine." He wasn't. Taking a slow breath, he steadied his shaking hand. "Continue."

The surgery lasted another three hours.

When the final stitch was placed, everyone in the operating room breathed a sigh of relief.

"The procedure was successful."

Jonathan removed his gloves. His legs suddenly felt weak.He had almost made a mistake. A mistake that could have cost someone their life.

---

"You look terrible."

Jonathan looked up as Amanda Collins handed him a cup of coffee in the doctors' lounge. She dropped into the chair opposite him.

"Judging by your face... and the way your hands were shaking during surgery..." She folded her arms. "...last night didn't go well."

Jonathan stared into his coffee. "She didn't come."

Amanda's expression softened.

"I waited almost three hours." His laugh was empty. "She was at Disneyland. With Damien."

Amanda's eyes widened. "What?"

"I saw the pictures. They looked..."He swallowed. "...like a family."

Amanda's jaw tightened. " How can she be so heartless?"

"I keep asking myself what I've done wrong.Maybe I'm too boring. Maybe I work too much."

Amanda cut him off. "No."Her voice was firm."This isn't your fault. You're a good husband. You love her. You respect her. You've spent three years trying to save a marriage she's the only one destroying."

Jonathan looked away."I just don't understand why she would rather spend time with him than with me."

Amanda sighed. "You keep giving her opportunities to break your heart. Look at what happened today. You almost lost a patient. Don't let her destroy your career too."

Jonathan smiled sadly."I can't leave her.I love her too much."

Amanda shook her head."Then you don't love yourself enough."

Before Jonathan could respond, the lounge door burst open.

"Dr. Hawthorne!" A nurse stood in the doorway, slightly out of breath. "There's a pediatric patient asking for you."

Jonathan nodded."I'll be right there."

---

He pushed open the consultation room door then stopped. Damien Cross stood beside the examination bed.

Their eyes met.

"Oh..." Damien forced a smile. "You must be Dr. Hawthorne." He extended a hand. "Diane has told me so much about you."

Jonathan looked at the offered hand then walked straight past it. "Let's focus on your daughter."

The little girl sitting on the bed looked pale. Her nose was red from sneezing. She couldn't have been older than five.

Jonathan crouched until they were eye level."Hello. I'm Dr. Hawthorne. What's your name?"

"Abigail." She answered shyly before sneezing into a tissue.

"And what seems to be bothering you today, Abigail?"

"My throat hurts." She coughed." And I keep sneezing."

Jonathan smiled gently. "I think I know what's wrong."

He examined her carefully before writing a prescription. "It's only a viral infection. Some medicine and plenty of rest. You'll be feeling much better in a few days."

Abigail smiled. "Thank you, Doctor." Then she looked around the room. "Where's Mommy?"

Jonathan paused.

Damien answered before he could. "She's on her way, sweetheart."

Jonathan remembered Diane once telling him that Abigail's mother had abandoned them shortly after the girl was born. He nodded quietly and finished writing the prescription.

Just then the consultation room door flew open.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" Diane hurried inside. The moment she saw Jonathan she froze.

Then Abigail threw her arms into the air. "Mommy!"

Jonathan's grip on the patient's file tightened.

Diane immediately crossed the room and gathered the little girl into her arms."Oh, sweetheart." She kissed Abigail's forehead. "You gave me such a fright."

Turning to Damien, she slipped her hand around his arm. "You must have been so worried. I came as fast as I could."

Jonathan couldn't move. Standing together the three of them looked exactly like the family from the Disneyland pictures.

Only this time the was seeing it with his own eyes. After several moments, Diane finally looked at him.

"Jonathan? What's wrong with her ?"

Jonathan stared at her. Not once had she acknowledged his presence as her husband. To her he was simply the doctor in the room.

His voice became cold. "Abigail has a viral infection . I'll have another physician explain the medication."

Without another word, he placed the chart on the desk and walked out.His chest hurt so much he could barely breathe.

The moment he spotted Amanda in the corridor, he grabbed her arm.

"Amanda..."

She turned, alarmed. "Jonathan? What's wrong?"

"I can't do this." His voice broke. "I can't stand there and watch them play husband and wife. It feels like..."

He pressed a hand against his chest. "...my heart is being ripped out."

Amanda gently squeezed his arm. "Take a breath. I'll handle the patient. You need a minute."

Jonathan nodded weakly. But before either of them could move a furious voice echoed down the corridor.

"What the hell was that, Jonathan?"