Chapter 17 - Love On The Telephone
Most people look at the exterior when looking for an apartment, a house, or a real estate property in general. It makes sense. Obviously, you would want your house to look like it's your house. It should somehow reflect the personality of the person who will live in it. The neighborhood should be safe. The places for you and your family's necessities should be accessible.
Once you open the door and step inside, that's where all the important things are checked out. Does the ceiling have any signs of leak or mold? Does the paint job in every room look the way you want them? Is there any crack in the walls? Does the plumbing work? Does it have electricity issues?
If all those checkout, you're lucky. You found a liveable place. If not, then it would probably need some tender loving care. And by that, meaning, maybe just a little repair here and there wouldn't hurt. Besides, if the bones are good the rest don't matter, right? Right?
Sofia's room looked pretty similar to the one she had in Seattle. In New York, a violet color scheme is the theme. The bed is covered with purple sheets and a floral blanket. There are lavender painted walls all over and huge letters spelling out her name up above the wall by the headboard. The room has a powdery smell with a hint of floral scent from the shampoo Sofia always used.
Callie, who's still seated at her daughter's bed, can hear the water from Sofia's shower going. Her daughter is cleaning up just like what her mama told her to do. Obviously, she can't call Sofia back to continue her conversation with her mom on the phone.
"Suck it up. You have to talk to her somehow." Callie thought. "I didn't know...Sofia's in there now. I should've...I'm so sorry." She rambled.
"Oh! No, i-it's fine. Your-you're fine." Arizona stuttered, seeing Callie's face for the first time, after what felt like forever, made her heart pound so fast. She's hoping her face isn't turning red as she tries to keep herself together. She noticed that Callie looked different. Good different.
"You..." She hesitated. "…you cut your hair."
"Yeah," Callie said, her face flushed as she touched the back of her head. "You noticed."
"It's hard to miss." Arizona smiled. "You look…" She paused and smiled so big it would light up any room. "...really…pretty." She finished.
"What?" Callie asked, her pulse rising. She looks down and tries to avoid Arizona's gaze. "No, I'm not." She said, then abruptly looked back at the phone screen. "I mean, really?"
"Mh hm," Arizona nodded, not taking her eyes off of Callie, watching her act silly which she absolutely finds adorable. "Yeah, really." She said softly, almost like a whisper.
Callie saw the look on Arizona's face with her dimples showing and her blue eyes sparkling. She had to avoid eye contact or else Arizona will see exactly how she's making her feel. She has no intention of looking back up at her unless someone changes the subject. Arizona noticed it. She realized she was staring too long that it's probably making things awkward.
"So," they both said at the same time then cackled.
"You go first," Arizona said.
Callie refused. "Please. You first."
Arizona cleared her throat. "Sofia seemed very happy." She chirped. Her heart is still beating fast. "She's doing better now than she did after I left. Don't you think so?" She felt hot and could see small beads of sweat on her nose so she pitched it away.
"Yeah, she's been really good," Callie replied, glad that Arizona picked the best topic to talk about. "Her teachers said she's making friends now and started to participate in class." She added.
"Oh, that's great!" Arizona replied. "Did she keep her promise to not miss school again?"
"She did!" Callie beamed. "Whatever you said to her worked." She chuckled, feeling the nerves starting to fade away. "She's been enjoying her ballet class here too. They're gearing up for the recitals coming up a few weeks from today. The school hasn't sent out all the details yet. But she and the other kids are really excited about that."
"That's amazing!" Arizona said, her pulse starting to slow down. "She's gonna be so cute and adorable with her little pink tutu, and her tiny ballet shoes. Oh! We have to video record it."
"We. She said 'we'." Callie said, having an internal dialogue. "I missed that. Referring to both of us as one unit."
"Will you let me know the schedule when you get it?" Arizona continued. "I'll see if I can move some things around. I really wanna be there for that."
"Of course!" Callie replied. "Damn it, Torres! Don't sound too excited. Geez." She then took her turn to do the asking. "What about you? How are you? How are things there?" She inquired.
"Um," Arizona sighed, her heart rate is back, at least, in the hundreds right now. She doesn't know how to begin to answer those questions. "How am I? Well, let's see." She thinks. Of course, she can't tell her that she's been lonely and couldn't stop thinking about Callie. She doesn't want to get in between her and Penny. Or so she thinks. She can't tell her that the only thing she looks forward to coming home to is her wine glass and a bottle of red. Arizona doesn't want to start the pity party for herself. Exchanging messages with a bunch of girls from an online dating app as a distraction, nope, not a good one either. Callie does not have to know that her ex-wife is back on the dating field, and the field is, let's just say, in drought. Although, she's been a little flirty with this educational consultant, double certified, attending sports medicine orthopedic surgeon - Eliza Minnick. "Nope! Definitely a bad idea." She said in her head. So that leaves her with classic Grey-Sloan work gossip. "Yes! Callie likes gossip."
"There's some drama going around," Arizona replied, finally. "...the residency program is getting reformatted."
"What? Did Bailey approve that?"
"Well," Arizona scoffs. "She's the one who imposed it so…"
"And Webber is ok with that?"
"He's as oblivious as we all are, as far as I know."
"Webber is the program. Bailey knows that."
"That's what we've all been saying. Maggie and Jackson are planning something. Whatever it is, I'm in."
"Oh, you should be. Then tell me everything." Callie chuckled. "You know, whatever Bailey's doing, it's going to haunt her back. I mean, he's THE Richard Webber. He's an institution." She emphasized.
"I know," Arizona agreed. "Hey, um," Gearing up to change the subject to what she really wanted to ask Callie. "How's your…" She sighed. "How are you doing?"
"You mean, this?" Callie raised her still injured hand, so Arizona would see it on the phone cam. It was wrapped in gauze with some scratches and traces of wounds yet to heal on the middle and ring fingers.
"Yeah," Arizona confirmed. "I've been meaning to check on you…but, you know, things just…"
"Hey, no big deal." Callie interrupted. "Besides, I'm alright. Pete looked into it. Just a few scratches. No fracture. All my fingers are still attached. So, I'm more than okay."
"Okay, good," Arizona said. "Thank goodness, she's alright! See, that wasn't so bad? I didn't sound flirty, just genuinely caring about my ex-wife, mother of my child, the woman I'm still in love with. Oh! Shut up, Robbins." She said, internally debating with herself.
"And I heard you're already back at work?" Arizona asked, keeping the conversation flowing.
"Yeah. But no surgeries yet. At least until this gauze is removed. I just took advantage and got caught up on some paperwork." Callie replied. "So, you heard, huh?" She teased, raising an eyebrow. "I think Sofia needs to have even limited phone time." She joked.
Arizona chuckled, "If you want to have a rebel for a daughter, be my guest." She replied.
They shared a good laugh. Sofia heard them and peek from her bathroom. The little girl looked at her mama a little longer. It occurred to her that that was the first time she's seen Callie smile like that since they moved to the city. She seemed lighter, her face brighter, voice at ease, her shoulders relaxed. It's like she's in her most natural self.
"You two sure talk a lot, huh?" Callie asked, but got distracted when she heard the loud whistling of the kettle from the kitchen. "Whoops!"
"Mh! What's that?" Arizona asked.
"My tea." Callie then stood up and left Sofia's room, forgetting she's still using Sofia's phone. "One sec. Let me get that."
While Callie was walking to the kitchen, the phone cam showed some parts of the apartment that looked different now than when Arizona first saw it. Picture frames are hanging on the walls for instance. The camera went swiftly but she's pretty sure she's seen their family photo hanging on the wall.
The whistling stopped as Callie turned off the stove from where the kettle was on. Arizona noticed that Callie carefully put the phone upright on the counter so she could still see her as she made her tea. She was wearing a black tank top that hugged her body in the right places, showing off her curves, and her caramel skin.
Callie turned her back and reached up the cupboard. Her low-raised sweatpants allowed the skin on her lower back to show.
"Aaah," Arizona leaned toward her phone screen, her eyes squinted, and her cheeks blushing.
"You were saying something?" Callie asked, still looking for her favorite mug.
Arizona got distracted and caught herself perusing Callie's body. "Um...I, yeah. What was the question?"
"Sorry. It must've been too loud in here." Callie turned around. "I was saying you and Sofia talked a lot?"
"Ah! Yeah," Arizona leaned back again as she took her white coat off. It's almost 15 degrees in Seattle and she's sitting at a bench outside at Grey-Sloan but she's sweating like crazy. "She calls me once in a while. And I do too when I can." She said, "Sofia kept mentioning this guy, Pete. Your friend from work?"
"Remember when we brought Sofia from the accident she had in the park?"
"Yeah, uh, how can I forget?"
"No, I didn't bring it up to blame you or argue or anything like that. I was just saying, he was one of Sofia's ER doctors then."
"Oh, right, Dr. Fanboy!"
Callie laughed.
"What? He basically knew everything about both of our medical accomplishments. Which is borderline stalking." Arizona cackled. "I was surprised he didn't ask for an autograph."
"Stop. He's a nice guy." Callie defended, fondly. "And Sofia likes him."
Callie and Arizona were so deep into conversation. Sofia, on the other hand, has put on her pajamas and was ready to say good night to both her moms. But when she sneaked out and saw them still catching up, she thought, "Mama must've missed Mommy so much too." So, instead, she went back to her room knowing her moms are finally talking and not bickering.
"Sofia likes Pete?" Arizona asked. "What, more than Penny? How are you two, by the way?"
"Actually," Callie said. "Funny you should ask. How's Penny? Let's see...um...with someone else. And me? Well, NOT with anyone." She thought.
"And, before you answer that," Arizona added, which thankfully gave Callie more time to think about what to tell her. "if you're not comfortable talking about this...with me...it's totally cool. You can tell me."
"We're…" Callie continued, taking a deep breath. "It didn't…" She exhaled sharply. "We split up."
"What?!" Arizona asked, worriedly. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"
"I am, actually. Surprisingly." Callie replied in a high-pitched tone. "You know, I moved here 'cause she's here. Then oh, 'hey Callie, nice to see you here. Oh hey, I'm with someone else now. Okay. Bye.'"
"That's awful, Callie," Arizona said, genuinely sympathizing with her. "So, how soon can you and my daughter move back here to Seattle?" She said in her mind. "How I wish things were that easy."
"But we're fine." Callie continued. "I haven't talked to her again. But, we're good. I mean, she did get me my job, technically."
"She did?" Arizona asked. "Well, that's...that's...I don't know...generous?"
"Or guilty?" Callie said. "I'm just so glad that things are starting to look, you know, home-y. Pete played a really big part in that."
"Oh, that's really good," Arizona replied. "He really seemed like a good guy." She added, nodding. "Callie Torres doesn't waste any time. Back into guys now. I see." Arizona thought as she nods, lips pinched.
"He is," Callie said. "Once you get to know him, I think you'll like him too."
"ROBBINS!" April started Arizona from behind. "I have been looking all over for you. We need you at the pit for a consult. Is that..." She noticed Arizona was on a video call with a familiar face. "Callie Torres? Hi! You look amazing! Nice hair!" April said in a high-pitched voice. Arizona turned the phone over her shoulder so Callie could see who's talking. Callie greeted her back, and posed a little, projecting her new hairdo. "I didn't mean to interrupt but I really need Dr. Robbins to come back to work," April added.
"All yours," Callie told April. "It's getting pretty late back there. You two should head home soon, alright?"
"You know how it is here," April replied. "Send my hugs and kisses to Sofia, okay? I gotta go." She smiled and waved back, turning back to Arizona. "Robbins. Pit. Now. Please." Then she left instantly.
"Kepner's bossy." Arizona turned back to Callie. "Oh, well, duty calls. Talk to you again soon, okay?"
"Of course," Callie said.
After Callie hung up the phone, she realized that two and a half hours had passed. She and Arizona have been talking for that long. If Arizona didn't get paged, they wouldn't be able to stop. Sofia was fast asleep when she went back to her room. She planted a kiss on her daughter's forehead, whispered good night, and tucked her tighter into bed.
Sleep hasn't come on here just yet. So she thought of hanging out in the living room and read some medical journals until she felt sleepy. As she was reading, she noticed she's still wearing the same smile, like a teenager who was just on the phone with a boy she has a crush on. She shook her head feeling silly. She recalled how familiar and easy her video chat with Arizona went. It wasn't so bad after all. Callie could still see Arizona's face from her mind's eyes.
Then she drifted from feeling the flutter to feeling haunted by memories before their divorce when they were still trying to make things work.
How paranoid Callie would get when she sees Arizona on her phone for too long. How her mind wonders if she's really on-call on the nights Arizona said she would be. How she'd think that every time she sees another woman exchange laughter with Arizona, or would make her laugh, she wonders if they were a thing before. How Callie would talk about their future and wonder if Arizona would just say nice things to please her to make up for everything.
How every time she cuddles with her or makes love to her, she can't help but picture her with that woman, and all the other women she was with after they split up. How she would think that every time Arizona's touch felt different, she wonders if she learned it from another woman.
How angry and jealous Callie instantly gets when Arizona would complement other girls for how pretty or cute they are. How maybe it was her fault that Arizona cheated because Callie put her on such a high pedestal, that the moment she did something wrong, it blew out of proportion. George had an affair with his best friend right in front of her face, but she wasn't as wrecked as when Arizona did it with a total stranger. And to think she had serious trauma issues one would not begin to imagine.
How Arizona couldn't seem to do anything that would reassure Callie that she's the only one and that there is, and would never be another one ever again.
Will that ever be possible? Arizona didn't just make a mistake. She made Callie question their love, trust, and faith in each other.
That's the thing about being cheated on. It disrupts one's perception of a relationship. It makes a person cynical. Cautious. Guarded. It makes a person distressed and emotionally insecure, and questions everything that comes after. Being cheated on is believed to have parallels with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Should she give them another chance nonetheless? Will the paranoia and anxiety stop if they do? When she looks at Arizona in the eyes again, will she see her and only her? Will she be able to look past all the hurt and emotional abuse she had to endure and put up with? Will they be the same again?
"I guess the real question is," Callie thought. "Will Arizona take her back after everything? I think the bigger question is," She continues to contemplate.
"Have I truly forgiven Arizona for everything?"
Arizona walked back inside Grey-Sloan, right after her chat with Callie, deep in thoughts. Her mind has spiraled on her since. She went on with her day but, never once, not even for a second, did she stop thinking about Callie and their relationship.
She started dating Callie knowing she wasn't looking for anything serious. Looking back way before that, Arizona was just curious about who these people were talking about. She heard the gossip around the hospital, back when it was Seattle Grace. Nurses and other doctors talking about this intriguing surgical resident, damn good at her job, but sadly her light was slowly dimming from all the heartbreaks she's been through. Divorce with George. Getting fired as the Chief Resident. Sleeping around with Mark Sloan. Ghosted by Erica Hahn. When she heard that this woman is into girls, Arizona said to herself, this ortho surgeon must be really pretty and damn near goddess judging by the people she's dated. Arizona never knew that that one spontaneous little kiss they shared at Joe's dirty bathroom would turn out to be the biggest plot twist to her monotonous life back then.
Arizona didn't have many friends when she transferred to Seattle Grace. Bailey hated her. Surgical interns weren't really the most welcoming. Most of them were either dark and twisty, or talking to themselves, or came with a bad attitude. People didn't like her. No one likes the newbie, especially if that newbie was the replacement for a well-beloved senior Peds surgeon and a close friend with the then Chief Webber. Arizona was all 'out with the old, in with the new'. Nobody liked that, at all.
She's a control freak but perky, roller skates in the hall, puts monkeys and teddy bears in her coat. She was in the middle of revolutionizing how things were being done in Peds. All stressed about people's resistance to management change, and the demands of working in a hospital with both a clinic and trauma center, made Arizona think that just for one night, why not go out for drinks, meet someone, maybe get laid, then forget about them the next day. But that didn't go as planned, did it?
She got a drink or two, met someone, but kissed someone else, and she never forgot about her. Arizona tried though. She even refused to go on a date the first time she was asked to. But she just couldn't get this long-legged, brown-eyed brunette with a big smile out of her mind. So, instead, she ate her own words and asked her out on their first date.
Her supposed fling turned into meeting her dad after a few dates, agreeing to ten kids, giving up a grant of a lifetime, getting engaged, car crash, marriage, plane crash, miscarriage, divorce, and custody battle. So many things happened so fast. Decisions were made with or without her. Arizona surprised herself when she asked Callie for a lifelong commitment. She never imagined herself going down that road. And yet, she did. But the cost was so high and she didn't realize it until later. Arizona was the person who was so sure about herself and in control, who then turned out to be the person who's in a relationship with someone who made all the choices for her.
"If I go back and we try it again, will I be that kind of person again?" Arizona thinks, "Will it really come down between losing autonomy or being in a committed relationship? Can't I be with someone and still be myself? And if I did go down that path again, how sure am I that Callie won't walk out again when things get tough?"
Arizona thinks that the more prominent question she should ask herself is, "Have I forgiven Callie for leaving me and giving up on me? On our marriage? For not giving us one last chance?
Three weeks have passed, and this morning, Callie got up feeling recharged and is more than ready to go get her hand off the gauze. Her work schedule today is ego-bruising, especially for a surgeon like her. She's never had a workday without at least one OR time. Not since her first week as an intern. If she wants to cut people open again, getting clear is her step one. It would be easier if it wasn't Dr. Atterman who needs to get her cleared.
Before she deals with work stuff, she needs to wear the mom hat first. With that in mind, she got up on her bed, put on her robe, and went to Sofia's room.
She gently opened the door, and said in a library voice, "Good morning, little sunshine." Sofia didn't move an inch. The little girl is deep in her sleep, her arms are both up in her head, her hair all over the pillow, her blanket is nowhere to be found, and her feet are spread like a frog.
Callie looks at her daughter adoring the look of innocence and the calmness on her face. She then brushed a few hair strands away from Sofia's face and kissed her cheek. "Wake up, sleepyhead." Sofia groans and turns her back at Callie. "Oh, someone's playing hard to get this morning." Callie then scooped Sofia so she could lay down beside her. She then strokes Sofia's upper arm gently while planting more kisses on her head. "We're gonna be late for school, sweetie. Come on. Let's get up." Callie told Sofia softly.
The kid then scratched her eyes open with both hands, a little struck by the sunlight coming for her window pane. Sofia slowly wrapped both her arms around Callie, surprising her mom. "Oh, my sweet little munchkin," Callie said, making a voice as she embraced Sofia back and slowly scooped her butt with her arm, supported her neck and shoulder, and carried her out of bed. Sofia giggled as her mom lifted her up. She likes it when Callie carries her like a baby. Sofia then wrapped both her feet around Callie's waist as both her arms did the same on her mom's neck.
"I love you, mama," Sofia said, her eyes sparkling, and then kissed Callie on the cheek.
Callie held back a tear, and said, "Oh, I love you too, sweetheart." Nothing's more rewarding than feeling like you're the best parent there is in the eyes of your own child. She then opened Sofia's closet, displaying a bunch of dresses and blouses from all colors of the rainbow, butterfly wings hanging on the back of the closet door, and several pairs of tiny shoes in different colors. "Which outfit are we going for today?"
Sofia snappily turned around and looked at her opened closet. She then gestured to come down from Callie's arms. The little girl tried on a few pairs, mix-matched tops and bottoms and shoes for a few minutes, until finally settling on a floral white dress with a fuchsia pink denim jacket paired with her favorite glittery silver doll shoes.
Callie held the whole outfit and laid them down on Sofia's bed. Both of them head out to the kitchen where Callie made and had their breakfast and prepared Sofia's lunchbox. After they both finished and showered, they left the apartment in time just before New York traffic went from bad to worse. Callie has adapted to how things should be done in the city, which is, simply, doing everything quickly and ahead of rush hour.
As soon as Callie has dropped Sofia at school, she went straight to Langone into the attending's lounge to change from outside clothes to scrubs and white coat. She noticed Pete's stuff isn't there yet so she figured maybe she went really early today then went off to check on some patient charts at the ortho nurse's station.
"Good morning, Dr. Torres." A nurse greeted her. "Welcome back. We've missed you here."
"Thank you and good morning to you too." Torres politely replied. She isn't usually this pleasant in the mornings, but since she hasn't been cutting people open lately and was stuck with paperwork for weeks after the accident, it felt like she had come back from a long vacation. "How's it going? What did I miss?"
"Not much." A voice from behind Callie's back said, startling her. "Take your gauze-battered hand off of that chart, Torres."
Callie turned in the direction of the voice, "Well, good morning to you too, Dr. Atterman." She said, "Still waking up on the wrong side of the bed?"
"Constantly!" Lena Atterman replied, taking the chart off of Callie's hand. "Come on. Let's look at that hand." She then asked the nurse to pull up Callie's chart. Lena ran and ordered an x-ray to which Callie complied. Once the scan was up, both ortho surgeons looked into it intently.
"You are so lucky you didn't lose your finger," Lena said. "What were you thinking?"
"You know, this is your fault, right?" Callie replied. "If you hadn't told all those things about Arizona I won't…"
"Put your hand in the disposal?" Lena interrupted. "Oh, please! I would've let you blame me if you drunk texted her that night but, almost getting your hand grinded? Nope, that was all you."
"Oh, shut it! Am I cleared?" Callie asked, diverting the topic. "No fracture. No swelling. Scars all healed up nicely. So?"
"Indeed, you are," Lena confirmed, signing her name on the clearance form. "There, you're all set."
"Dr. Atterman, I'm sorry to interrupt," A nurse came into the exam room where Callie and Lena were. "You have a consult for Mr. Philip Anderson." Then the nurse gave Lena the patient's chart.
"Yeah, Anderson," Lena recalled. "What did he do now? Anyway, tell him I'm coming." She turned to Callie. "Torres, go check on the post-ops and, hey, don't get too excited getting into an OR." Then she handed over Callie's chart to the nurse.
"Yes, ma'am," Callie confirmed. She then picked her up and exited the exam room with Lena.
"You know what?" Lena turned and caught Callie's attention back. "Come with me. Let's see what Mr. Anderson's case is about."
Callie shrugged, "Okay. Works for me." And then she followed Lena to the patient's room to the other side of the ortho wing.
Once Lena stepped inside Mr. Anderson's room, she was greeted by the patient's wife with a gaze. She seems like a feisty woman, tattooed on both arms, her hair's blonde, and its cut is looking almost like a mohawk. She doesn't look girly and not exactly masculine either. Her voice is a little raspy and chesty.
"What brings you back here, Philip?" Lena asked. "I haven't seen you in a while. Still riding that bike of yours?" She added looking at Philip. He looks relaxed that you can almost see through his calm hazel eyes. He doesn't look like a typical motorcycle racer. He has this clean brush up, buzz cut, dark blonde hair. Like his wife, he also has tattoos on both arms. But he got some up to his neck. His voice is brighter and sounds like someone who gets lazy when talking.
"Unfortunately." Philip's wife interjected. Her expression seemed like she's forcing a smile. "And that's kind of the reason why we're back here, Dr. Atterman."
"Hey, easy there, tiger," Philip said, then held his wife's hand to make her hash. "We just got back from camping at Mammoth Mountain in California the other day. The kids and I went biking…"
"...up and down the mountain." The wife interrupted again. "And, as if it's not dangerous enough, this idiot here, built a freaking ramp." Her gaze turned to Philip. "He's been feeling the pain since then and didn't say a word until he can no longer move his arm from the pain." She added.
"Okay, okay." Lena finally said, "I know you're upset and a lot worried, Mrs. Anderson. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here." Lena then put on her stethoscope and started checking on Philip's vitals. Callie, on the other hand, is observing intently on the side. She senses how scared the wife is for her husband. Lena took off a portion of Philip's hospital gown to look at his injury. His left shoulder looked really terrible.
"Philip, this looked really swollen," Lena said as she examined the injured area. "And I'm almost certain this didn't just happen a few days ago. It's significantly lower than the other and something hard and sharp is creating a bump up here." Philip almost screamed in pain but didn't. He just groans and clenches his jaw.
"Judging by the skin color on the area," Callie interjected. "And the difference against your right shoulder, I'd say, it has been bad for at least 2 weeks."
The wife hit Philip on his good shoulder, "You've been hiding this from me for weeks?" She told Philip. "You have got to be kidding me!" Then she turned to Callie. "Wild guess, he's been keeping things like this to me because I've been asking him to stop riding his bike for good."
"Well, that's easy for you to say." Philip interrupted, his voice slightly rising. "Your career has been thriving. Even after having kids, I have been so supportive of you. But I have to give up my career?" He continued, eating up some of the words.
"At least my job isn't always trying to kill me." His wife then stormed out of the room slamming the door behind her.
"I'm sorry," Philip told Lena and Callie. "You didn't have to hear all that."
"It's fine," Lena replied. "We're almost done here anyway." She then closed Philip's hospital gown back up. "From what I've seen so far, it looks like you have a clavicle fracture."
"But you've already fixed that before."
"I did," Lena confirmed. "It hasn't fully healed yet and it went into stress from the mountain biking which caused the fracture to occur again. I can't tell if it is the plate or your actual bone sticking up your shoulder at this point. I'll have the nurse give you something for the pain. We'll run some tests and then Dr. Torres and I will discuss with you the next course of action, okay?"
"I'll see if I can find and talk to your wife too," Callie told Philip. "Rest up well for now."
After several hours of running tests and waiting for the results, Mr. Anderson's scans finally came up. Lena and Callie finally have concrete data to discuss the patient's treatment plan.
"This is...Dr. Atterman..." Callie called on Lena while looking at the scans up the lightbox in the scans room. "The plate you placed on the clavicle is easy to realign but…"
"The bone mass from the clavicle bone isn't going to hold it in place for long." Lena continued Callie's conclusion. "I know."
"Do you see what I think I'm seeing here?" Callie asked. "I've seen this kind of thing before...but not this bad."
"I know, Torres," Lena replied while staring blankly at the scans too. "His wife will not only make him stop riding his motorcycle. She's also gonna kill him. If this thing didn't get him first."
Then Lena went on and got Callie caught up on the patient's history. Both medical and personal. She told Callie that Philip and Beth Anderson have been married for 15 years now. They met at a motorcycle race track in California and started dating ever since. Beth is a theater actress, who's been on touring shows most of the time. She has not stopped even after having kids. Philip, however, knew how Beth loved being on stage and would never ask her to stop doing what she loves. They made their life together on the road. Beth has been asking Philip to stop racing ever since he's been having accident after accident. People have 90 bones and he has probably broken at least 80 of them. As he gets older, healing gets slower. Their kids are still so young and if Philip keeps going this course, things could get ugly, for him and their family.
Callie and Lena knew exactly what was going to happen next, and exactly what should not happen. They outlined the procedures for the plate fixation replacement, that's the easy part. They continuously looked for studies done out there to look for other options for the patient. Listed down all possible side effects for each approach they thought of.
"I need a break," Callie told Lena as both of them are studying the case in the research lab and both of them are getting tired. "I'll see if I can find Mrs. Anderson."
"Yeah," Lena responded, sounding exhausted. "She has to come to her senses before all this blows up to her face." Callie nodded and left the lab.
She went looking for Mrs. Anderson for almost an hour. Callie asked the nurses if she went back to Philip's room but she didn't. She thought this woman doesn't seem like a woman of faith, but it wouldn't hurt to try checking the chapel anyway. But she wasn't there either. Fire exits, cafeteria, parking lot, bathrooms - still no luck.
"If I were the wife of a motorcycle racer, where would I go?" Callie asked herself out loud as she looked around the lobby to find Mrs. Anderson's face.
"Nowhere." Someone said from distant Callie. "The nurse said you were looking for me." Mrs. Anderson told Callie.
"I am. I was." Callie said. "I just wanted to check on you. See how you were doin'?"
"You know what I love about New York more than California?" Beth said, ignoring Callie's question. "It's the architecture, skyscrapers, the brick buildings…" Mrs. Anderson told Callie. "It's so different from California. People are busier. Like they're always running out of time."
"They sure are," Callie replied. "I came from Seattle and I pretty much know everyone there. When I came here, everything's fast, everyone's on the go, and well-dressed all the time. I mean, how are they even doing that with work and kids and…"
"You have kids too?" Mrs. Anderson asked, interrupting Callie's line of thought. "I have two. A four-year-old boy and a girl, ten."
"I do, I have a daughter," Callie said. "Two kids, huh? How's that going so far?"
"Crazy." Mrs. Anderson said. "People at work would always tell me, Beth Anderson doesn't give a crap. Well, I have a four-year-old, I eat crap for dinner."
Both ladies laughed at the thought. Then Callie said, "Mrs. Anderson, I know you're scared and I think you really love your husband."
"As a matter of fact, I do," Beth confirmed. "Is he alright?"
"He's…" Callie paused, unsure what to tell Beth. "We're working on a treatment plan for him. By the looks of his scans, I'd say, he'll need it now more than ever."
Beth sighed. She's composed and didn't frighten. It was as if she knew what's going on. "Our marriage isn't perfect." She said, "He's been racing since before he met me. That's how we met actually. 'Cause I love bikes too, as a hobby that is. And I love that he has this passion." She sighed but continued on, "We've been fighting about him quitting the race since before we were married. We stalled. We compromised. We went to couples therapy too, and we still do. But when this kind of thing happens, seeing him in pain again, it's just...it's still unresolved. And unresolved conflicts are like termites in your house, you know? If you don't address them and keep covering it up, or keep applying remedies one after the other, before you know it, your house would come crumbling down." She scoffs and worries that Callie might've zoned out already. "You probably think I'm crazy talking about termites. I'm sorry."
"No, no." Callie deferred. "I think I understand what you're saying. You don't want your marriage to fail."
"Exactly," Beth said. "And more than our marriage, I don't want to lose him and our family. We need to deal with it now - is what I kept telling Philip. After all, if you don't have the luxury to repair a house full of termites, then go get yourself a new house instead, right?"
"Right," Callie replied, like whispering to herself. "Termites! That's what it is! All of those things." She figured. "Their termites!" Callie said out loud.
"Yeah, oh," Beth said, noticing that Callie's mind is somewhere else. "You're mocking my metaphor, I see."
"No, no, no," Callie told Beth. "I wasn't but I have to go." She then rushed back to the ortho floor, leaving Beth in the hospital lobby, clueless.