Moving day is approaching...
UL 69. MY BAGS ARE PACKED, I'M READY TO GO
At times the week passed slowly for Cameron as she waited impatiently
for Friday to come. But at other times, there was so much to do that
she wasn't sure she'd have enough time.
Every evening, she and Gretchen did some more packing. Their
furniture and some of their belongings would be picked up Friday
morning by a moving van and put in storage in Princeton until they
had a place big enough for everything. Well, not everything. Gretchen
had gathered up some of her baby toys and boxed them for donation to
ACH. But there were some things that she kept for sentimental reasons
and some she hoped she could give to a baby sister or brother
someday.
Wednesday, as they were packing away the summer clothes they wouldn't
need for a while, the phone rang. Gretchen beat her mother to it as
usual.
"Hi Dad!" she said. "We're still packing."
"How much stuff do you have?" he asked, incredulously. They'd been
packing for days.
Cameron had hit the speaker button and heard his question "Too much,
I guess," she said, chuckling as she looked at all the boxes that
were already filled. "Amazing how much you can accumulate in ten
years."
"Have you heard from the realtor?" House asked.
"The buyers are having trouble getting financing" She couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice. It was a problem, but one she wasn't ready to worry
about just yet. "What about the Pink House?" she asked. That's what
they'd started calling it.
"I told the owners that if they lower the price by $35,000, we'd take
it. I figure that'll go a long way to fixing the kitchen," he said.
"Haven't heard a counter offer yet."
"Maybe we could just close the door to the kitchen and never go in
there," Gretchen suggested. "We always eat out or order food in
anyway."
"Well, not always," Cameron protested.
"Allie, 'fess up, besides an occasional breakfast, when was the last
time we cooked?" House asked.
"Speak for yourself, but I cook several times a week.
Besides, we need a 'fridge for all of the leftover take-out."
"I never thought of that," Gretchen said.
They were silent for a minute, each lost in their own thoughts, then
Gretchen asked, "How's Junior?" They'd decided to leave the puppy in
Princeton, considering that Cameron and Gretchen would be packing
all week, and the long trip to and from Albany might have been hard
on the dog. House gave them daily reports on Junior, but Gretchen
missed him almost as much as she missed her father.
"He spends a lot of time looking for you, Kiddo," House said. "Guess
he misses you as much as I do."
"We miss you too," Gretchen said.
"Only two more days," Cameron said.
"Two very long days," House added.
On Thursday, after lunch, Clair asked Cameron to come back to her
office with her for a while. When they walked into the ACH lab, it
was unnaturally quiet. No lab techs working on tests, not even any
machines processing samples. Clair opened the door to her office,
then stepped back to let Cameron enter first.
"Surprise!" The small office was crowded with people, all waiting
to say goodbye to a colleague everyone liked, to wish her well in
her new job, and to remind her to keep in touch. Cameron's
secretary Trudy was there. She'd baked a cake with a likeness of
Cameron on top and the words, "We'll Miss You".
There were so many people they moved the party out of Clair's cramped
office into the lab. They'd filled a small vat with punch and were
serving it in beakers.
Cameron flashed back to a similar party ten years before when she
left PPTH. So much had happened in those years. And now she was going
back, going home.
Everyone had chipped in for a gift for her, a new stethoscope to
replace the one she'd used since her residence days. It was very
modern with a sensor that recorded the heartbeat and other sounds
and a chip that amplified those sounds.
She chatted with each of the people there. At one point during the
party, Zach Stone pulled her aside. "I just wanted to know whether
you've sold your house yet."
"We had a family interested, but they're having difficulty financing.
Why do you ask?"
"Catie and I are thinking of getting married sometime this winter.
Can we come by and see the house tonight?" he asked.
"Sure. Of course, but it's a mess of boxes right now," she warned.
"Seven OK?" he asked.
"We'll see you then." She smiled as she watched him walk away to talk
to one of the other doctors.
"Have you had a piece of the cake?" Trudy asked her, thrusting a full
plate at her.
"No, I've been too busy talking to people," she said. "I'm going to
miss them all. And I should be the one wishing them all well. I know
I'm going to be happy in my new life, but they still have to put up
with McGreedy."
"Now, don't go feeling guilty. They'll manage," the older woman said.
"When will you be leaving?" Cameron asked, taking a bite of cake and
making sounds of delight.
"In three weeks."
"I hope you'll keep in touch, and not just Christmas cards once a
year," Cameron told her. She put her plate down and hugged Trudy.
"We will, and if you and Dr. House and Gretchen are ever in Arizona,
we'll want to see you, hear?"
"Of course," Cameron told her.
Clair came over to join them.
"I know that the two of you arranged this," Cameron said. "You didn't
have to, but thank you both, not just for this party but for, well,
everything." She was going to miss them the most of all.
UL 70. TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME
Zach and Catie arrived exactly at seven. This time Cameron and
Gretchen showed them around the house, inside and out. The young
couple obviously liked the house very much.
"I just heard from the realtor a little while ago that the family
that was interested in the house couldn't get a mortgage and won't
be able to buy it," Cameron told them. "Since we're leaving tomorrow,
you can work through the real estate agent. Here are his numbers."
She handed Thompson's card to Zach.
"Thanks, Allison," Zach said. "We're definitely interested." He
smiled at Catie.
"Our first house!" she said. "It's really exciting. And I promise
we'll take just as good care of it as you have. I just love your
kitchen!"
"You should have seen the kitchen in the house we looked at in New
Jersey," Gretchen said. "Everything was PINK!"
"Well, I like pink," Catie said. She was wearing a pretty pink top.
"I do too," Gretchen agreed. "But not this much pink!" She, too, was
wearing a pink top. "This was a neat house to grow up in and I'm sure
you'll be happy here," she said, trying to firm up the sale.
"So you're planning on sticking it out at ACH with McGreedy?"
Cameron asked Zach.
"I figure he can't last long. The board members are beginning to
question why doctors are leaving, and why we're losing our rep as a
leading edge hospital. You can't cut corners forever or attract the
best doctors if you do."
"Well, we wish you both the best," Cameron said, shaking their hands.
"You too," they called back as they left.
Friday morning, Gretchen entered the classroom for the last time.
She took her seat next to Emily and thought about the enormity of the
changes she was facing. She'd already had a taste of living with both
of her parents at the same time during all the weekends they'd spent
together, but she knew it wouldn't be the same. They wouldn't go to
ballgames or fairs or hot air ballooning every day.
And she'd be going to a different school with different kids and
different teachers. Would she be able to make new friends? She'd
have to try. And she was still hoping to go to the same school as
Tommy, and maybe Emily would join them soon, but it was...scary!
She'd also have the responsibility for taking care of Junior. True,
she'd begged for the dog, but now she thought about the
reality. Getting up early to take him for a walk. Making sure he had
enough food and water. He would depend on her for so much!
Mrs. Murphy came in and Gretchen brought her the last school project she'd done.
"I know this isn't due 'til next week, but since it's my last day
I'd better give it to you now."
Mrs. Murphy wasn't too surprised but still she said, "You didn't
really have to do this report."
Gretchen shrugged. "It was fun. I like doing experiments like this."
The project had been a study on how long it took different items,
a pin, a paper clip, a button, and some other things, to fall through
different liquids in a large glass. The liquids she'd used were
ordinary ones, including water, milk, and soda pop.
Lunchtime, DeeDee cornered Gretchen. "You're really leaving." It wasn't a question.
"Yes."
DeeDee took a deep breath, then said all at once, "I'm moving too in
a couple of weeks. My Mom's getting married again." She rarely talked
about the fact that her parents were divorced.
"That's what you meant about living with someone who wasn't really
your Dad?" Gretchen asked.
"Yes. I couldn't talk to Meredith or Ceci about it. At least you'll be living with your real Dad, right?"
"Yes." Gretchen told her. "But maybe you'll like living with your
Mom and your step-father."
"But I love my real father. Why couldn't my Mom marry him again?"
DeeDee sniffed back her tears.
Gretchen shrugged. "I don't really understand adults and why they
want to be with one person or another. My Mom moved away from my
Dad before I was even born, and for years she didn't even tell him
about me. And now we're going to be all together and we love each
other very much. Maybe some day I'll really understand."
"Yeah," was all that DeeDee could say. But she felt a little better
after having this talk with Gretchen.
"It looks like Harvey will develop Type II Diabetes, or maybe already
has it," Sheffield reported to House and the other ducklings. "He
exhibits the locus on chromosome 2 associated with Diabetes
Mellitus."
"His blood glucose levels were never elevated," House pointed out.
"Genes don't lie," Sheffield said.
House nodded imperceptibly. "So what does that tell us? If the
disease hasn't manifested yet, than his problems can't be a side
effect of Diabetes."
"So we shouldn't look for diabetes-related heart or kidney problems?"
Yen asked. "Or maybe the tests were wrong."
"Hmmm. Did they ever do a fasting blood glucose test?" House asked.
His ducklings started to go through the records again.
"I don't see any," Sullivan said. "Do you really think he has
Diabetes?"
"Didn't it strike you as odd that his boys take after him, but
they're all very slim, while Harvey has to be at least 250 pounds?"
Three sets of eyes opened wide and three mouths said, "Oh!"
"Go set up the test, and also test his urine for proteinurea and
microalbumin," House ordered.
Cameron watched as the movers loaded furniture and boxes onto their
truck. Her dining room set and Gretchen's bed and bookcases. Boxes
of dishes and toys and books. The piano and the TV system. There was
no room for any of it at House's apartment but once they moved to
a house... She had to smile. Would the Pink House become the House
House?
After a few hours, the house she'd lived in for most of the past
ten years was empty. It felt so strange walking through the rooms.
Some bad memories, but mostly good ones. She hoped Zach and Catie
would be happy here if they bought the house.
Most of what they were taking with them was already in the car. As
soon as Gretchen returned from school they could leave.
There was a knock at the door. It was Caro with all the legal paper
work.
"I'm so glad you brought these." Cameron took the packet and
put it into her purse. "It gives me a chance to say goodbye again
and wish you well. We're leaving soon."
"Oh! Today?" Caro asked. "Well, I hope you and Gretchen have a great
life in New Jersey!"
"Thanks." Cameron smiled at the young woman. "I know you'll be a fine
lawyer some day. Good luck with your studies."
Once Caro was gone, Cameron took one last tour through the house,
stopping in Gretchen's room, the bathrooms and kitchen to make sure
they didn't leave anything. Then she sat on the stairway and waited
for Gretchen.
She didn't have long to wait. Gretchen came through the door and saw
her. The house looked so strange, so different. It wasn't where she lived anymore.
"Bye, house," Gretchen said. "I hope your new owners take care of
you and love living here."
"I'm pretty sure Zach and Catie will buy the house," her mother told
her.
"That's good." They both looked around one more time, then went out
to the car.
Gretchen stowed her school pouch in the backseat after taking Memory
out to ride with her. She strapped herself in, then told the stuffed
elephant, "Take one last look at the house so you can remember what
it looked like. Now we're really going home."
As they drove to the Thruway, Gretchen told Cameron what her last day
at school was like. "I know I'll see Emily again, but I'll miss
everyone else."
"I know, sweetie. I'll miss everyone at the hospital."
They began a game of 'Is this the last time I see...' as they drove
along, but once they were miles away from Albany they became quiet
for a while, thinking about what the future might bring.
Then they began to talk about how they might change the kitchen in
the Pink House.
"I think the counters should be baby blue," Gretchen said. "And maybe
the floor too. But everything else can be white, or black, or maybe
even silver-color."
"Hmmm, that sounds pretty nice," Cameron agreed.
"Do you think Dad will think so?"
"You really liked that house, didn't you?"
"Yes, and..." All of a sudden, everything went black.
Disclaimer:
I know, I know. You're thinking "Isn't this the most cliche cliffie?
Trite dramatic contrivance much? And didn't this story start with a
crash, or at least because of one?"
Frankly I debated with myself whether to do this. But the scenes that
follow were so strongly stuck in my head and appealed to me so much
more than anything else I could write, that I just had to.
Please don't throw tomatoes. I'll post the next two chapters on Monday. All may yet be very well.