I'm happy to see that you guys are liking this story so far. Thank you for all the love on the first chapter, enjoy!
The one day to be running late and it had to be today. She was always up a half hour before Abel was and her stupid alarm didn't go off causing Abel to wake her up. After a quick breakfast with her son that consisted of just a bowl of cereal, he was out the door to catch the bus to school while she finished getting ready for work. Then when she still thought she would be on time her car wouldn't start so she had to take public transportation making her over an hour late. She was glad that she didn't have a strict boss like she had in New York. The most she had to do was work an hour later or skip over her lunch break cutting the time she stayed after shorter.
Wade on the other hand had gotten settled into his new place and found that he liked it there. Hobs was happy with his new friend and was worn out at night. He was however getting annoyed at the doctor for his ol' man. This was the first time in under the week he'd been in town that he was able to make it to the hospital to actually talk about his dad with his doctor and he had places elsewhere to be. He didn't have time to wait around for the doctor. It wasn't his fault he had things to do and not extra time to wait for his dad's doctor to finally show up.
"Ya need to relax," Earl stated looking at his son. "When ya see her you'll be in love," Earl smirked, earning himself an eye roll from his son. "You'll forget that you're even all pissy once she walked through that door." Wade doubted that. It didn't matter how good looking the doctor was, she was late and he wasn't going to forgive her because of her looks.
"According to ya I'd have been married and in love with every women that's walked past me," Wade remarked. "Looks don't mean everythin'," he commented.
"Those ladies have nothing on my pretty lady doctor friend," he smiled, Wade held his groan in.
"Alright pops," Wade finally gave in. He's been in plenty of these talks that he knew he would never come out on the winning end; it was easier to end it and save his breath.
"Earl I'm so sorry," Zoe was saying walking into the room looking at his chart. "You wouldn't believe the morning I've had between alarms and a car that refused to start then add on top of all of that my son got into a fight and has detention the rest of the week," Zoe rambled on while checking on everything. She had barely made it through the front doors when her phone started to ring. Because he didn't outright start the fight and because it was the first time he's been in trouble at school they let him off easy.
"Abel doesn't seem like the kid to start a fight," Wade mused causing Zoe to jump slightly. Wade chuckled under his breath finding it cute when Zoe was startled. Though he was finding it hard not to be concerned about Abel. The boy seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders and starting fights just didn't scream Abel to him. But what did he know? He has only known the boy for the past week. Normally when Abel returns with Hobs Wade is home and they chat for a few minutes before Abel takes off saying he has chores and homework to do.
"Wade?" Zoe questioned turning to look at the man she hadn't even seen. "I didn't know that the Wade, Earl here told me about was you," she said surprised.
"In the flesh," he responded. He was still annoyed that she was late even though she had some very good excuses. But she had put him behind schedule. "You didn't tell me that you were a doctor," he remarked. Last names and what they did for a living never came up the one night they had conversed with each other, everything but that and for the most part family hadn't been approached.
"I didn't know the two of you knew each other," Earl butted in, showing off the smile he wore at this new development between his pretty lady doctor and his youngest son.
"Neighbors," Wade told him. "I don't see Abel as the kind of kid to start a fight," he repeated himself.
"He didn't. It was another kid. Words had been said and Abel had to step up, ya know how high school boys are," she dismissed, she hadn't been told the whole story. That she would get when she made it home and sat down and had a talk with her son. She was just running out of punishments for him. She couldn't take away his job for any given amount of days because not only did their neighbors but there four legged creatures depended on him as well. "We're not here to talk about Abel you came to find out about your dad," she said dismissing all talk about Abel.
"Yeah so is it good news?" He asked rubbing the back of his neck. After everything he went through with his mom he couldn't lose his dad in the same way.
"Am I dying, doc?" Earl asked after watching the exchange between his pretty lady doctor and his son, hiding the smile he wanted to flash.
"Why do you think you're dying Earl? You're an old stubborn man, you're gonna be just fine and within two weeks or so you'll be set up at your own place here in the city with your own nurse and I'll be around every few days to check on ya. You're gonna recover from this," Zoe told him writing down things. "Surgery had been the hardest part and you're now out of the woods on anything going wrong there, there's a good chance that the cancer won't come back," she told them. "You just need quit that drinking for good," she told him sternly a smile on her face.
"If you're so certain why can't I go home?" Earl asked stubborn as mule.
"Because there's a slight chance it can come back and we want you close by just in case, in a few months we'll check everything out and we'll go from there. We're doing what's best for you Earl," Zoe told him using her stern voice on him. "Now do either of you have any questions?"
"Yeah," Earl spoke up. Zoe groaned to herself having a slight feeling on the next words that were going to come from his mouth. "Are you datin' anyone?" Earl asked a smug smirk on his face. Zoe rolled her eyes, looking at the man lying comfortable as can be in a hospital bed. She could see his eyes were lit up at his own question and for a fleeting moment she thought about answering his question like she always did when he asked. But her love life had been complicated for the past nearly 15 years now. It wasn't anything she was going to get into with one of her patients and her neighbor on top of it all.
"Earl," Wade warned.
"Earl, we've been over this, my personal life is not up for discussion," Zoe told him. "I'll be back later to check on you," she informed him.
"Oh alright and one of these days I'll find out if you're taken or not."
"We'll see about that one," Zoe called over her shoulder holding the door open for Wade. "Do you have any questions?"
"A few but I gotta jet. Maybe you can come over for dinner and we talk about things then?" He questioned, jamming his hands into his pockets.
"Sure thing, what time?"
"7 should be good," Wade smiled, walking off.
Zoe wore a smile the rest of the day. Earl questioned her about it when she checked on him throughout the day. She refused to tell him. Earl was her favorite patient by far, she knew she wasn't supposed to pick favorites but she couldn't help it, Earl was just well Earl and she was gonna miss him once he left. Her rounds just weren't going to be the same without him there and visiting him twice a week after he was moved wasn't going to be the same. She really was shocked to learn that the Wade she had heard so much about for the past week was her next door neighbor. After Wade's first night there they had said hello in passing and shared smiles and little waves but they had yet to actually stop and really talk any further.
Zoe worked through her lunch break grabbing something small and easy to eat on the walk through the halls checking on her patients. Once she finished a little girls cast for her broken wrist, Zoe clocked out stopping by Earl's room only to see that he was sleeping. There was just something about him the first day he came in that she had helped him and she has ever since. She felt bad that no one came to see him but now maybe she had been missing Wade during the week when he had came in to see his father. She did know that he had another son but he didn't talk about him, heck she didn't even know his name.
"What happened to the car?" Abel asked, putting his book away seeing his mom approach him.
"It wouldn't start, that's all I know. Why are you here and not at home, better yet why aren't you walking the dogs?" Zoe asked right back, stopping and waiting for her son to gather his things.
"I only have Hobs to walk today and Wade told me last night that I didn't have to come over too early," he answered, shouldering his backpack. "Ma I didn't want to fight, ya know I've changed since moving here, but the dude wouldn't leave it be and he kept pushing and pushing and he swung first and I had to fight back or I was going to be known as the coward that just walk away and since I'm still relatively new in school I wasn't left with much of an option and I'm sorry and I know I should have walked away but I couldn't, I get that you may not understand that, but we're talking about my dignity here mom," Abel quickly rattled explaining the whole situation to Zoe. She placed an arm around his shoulder, smiling to herself once he leaned into her and not pulled away from her as they walked outside into the sun that was sinking lower in the sky.
"I don't understand the whole thing but because you didn't start it your punishment will be a little lighter, but you still fought and you still need to take responsibility for your actions there."
"What is my punishment?" He asked slowly fearing the worst.
"Mr. Frederickson needs help on the weekends and for the next two months you are going to be helping him out," Zoe informed her son who groaned.
"But ma he's an ex-marine," Abel whined. That's part of the reason she called him and volunteered her son to help him out.
"I know this Abel, but this is your punishment. It does no good to take things away from you, it doesn't work. So I'm going in a different approach here."
"Yeah blackmail," he sneered, pulling away from his mom and sitting on the bench to wait for the bus to show up.
"I can take things away on top of taking your weekends away as well if that's what you want," Zoe suggested, sitting next to her son. He shook his head.
The ride home seemed to drag on, nothing Zoe said or did would get her son to talk to her so after a while she gave up. The walk from the bus stop to their house, Abel was walking in front of her. He tossed his bag in his room and took off through the back door to get Hobs and take him for his walk and to play extra longer in the little park. Zoe had been through this plenty of times before, he needed time to clear his head and she was giving him the space to do that in.
"We had take-out last night and we never have it two nights in a row so what's for dinner?" Abel asked, entering the house through the back door. "It's against the law to make me starve to death," he commented grabbing a peach from the fridge.
"I know this and you won't be starving to death, we have dinner plans," Zoe informed him.
"With who?" He asked cutting his peach in half to take the pit out.
"Wade," Zoe replied.
"In that case you can't starve all of us," he smirked. Zoe rolled her eyes.
"Go do your homework before we have to leave," she ordered him. Taking his fruit he headed upstairs to get started on what little work he had left over. He was actually looking forward to spending some more time over at Wade's.