Two years later…
Noemi shrugged into her white coat and shut her locker. There was no good reason why she should be so nervous—after all, this was her home, her hospital. But on this, her first day back at the Seattle workplace she’d known so well, she felt like a stranger.
“Hey, kiddo! Come walk with me, would you?” Lazlo smiled at her as he appeared at the door of the changing room.
Noemi smiled and nodded, joining her old friend and mentor as they walked through the hospital. Lazlo smiled at her.
“Now… there’s something I didn’t tell you when you first came back, and I’ve struggled with how to share it with you.”
“Lazlo, I told you—I don’t care that Finn is my superior now. I haven’t been doing much cardio surgery and I’m behind. We both knew that if I went to Syria, my training would suffer, and I’d have to catch up—and I have new skills now that we might find useful.”
“It’s not that.” Lazlo stopped and fixed her with a steady gaze. “Rafael Genova is now on the Board of the hospital.”
That she wasn’t expecting. “I thought he moved away.”
“He did, but he came back. He told me he couldn’t be away from Thomasina, and that Bepi wanted to visit his momma’s resting place. Rafa told me if he couldn’t escape the pain, he wanted to at least face it head on and to do something positive. I thought you should know, Noemi.”
She nodded, her emotions in turmoil. Noemi had counted on the fact that she wouldn’t run into Rafa again, that he was safely in San Francisco, or she might not have agreed to come back to Seattle. Don’t be a coward. “It’s fine, Lazlo. It’s not like I run in the same circles as the Board.”
Lazlo nodded but Noemi sensed he wasn’t done. “And then there’s the clinic.”
“The clinic?”
“The Thomasina Ballentine Clinic for Cardiology.”
It was a shock to her entire being. “What?”
“And Rafa wants you to run it.”
Noemi couldn’t breathe. “What?” Lazlo must have been aware of this way before she returned home—was she being punished? “Lazlo… I…I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. Now, obviously, until you’re an attending, you’ll be supervised, but yes, I and the Board agreed—you are the person to lead this.”
From his voice, Noemi could tell that her friend was nervous about pulling rank on her like this. “Are you trying to punish me?”
“Far from it, Noe. You’ve had two years, and the moment you came back from Syria, I could tell you still hadn’t forgiven yourself for Thomasina. You still haven’t processed it.”
“You don’t know what I saw in Syria, Lazlo.”
“I can guess, and no doubt you’re blaming yourself for not saving more people. That is your Achilles’ heel, Noe. You are not God. You can’t save everyone. Until you learn that, you’ll never be the exemplary doctor I know you can be.”
Noemi stopped walking. It was a lot to process all at once. Lazlo’s expression softened. “Noemi… I would not be pushing you like this unless I believed in you. I believe in you. The hospital believes in you. Rafael Genova is not punishing you for Thomasina’s death. He’s offering you the chance to honor her. Take it.”
And Noemi had no idea how to say no.
She walked into the new clinic, breathing in the smells of fresh paint and of new equipment barely out of its plastic. It wasn’t open yet, Lazlo had told her—a ceremony was planned for two days’ time, and Noemi knew that Rafa, Bepi, and Thomasina’s family would be there. Thomasina’s name was above the doorway, her photograph and biography framed at reception.
Noemi read it through and half-smiled at the photograph. It was Thomasina laughing, radiant, and full of joie de vivre, and Noemi realized that she had missed the sight of her patient—her friend.
“Hey, girl,” she murmured, touching the photograph.
“Getting emotional?”
Noemi turned with a smile. Finn Wilder grinned back at her. “Welcome back, honey.” He gave her a hug, then rubbed her back. “How’re the legs?”
“Good. A two-year tour at the run-down hospital facilities in Syria will do that. Exercise was mandatory. So,” she added, narrowing her eyes at him, “Lazlo finally managed to poach you from Tacoma?”
“What can I say? I’m a sucker for a pretty face.”
Noemi laughed. “Well, it’s going to be good to work for you, Finn.”
“With me, Noe. With. Anything else is just ego—we’ll make a great team.”
Noemi shook her head. “You’re so different from what I’m used to.”
Finn laughed. “You mean Dr. Dieter WonderDick?”
“The very one.” Noemi suddenly felt disloyal. “Although, he was great to me, when… you know.”
“You know that wasn’t your fault.”
“Why does everyone keep saying that to me?”
“Because, Noe, you carry this… Aw, hell, don’t worry about it. I’m sure you’ve heard all this before.” Finn sighed, knowing he’d opened a wound. “Let me show you around. Look at all the nice new toys we have. Genova gave us a huge amount, you know.”
“I figured.”
Finn showed her all the new equipment. “And we’ve funds for research too.”
“Really?”
“Really. The guy gave us a billion.”
Noemi stopped. “What?”
“Yep.”
Noemi was stunned. “He gave a billion dollars to the hospital where his fiancée died?”
“No,” Finn half-smiled at her. “He gave a billion dollars to the doctor he believes in, and who blames herself for Thomasina’s death. He gave a billion dollars to you, Noe. To your future.”
Noemi’s emotions were in turmoil. Why would Rafa do this? Despite what Finn said, Noemi couldn’t believe Rafa’s motives were that pure.
Later, at home, she mindlessly ate some cold pizza and took a long bath. Had it been a mistake to come back? Everyone seemed to be determined to make her face what had happened—hadn’t she been through enough?
She went to bed but couldn’t sleep. Time ticked by, and at one a.m., having thought herself into a panic, she got up and threw her jeans on over her underwear, shrugging into a sweatshirt.
She was on the road before she could talk herself out of it. Rafael’s mansion was well-known, nestling as it did along the shores of Lake Washington. Noemi didn’t know if she would be able to get past the gate, but she needed to try. She needed to see him, to ask him if he was just interested in torturing her. She knew she was overtired and stressed, but she didn’t care.
To her surprise, the guard at the gate waved her through. “Mr. Genova has been expecting you, Dr. Castor.”
His words merely fueled the anger that was building up inside her. She parked her car in front of the house and stormed up the steps. The door was open and she went in, but her courage abandoned her when she saw him.
“Hi, Noemi.”
Rafael Genova was waiting for her.