The Mafia's Doctor

<-05->

<-I-L-A-<<<   

My phone rang as I got into my car. I looked at the caller ID and sighed. I knew I was going to face her sooner or later.

At the sixth ring, I pushed the phone button on my steering wheel and picked up.

"Ila, darling, I just heard the awful news." My mom's bewildered voice filled my car since my phone was connected to the vehicle.

"Which awful news? The one where I lost my job or the one where they took my license?" I sulked.

It's been a month since the incident. Just yesterday, Mr. Heffling found a way to get the medical board to take my license away. He pushed for the permanent removal of my license but the board only agreed to suspend. It wasn't the only thing that happened, turns out Mr. Norwaya ended up getting fired.

My consequences were inevitable.  I had a bad person in a powerful position. Maybe if it were Heffling's son in charge or if the CEO took a moment to calm down, not having his anger fuel his actions, things would have gone differently. Instead of worrying about the patient that walked off not fully healed,  he cared about the media and it's toll. If he didn't bring the police into this, the news reporters wouldn't have aired this story. It was him who got himself into this unwanted situation and I had to pay the price.

"Honey, what are you going to do? Should I fly there and help you?"

"No, mom. There's no need for that." I said, rolling my eyes.

My parents lived all the way in California, where I was born and raised in the city of San Francisco.

"Well, have you talked to your brother? There must be something Emmet could do. This whole thing is just not right."

"Absolutely not." I denied at what she was getting at.

My mother was talking about getting help from my older brother, Emmet. He's 31 years old, two years older than me. When we were kids, he said he wanted to become a firefighter. Emmet changed his mind at the age of 12 when he accidentally blowtorched his left eyebrow off. Ever since then, he had his heart set on becoming a lawyer.

Emmet would joke with me.

"I'll become a lawyer." He would say, "Just in case you accidentally stitch someone's arm to their leg." 

The fact that Emmet is all the way in Los Angeles, California and I haven't seen him since I moved all the way to New York for medical school, I wouldn't dare to ask him for help. I don't want to see the look of disappointment on his face.

"I'll go call him up." My mom's voice perked. She loved to take every chance to contact him. It never bothered him anyway since he was such a mama's boy.

"Mom, don't you da-" My mother ended the call before I could stop her.

The stoplight ahead turned red. I slowed the car down to a stop. I took these few seconds before the light turned green to sink in the chair.

"Maybe I'm worried that Emmet will tell me I've messed up so badly that there nothing that can be done," I whispered to myself.

>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O-> 

"Asshole, come back here and fight like a man," I yelled as the guy, who owed us money, began to run away from me.