Unexpected

Chapter 1 - With milk

Sara Abbott sat up straight and told herself to breathe. She felt the nervousness deep in her belly. Job interviews were always nerve-wracking. Hannah from the Practice Management department explained they were waiting for one more doctor. Already two doctors were sitting at the large conference room table. One looked annoyed about the delay, and the other was too busy on her phone texting to care.

"We may need to go ahead and start. We have several candidates after Ms. Abbott." Hannah smiled apologetically.

"Good," the impatient man said. He was in his fifties with white hair although she noticed a touch of copper. Sara had trouble deciding if he would have been handsome as a younger man.

Hannah officially started the interview. "We'll start with introductions. Doctor Albert."

"Jim Albert, Falmouth Internal Medicine."

The woman put down her phone. "Leisa Russo, Portland Family..."

The door opening interrupted her. Sara turned to look at the new arrival. He looked younger than the other two, but a bit disheveled. His oxford cloth shirt lacked that starched look and his hair seemed to flop into his face.

"Sorry, I'm late. I got tied up on rounds." He smiled at Sara.

Hannah looked at the arrival. "Dr. Burke, I was expecting the other Dr. Burke." He just shrugged and Hannah continued. "Dr. Russo, you were introducing yourself."

"I was saying that I represent Portland Family Medicine."

"Dr. Burke is from Lakes Region Family Medicine." Hannah explained on his behalf.

Sara didn't know where Lakes Region was, but she knew the other two locations. It couldn't be too far from Portland, if it was part of Maine Medical Center.

Hannah spoke again and asked Sara to explain her background. Taking a breath, Sara started. "I recently became certified as a Physician Assistant. Prior to entering the PA program at Tufts University, I worked as a registered nurse for Doctors without Borders. I worked in various African countries and before that I was here at Barbara Bush."

They all nodded knowing she was referring to the children's hospital named for the late, former first lady. They asked her questions which she answered with ease, including details about her work in Sierra Leone during the Ebola crisis.

Dr. Albert asked, "Were you infected?"

"No, thankfully, but I'm quite a stickler for hygiene."

The late comer was the only one who reacted to her comment. He smirked which caused his blue eyes to sparkle. He didn't act conceited or pompous like so many physicians. Dr. Albert was probably both.

On impulse, she glanced at the nicer doctor's left hand. It didn't surprise her to see a gold wedding band. Although the wrinkled shirt contradicted his marital status.

Focus, she chided herself. She continued to answer questions from two of the three doctors, as married doctor didn't ask a single question. Finally, after Hannah put him on the spot, he asked one question with a crooked grin. "Just curious, but how do you take your tea?"

His question took her off guard, and Dr. Albert scoffed under his breath. "Burke."

It didn't surprise her that the older man didn't have a sense of humor. She smiled. "With milk, of course."

The tea question signified the end of her interview. She had presented herself well, at least she thought she had. It was the third round, in which they had brought her in to meet the different practices so they might choose their new staff member based on fit. Her preference was family practice, so she wasn't interested in internal medicine. She enjoyed working with children.

Dr. Burke's question was an acknowledgement to her English accent. She was born in England and lived in London with her mother until she was fourteen when they moved to Portland, Maine. Soon after doctors diagnosed her mother with lung cancer. She had smoked cigarettes, forever. Their only family, her Aunt Poppy, lived in Portland with her husband, Uncle David. After her mother passed Poppy and David became her guardians and treated her as their own especially since they were never blessed with children. Poppy had come to The States as an exchange student, where she met David and never returned home to England.

Sara's own father denied being responsible to her nineteen-year-old mother. Her mum quit university and worked on a factory floor. They had just scraped by for years. Coming to live in Maine was a big change, since her uncle, a lawyer, lived a comfortable life.

She smiled thinking of the tea question. Living with her English aunt for many years, Sara enjoyed tea. At her American university, she learned to rely on a good cup of coffee, like so many of her friends. Her day couldn't start without a big mug of delicious caffeine.

She stopped by her uncle's office instead of going straight home to her aunt's house, where she had been living since finishing her PA program in Boston. Uncle David was the hospital's lawyer, however she didn't share their relationship when she applied for a position. His secretary smiled at Sara and motioned her straight to his office. He was deep in thought, so she cleared her throat.

Looking up over his reading glasses, he smiled. "Sara, how did it go?"

"Fine. I think." She didn't want to appear overly confident. She felt she had an advantage over the other candidates. She was more mature at twenty-nine. She also had Doctors without Borders on her resume.

"There were two potentials. One is Portland, and the other was lakes something."

"Lakes Region." Her uncle's face looked tired.

She smiled. "I just stopped by, but I can tell you're busy."

He signed. "Just an ethical issue I need to deal with."

"A compromise in care?"

"Perhaps. I need to determine if a personal relationship between a superior and subordinate lead to a certain patient's outcome. Messy stuff. Whatever you do, don't get involved with anyone at work, it causes too much trouble." He paused and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Especially if you end up at Lakes Region. There's some questionable history there."

She thought of the disheveled married doctor and hoped nothing unethical happened with him. Her uncle would never tell her any details which would also be unethical.

Arriving home, she found her aunt reading. Poppy was an artist and worked when the spirit moved her. Her studio was a bright room in their large home located near the Back Cove. It was a tidal basin in the city and had a three mile recreation path around it.

Poppy looked up. "So?"

Sara sat down. "It was fine. At least, I hope it was."

Sara was running out of savings and needed a job. Her aunt and uncle had always been generous and paid for her tuition, but she didn't want to rely on them, although they were just happy to have her home.

"Tea, dear?"

Sara smiled and nodded. "With milk."