mine.”
“It’s cold outside.” Sofie freed her hand and dragged a tissue out of her pocket. “I am so sorry. I’m worried about mi madre . She’s such a fool.”
“Did something bad happen with the delivery she wasn’t supposed to assist with?”
Sofie covered her face with her hands and rocked back and forth, gasping and hiccuping.
“Do you want to go home? We can schedule another day to help you study for your boards. Or do you want to talk after Mary Kate leaves?”
“I can’t.” Sofie shook her head. “I want to go home.” She lowered her hands. “I mean, I need to go all the way home, Ash. Back to the Valley.”
Ashley’s heart plummeted. Sofie didn’t mean the New River Valley there in Virginia; she meant the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas.
“Only for a week or two.” Sofie spoke too quickly. “You don’t have any births due in that time, and if someone is early, you can call one of the other birthing assistants, or even Heather. You know Heather will do anything for you.”
She would. The two of them had attended the graduate program in nurse-midwifery at Shenandoah University together. Instead of taking up a solo country practice as Ashley had, Heather chose to join an OB-GYN practice with midwives on staff for hospital deliveries because her husband liked the hours available for her better. Heather could help in an emergency, and Ashley preferred her to most of the subcontracted birthing assistants available in the area.
“All right.” She hesitated. “What about studying for your certification?”
“I’ll still study. I promise. And I’ll be back in time to take the exam.”
“Do you want to tell me what this is about?”
Sofie bit her lip. “ Mi madre —”
Ashley’s phone vibrated in her pocket, the pulsing signal she had set up to show she had missed a call. Not wanting to interrupt Sofie, Ashley ignored the summons, figuring anything could wait two minutes.
Sofie rose. “We better wake up Mary Kate.”
She was right. Still, Ashley recognized a stalling action.
“We’ll talk later—before you go.” Hoping that was taken as she meant it—Sofie wasn’t going without more of an explanation as to the problem with her mother—Ashley entered the exam room to shake Mary Kate awake.
As Mary Kate stretched and yawned, her coloring looked better and her eyes clearer.
“Just how little sleep are you getting?” Ashley asked.
Beyond the examination door, she heard the backdoor close and Sofie’s car engine rev, and Ashley’s own blood pressure increased with annoyance.
“I worked until midnight last night.” Mary Kate sat up and smoothed down her skirt. “One of the other girls didn’t come in, so I worked the extra shift. The drunk guys who come in from the bar to sober up give good tips.”
“But Boyd didn’t sleep?”
“He has nightmares. I couldn’t get him to go back to sleep.” She began to unbutton her sleeve to roll it up. “I should wear something more practical for this.”
“It’s okay. That blouse is thin enough for me to get a good reading through it.”
Too thin for the weather.
Ashley stuck the ends of the stethoscope into her ears and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Mary Kate’s plump upper arm. “Just relax.”
Mary Kate closed her eyes and breathed slowly. In those breaths, Ashley heard a hitch, a faint rattle. She must listen to her lungs, she decided. She wasn’t qualified to diagnose nonreproductive conditions, but with her nurse’s training and experience, she recognized many common conditions. This one concerned her.
So did the blood pressure.
“Let me listen to your lungs.” She moved the bell of the stethoscope to Mary Kate’s back, then just below her collarbone. The rattle was there, but faint.
“I think I have a bit of a cold,” Mary Kate said.
Ashley set her equipment on the credenza before turning to her patient. “Mary Kate, I can’t diagnose you, so I won’t say anything except you might
“It’s cold outside.” Sofie freed her hand and dragged a tissue out of her pocket. “I am so sorry. I’m worried about mi madre . She’s such a fool.”
“Did something bad happen with the delivery she wasn’t supposed to assist with?”
Sofie covered her face with her hands and rocked back and forth, gasping and hiccuping.
“Do you want to go home? We can schedule another day to help you study for your boards. Or do you want to talk after Mary Kate leaves?”
“I can’t.” Sofie shook her head. “I want to go home.” She lowered her hands. “I mean, I need to go all the way home, Ash. Back to the Valley.”
Ashley’s heart plummeted. Sofie didn’t mean the New River Valley there in Virginia; she meant the Rio Grande Valley in south Texas.
“Only for a week or two.” Sofie spoke too quickly. “You don’t have any births due in that time, and if someone is early, you can call one of the other birthing assistants, or even Heather. You know Heather will do anything for you.”
She would. The two of them had attended the graduate program in nurse-midwifery at Shenandoah University together. Instead of taking up a solo country practice as Ashley had, Heather chose to join an OB-GYN practice with midwives on staff for hospital deliveries because her husband liked the hours available for her better. Heather could help in an emergency, and Ashley preferred her to most of the subcontracted birthing assistants available in the area.
“All right.” She hesitated. “What about studying for your certification?”
“I’ll still study. I promise. And I’ll be back in time to take the exam.”
“Do you want to tell me what this is about?”
Sofie bit her lip. “ Mi madre —”
Ashley’s phone vibrated in her pocket, the pulsing signal she had set up to show she had missed a call. Not wanting to interrupt Sofie, Ashley ignored the summons, figuring anything could wait two minutes.
Sofie rose. “We better wake up Mary Kate.”
She was right. Still, Ashley recognized a stalling action.
“We’ll talk later—before you go.” Hoping that was taken as she meant it—Sofie wasn’t going without more of an explanation as to the problem with her mother—Ashley entered the exam room to shake Mary Kate awake.
As Mary Kate stretched and yawned, her coloring looked better and her eyes clearer.
“Just how little sleep are you getting?” Ashley asked.
Beyond the examination door, she heard the backdoor close and Sofie’s car engine rev, and Ashley’s own blood pressure increased with annoyance.
“I worked until midnight last night.” Mary Kate sat up and smoothed down her skirt. “One of the other girls didn’t come in, so I worked the extra shift. The drunk guys who come in from the bar to sober up give good tips.”
“But Boyd didn’t sleep?”
“He has nightmares. I couldn’t get him to go back to sleep.” She began to unbutton her sleeve to roll it up. “I should wear something more practical for this.”
“It’s okay. That blouse is thin enough for me to get a good reading through it.”
Too thin for the weather.
Ashley stuck the ends of the stethoscope into her ears and wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Mary Kate’s plump upper arm. “Just relax.”
Mary Kate closed her eyes and breathed slowly. In those breaths, Ashley heard a hitch, a faint rattle. She must listen to her lungs, she decided. She wasn’t qualified to diagnose nonreproductive conditions, but with her nurse’s training and experience, she recognized many common conditions. This one concerned her.
So did the blood pressure.
“Let me listen to your lungs.” She moved the bell of the stethoscope to Mary Kate’s back, then just below her collarbone. The rattle was there, but faint.
“I think I have a bit of a cold,” Mary Kate said.
Ashley set her equipment on the credenza before turning to her patient. “Mary Kate, I can’t diagnose you, so I won’t say anything except you might
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