The House on Hope Street - By Danielle Steel Page 0,57

that she was hard at work, she was smiling, and looked very pretty. Her hair had grown over the summer, and she was wearing it long on her shoulders. And as though sensing Bill watching her, she looked up, and saw him. She waved a spatula toward him, and he approached slowly, followed by Jamie. And when he got there, Bill saw that Peter was standing near her, wearing what Jamie called his “necklace.”

“How's it going?” the doctor asked his patient, and Peter grinned, and spoke to his mother in an undertone, pretending to hand her something.

“You owe me ten bucks, Mom.”

“He came to see you,” she whispered sotto voce, and then turned to greet Bill and offer him a glass of wine. He smiled at her, and asked for a Coke instead, since he was on call. The mood around them was casual and festive.

“You look very professional with that barbecue.” Bill smiled at her and sipped his Coke.

“I learned from an expert.”

“Peter seems to be doing fine,” he said, casting a glance at his patient. Peter was having fun with his friends, and flipping hamburgers, despite the cumbersome neck brace.

“He wants to go back to school next week,” she said, looking worried for a minute.

“If you think he's up to it, let him. I trust your judgment.”

“Thank you.” She turned the barbecue over to Carole and Peter then, and one of their neighbors lent a hand, so she could walk off with Bill for a few minutes. They sat down on two empty chairs and she sipped a Coke. She wasn't much of a drinker. “How are things at the hospital?” It seemed funny being here with him, away from the concerns they had shared about Peter. Now they were on their own, like two ordinary people, and she felt suddenly shy with him.

“Things at the hospital are too busy. And they'll get worse before they get better this weekend. Holiday weekends are killers, literally. Car accidents, gunshot wounds, attempted suicides. It's amazing what people can come up with when they're off work for a few days, especially when you put a steering wheel in their hands.”

“It's nice that you could get off and take the time to come over.”

“I didn't. I'm on call. I've got my pager on, but I figured they could live without me for a while. I left my chief resident in charge. He's good, he won't call me unless he has to. What about you, Liz? How are the holidays for you? They can't be easy.”

“This one is better than I expected. The first of everything has been rough. Valentine's Day, Easter, the kids’ birthdays, Fourth of July, but Labor Day is kind of innocuous. I thought this would be fun for the children.” And everyone seemed to be having a good time, especially her children. They looked happy to have their friends around, it was the first time the family had entertained since Christmas.

“I used to love holidays when I was a kid. Now they're just workdays.” His life sounded lonely to her, but he seemed to like it that way. She had noticed that he was at the hospital constantly when Peter was there, which made it even nicer that he had come to her party. “What do you do with your spare time when you're not working and chasing kids?” He looked at her with interest as he asked the question and she laughed as she answered.

“What else is there? You mean there's life after work and kids? I'm not sure I remember what that feels like.”

“Maybe you need to be reminded,” he said casually. “When was the last time you went to the movies?”

“Hmm …” She thought about it and shook her head. It was hard to believe it had been as long as it had been. She had dropped kids off and picked them up at the movie house in Mill Valley, but she hadn't gone herself in months. “I think the last time I went to the movies was last Thanksgiving.” With Jack of course. They had gone, as they always did, after everyone had settled down after Thanksgiving dinner. It had been a tradition with them.

“Maybe we could go to a movie sometime,” he said hopefully, as his pager went off, and he looked down at his belt where he had clipped it. The display told him it was an emergency, and he took a cellular phone out of his pocket and called the hospital. He