Niles smiled at the woman who, in the year since he'd known her, had become so much more than his secretary. He took her hands in his and squeezed gently.
"Mrs. Woodson, I can't thank you enough for all of your trouble. I know it's an inconvenience."
"That's ridiculous, Dr. Crane! You know that it was no trouble at all and it's certainly not an inconvenience. I was happy to do it!"
His thumb moved across her hand and he hoped that she would take the gesture as a sign that he cared about her tremendously. "Well, even so it took a lot of effort to rearrange things and some of my patients don't respond well to change, especially if they are referred to other colleagues. In all honesty, I hated to do it, but-."
"Dr. Crane, you deserve to take some time off. I don't know the first thing about your line of work … well, not enough to have an intelligent conversation, but I know that what you do is difficult, dealing with people's problems and trying to find some sort of resolution. And then you have to do home and deal with your own life and any problems that might arise. I can't even imagine…"
He nodded. "It can be difficult; that much is true."
"That's why I'm glad you have your lady friend. The plastic surgeon. Oh dear, I've forgotten her name."
"Mel."
The name of his fiancé (or rather, his soon to be ex-fiancé), came out a bit harsher than he intended but to his relief, Mrs. Woodson seemed not to take notice. She simply smiled and nodded. "Yes, that's right. Mel. How is she?"
"Well I'm going to see her after I leave here."
"I see. Well, I certainly don't want to stand in your way, so I'll just finish up here and-."
"Mrs. Woodson?"
She paused, her hands frozen on the file folders that she held in a neat stack. "Yes, Dr. Crane?"
"I-."
The file folders moved to her desk and she laid her hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?"
He paused, not quite sure how to answer that question. But he simply took a deep breath and gave her the answer he knew that she wanted to hear. "I-I will be. But I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for springing all of this on you in such short notice. This all came about so unexpectedly and I promise that I will pay you accordingly."
"Oh Dr. Crane, you know that I'm not worried about the money. But I am worried about you."
His cheeks flushed. There were times, like this one for example, when she reminded him so much of his mother. Someday he planned to tell her. But he couldn't do it at that moment. He had a much more important engagement. And the word engagement made him cringe.
"Thank you, that's very sweet, Mrs. Woodson, but there's really no need to worry about me."
"Isn't there?"
His eyebrows rose. "I-I'm afraid I'm not following."
"Look, Dr. Crane. I don't want to meddle in your private life and I would never dream of doing so, but are you sure that everything is all right?"
He nodded. "It's sweet of you to be concerned, but I-I'm fine."
He hated himself for lying to the sweet lady. She didn't deserve it. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. The truth was that he was torn between two women; one he had promised to spend the rest of his life with but no longer loved. And the one that he so desperately wanted but could not have.
He opened his mouth to thank his sweet secretary (or Administrative Assistants they were called these days, but he much rather preferred to call her his friend) but the words would not come. To his relief when he returned his gaze to hers, he found that she was smiling sympathetically.
"Well, it's good that you're taking time off, Dr. Crane. You deserve it more than anyone."
He nodded. "Yes, I suppose that's true, but-."
"You work so hard; harder than most. I don't know how you do it."
"It's not easy." He admitted.
"Of course it's not, between your father and your brother and that woman you're seeing. What's her name again? It starts with an M but I just can't-."
"Mel." The sound of her name on his lips was unpleasant but he did his best to keep his tone friendly. He wasn't sure if it was the fact that she preferred the more traditional man's name of Mel to her formal name; Melinda (which was a beautiful name), or the fact that he knew that he'd have to face her soon. He wanted to simply turn around and go back to the cabin, to Daphne. But he couldn't avoid confrontation with Mel any longer. It had to be done. The sooner he saw her, the sooner it would be over.
His eyes, which were cast downward, returned to Mrs. Woodson. Once again, she was smiling. Bless her.
"Right… Mel… I can see how happy you are, Dr. Crane. And I'm glad. You deserve every happiness."
Suddenly he felt the urge to tell her everything. He knew that no matter what she'd be supportive. But he also knew that he could no longer keep his uncertainty bottled up inside.
He ran his tongue over his dry lips. "Um, Mrs. Woodson? About Mel…"
But before he could continue, he found himself wrapped in a hug that was more than welcome. "I love you, Dr. Crane. I hope you know that. You may be my employer and have been for many years, but you're a wonderful man. Mel is lucky to have you."
His chest constricted a bit at the sound of Mel's name, but he simply hugged her a bit tighter.
"Thank you, Mrs. Woodson. You're a wonderful person and I love you too."
He kissed her cheek and then he was on his way.