Richard smoothed out a dollar and fed it into the coffee vending machine. “Why such heavy sedation, though?”
“He broke an orderly’s nose, that’s why.” Dr. Leo said. “And he metabolizes the stuff faster than any patient I know.”
Richard had waited until they were alone to breech the subject. He dropped by Adam Blackwood’s room after lunch and had been mildly alarmed by his condition. “Well, he can’t even roll over now.”
“I’ve got Adam down to a manageable level and I’m sending him to another hospital.”
“His brother is all right with that?” Richard asked.
“Oh yes,” Dr. Leo said with a chuckle. “His brother suggested it. Let it go, Richard. It’s out of our hands.” He held up his coffee cup in a toast. “Dr. Blinderman has given me his blessing on this one.”
Richard frowned and looked away.
Dr. Leo sat in the overstuffed break room couch with a contented sigh. “I saw you chatting with that little red-head of yours in the hallway.”
“Her name is Moira,” Richard said, slightly irritated. “And she’s my patient. Not my ‘little red-head.’”
“Touchy,” Dr. Leo grinned. “Don’t see her around much. How’s she doing?”
“She’s doing fine.”
“And that brunette I saw you with earlier…she a friend of yours?”
“Um, yeah. Jackie.”
“Girlfriend?”
“No, no. We’ve been friends since middle school.”
“She into older guys?” He shrugged off Richard’s questioning look. “Just asking. She’s a looker. Think you could see it in your heart to introduce us sometime?”
“Sure.” Richard drained his coffee and tossed the cup into the garbage. “I have to get back to work.”
“When’s your last session?”
“Four o’clock.”
“Keith and I were going for a drink at Marvin’s tonight,” Dr. Leo said. “Do you want to join us?”
“I have some work to catch up on.”
“There’s a cute little waitress there that serves more than burgers, if you know what I mean,” Dr. Leo tempted.
Richard shook his head with a smile. “I’m going to pass on that.”
“You need to learn to relax, Richard,” Dr. Leo scoffed. “There’s more to life than this place.”
“I’m sure that’s how the patients feel too.”
* * *
Richard knocked on Moira’s door.
“Come in.” Moira was sitting cross legged on her bed, sketching. “Hi. How was your birthday lunch?”
“Good.” He paused, taking in the look of hopefulness on her face. “I checked on Adam.”
Her face tensed. “And?”
“He’s…sedated,” he said haltingly. “Apparently, he broke an orderly’s nose.”
She looked uncomfortable. “Oh. Can I see him?”
“He’s not allowed visitors right now, Moira.” And judging by what I’ve heard, Richard thought, he sounds violent. Not the kind of person you should be hanging around with. “I’m sorry.”
Moira started to say something but seemed to change her mind. “Thanks for checking.” Her blue eyes were troubled.
He tried to think of something to ease her worry. She looks so pale and tired, he thought. It lent a fragility to her beauty that stirred something within him. “He’s getting the treatment he needs.”
She bit her lip and looked down at her sketchbook. Her hands tightened convulsively around the pencil she was holding.
“I…um, brought you some cake.”
A smile touched her lips. Her eyes flicked past him and the smile died. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to.” He handed the container to her. “I know the food is limited here. Sorry about Jackie. She can be a little…abrasive at times.”
She opened the container and stuck her finger in the chocolate icing. Tasting it, she closed her eyes. “Mmm. You have no idea how good this tastes.”
Richard’s eyes lingered on her lips. He caught his breath before he looked away. “Well, enjoy. I’ll let you get back to what you were doing.”
“Dr. Cassano?” Moira said.
“Yes?” He turned.
“Thank you.” Her gaze flicked past him again. “For everything.”
He answered her smile with his own.