The Love We Choose

Chapter 33

Lynne sat on her bed staring up at her cream-colored ceiling, deep in thought as she thought about all she had to do today. Winter vacation had begun so there was no work to be done, but she had to divide out all her gifts so she would be ready to trek them to their correct recipients over the next few days. Then there was the whole getting ready for tonight's gala with Huan that she had agreed to. She had cleared out a couple of hours for that to complete, starting with her hairdresser appointment early that afternoon. She had already steamed her dress and had it hanging over the back of her closet door. The jewelry she had chosen to accompany it and her makeup sat at the ready on her vanity. The shoes were in a drawstring bag hanging off of her doorknob. She would be driving in flats and switching into these once she parked.

"Alright kid, I have one request. No playing fast and loose with my stomach contents tonight ok?" she spoke out loud to her pouchy abdomen. "I promise you that I will eat whatever you like, as long as we don't embarrass your daddy." She paused for a moment. "I'm taking your silence as a tacit agreement. Tonight is important for him." Rolling off her bed, Lynne started to tackle her day with breakfast at the forefront of her mind.

XXX

Huan was finishing up with the last of his patients, intent on completing his charting before the end of his shift when Dr. Levater called him into his office.

"Close the door behind you Dr. Zhang," the older man instructed as he finished with a file he was going over on his desk.

Huan obliged and sat down at the stiff-backed oak chair placed opposite Dr. Levater at his massive desk. The older doctor was in his early sixties, with a head of perfectly coiffed white hair on his head. However, he still possessed a steel-trap mind that was as sharp as the precision scalpels he used on his patients. Huan had been blessed by the surgical gods when he was accepted under his tutelage for the fellowship program.

Placing the file on his desk and resting his hands on top of it before he began speaking. "Dr. Zhang, it has been a pleasure having you as one of our trauma surgical fellows these past few years. Your on-going research with Dr. Arroyo over at Bellevue and Dr. Gadde at Johns Hopkins on Critical Care in the Emergency Department is helping change the way patient care is considered and streamlined from patient induction through recovery. It has not gone unnoticed to us around here that you are a very driven young man and promising surgeon. Off the record, I believe that the rumor mill has it going that tonight's Fellow of the Year award is going to either you or Dr. Zolle in Pediatric Oncology. My money is on you, but that is just my bias. We know how hard it is to win an award against people who save children with cancer, but I digress," he waved his hand in the air to dismiss his straying from the purpose of the conversation.

"I understand that you have applied for the opening Attending position in this department. However, I feel it pertinent to ask if you have applied for any other positions. Have you?"

"Well, I have applied to three more hospitals in the city, two in New Jersey, two in Pennsylvania, and a long-shot out in California. I'm actually scheduled to fly out for an interview in California a few days after the new year. In all honesty, I never thought they'd consider me." I am not sure my heart is into moving all the way out there anymore.I definitely need to let Lynne know about that possibility sooner rather than later.

Dr. Levater pursed his lips as he regarded Huan's words. With a stern look on his face he told Huan, "I am going to level with you, Dr. Zhang. You are not the only candidate the hospital board is considering for the position at this hospital. There are a couple of other hotshot doctors from prestigious programs that have applied as well. I just want you to be realistic and keep yourself open to other options. If it were solely up to me, I wouldn't need to have this conversation with you. Alas, hospital politics and such have taken the final decision out of my hands. We should have the answer to you in the next month or so."

Huan absorbed his boss's words and let them sink into his mind. He was a little numb at the prospect of not attaining the position he had his heart set on. He had been lucky enough to stay at this hospital since medical school. Nodding his head in understanding and thanking Dr. Levater for his honesty.

"No problem, Dr. Zhang. A talent such as yours is a rarity, but it seems like this year has been the year for the extraordinary talent in the surgical trauma field. I am absolutely sure that wherever it is you land a position will be extremely lucky to have you. If you need help in whittling through your other offers, my door is always open to you. I guess I will see you at tonight's festivities."

"Yes, I will be there." Huan told the older doctor before shaking his outstretched hand and exiting his office. With his mind mulling over all the information he was given, he finished the last half hour of his shift before heading home to shower and get ready for the Gala.

XXX

When Huan walked through the doors of the swanky hotel hosting the hospital's gala, in his rented tuxedo, with his hair neatly falling down to his shoulders, he was transplanted into a sea of opulence. All around the room were members of the board with their spouses, legacy donors, administrators, and other members of the medical field living in a tax bracket he was decades away from achieving. Sprinkled throughout the room were his colleagues and a few of his competitors for the open attending position.

Making his way further into the room, he grabbed a drink at the open bar, and floated around a bit. Eventually he struck up a conversation with Dr. Noah Rollins and Dr. Finn Hatcher, both his colleagues from his time in the Surgical Recovery Unit.

"So we have heard through the grapevine that you, Dr. Zolle, and Dr. Shah have essentially knocked all of us out of the Fellow of the Year running. Do you think you'll actually beat them?"

"I don't know. Both of them are excellent doctors with impeccable records and work ethic. They are both doing fantastic research in their respective fields. It's an honor just to be nominated."

"Spoken like a politician," Dr. Hatcher joked as he clapped Huan on the back. "If this whole doctoring thing doesn't work out for you, try running for governor or something."

"Hardy, har, har," Huan shot back.

"But really, we're in your corner. Dr. Shah is too robotic and Ryder is just too much of a smug son of a bitch with his perfect height and smile," Dr. Hatcher remarked.

"You're just bitter that Marisol turned down your offer to come here tonight and went with Ryder instead. Aren't you Noah?" Finn asked him with a sly look as he took a sip of his drink.

"Wrong. This isn't about the fact that she would rather go with the failed Aeropostale model than a real human. This is about supporting our fellow SICU comrade."

"Comrade?" Huan asked, cocking an eye at his colleague. "But thanks for the support guys. Like I said, just honored to be nominated."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let's do a lap and see what poor, single ladies are available for three handsome surgeons such as ourselves."

"Do you ever stop thinking about getting your dick wet?" Finn asked, shaking his head in disappointment of his friend.

"What, tis the season. And it would behoove me to leave some woman wanting when I could be of service," Noah stated as he fixed his cufflinks.

"As much as I would love to continue this conversation with you two fine surgical specimens, it seems that my date for the evening has arrived. I'll catch up with you guys later," Huan waved to them as he walked toward the entrance where he caught Lynne's eye. As the crowd thinned around her, he stopped in his tracks as he took in her appearance.

XXX

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