Dear Emily. Fern Michaels

there something wrong?”

      “It depends on your definition of wrong, Emily. I don’t think there’s anything wrong, and everything right about what I’m going to say, but I know you’re going to think it’s wrong. I want to say now, before I tell you what I’d like us to do, that it will only benefit us and that’s what we set out to do. We’re here for the long haul, Emily, we can’t ever lose sight of that. Well?”

      Emily could feel her heart start to flutter in her chest. “Well what? You’ve told me the why, you haven’t told me the what, although I can guess.”

      “There you go again, Emily. What am I going to say?” Already Ian had inched away from her as he waited for her to say what was on her mind.

      “I think you want to open a second clinic. I’m not as stupid as you think, Ian. I answered the phone when the bank called, not once, not twice, but at least a dozen times. Our accounts are in order so what else could it mean? I think you should have spoken to me about it before you went ahead and held discussions. We’re doing fine, we’re about to go into the black, in fact I think we’re already in the black. You want to saddle us with more debt. What am I going to get out of this, more years of hard work, agonizing work? Ian, I want a baby, a life. I want to go to school. You promised me. We didn’t agree to open clinics. One, yes. It will generate enough income for us to live quite well. I know how to manage money. We can have a wonderful life with time for ourselves. We can hire people and still have plenty of money. How much is enough? Tell me, how much? I see two hundred thousand dollars a year as a lot of money. That’s ours after all the bills and salaries have been paid. And you want to know something else, Ian, this perfume gives me a headache. I can’t wear it anymore. Well?”

      “I can’t believe this is you talking, Emily. When did you become so closeminded? I’m sorry about the perfume. I assumed because I liked it that you would like it. I’ll take it back and get you something else. You’re right about the banker. This is an opportunity not to be missed. It fell in my lap, Emily. We’ll be fools to turn it down. We’ll literally be sitting on easy street if we go for it. I swear to you the second clinic will net us three quarters of a million a year. Put that together with our income from the Front Street clinic and we’ll be taking in a million a year. We’ll be millionaires, Emily. You and me, millionaires. It boggles my mind. A year, Emily, just one more year. The bank wouldn’t go for it if it wasn’t a sure thing. How can you even think about turning this down? I can’t believe that perfume gives you a headache. You’re busting my chops, aren’t you, Emily? Because you’re being selfish. You don’t want us to get ahead. You’re one of those people with no visions, no insights. I thought we were alike.”

      “No, Ian, I’m not one of those people. The dream we had was limited. Family, schooling, success. I personally do not have any of the things I signed up for. I want a life, Ian. Can’t you understand that?”

      “What’s a few years?” Ian huffed. “I’m not complaining, I’m the doctor here. I put in as much time as you do and I’m not whining about it. I’m prepared to put in another year to achieve what I thought was our dream. You’re letting me down, Emily.”

      “Get off it, Ian. Arrogance should be included at the end of your name along with M.D. A few years, my butt! Try the word eternity. I’ve been working forever.”

      “Emily!” Ian shouted in outrage.

      “Ian,” Emily shouted in return. She wasn’t going to give in. Not this time. She tried to block out the tears in Ian’s eyes, the quiver in his lips. She would have succeeded if Ian hadn’t taken that moment to speak.

      “I’m sorry, Emily. You’re right, I am selfish and greedy. Of course you can go to school. We’ll start trying for a baby, but I have to warn you, babies are expensive. There’s college and then medical school. Our kid is going to be a doctor and I don’t want him to have to struggle like I did. I know you, Emily, you’ll want to shower him or her with everything, the best preschool, the best private school, the best prep school. We’ll need a house with a yard, some household help for you, a station wagon, bikes, toys, that all costs money. Your schooling is going to cost a bundle, but I’m up for it if it’s really what you want. But that two hundred thousand is going to whittle down to say, maybe thirty thousand. And we can’t forget the insurance, more help at the clinic. Before you know it, we could be left with minimum wage as take-home pay. Let’s go for a walk, Emily. The wood you brought in was wet and the room’s kind of smoky. We need to clear our heads. We need to work off that grand dinner you made for us. A brisk walk will do us both some good. Later maybe we can have some turkey sandwiches with hot chocolate. I’ll even fix them. Can you forgive me, Emily?”

      Emily dropped to her knees and laid her head in Ian’s lap. She cried. Ian cried too. “How long, Ian?”

      “Fourteen months tops.”

      “What do I have to do?”

      “Work in the Front Street clinic from seven till eleven. Then you’d go to Terrill Road and work till one. You can still work your job at Heckling Pete’s because we’ll need that money for our personal living expenses. I don’t want to borrow more than I have to. It will be like now, you’ll be on the books, but your money stays in the corporation. I need to know in my heart that you can handle this, Emily, otherwise there’s no point in going ahead.”

      “What I did sign on for was till death do us part, for better or worse. I’m being honest, Ian, I don’t think it can get worse so I guess you can count on me. I can’t work seven days a week anymore, Ian. I need some time for myself. Fourteen months. Swear to me on our unborn child.”

      “Whatever it takes, Emily. I swear. You won’t regret this, honey, I am going to give you everything in the world. You wait. That’s a promise I mean to keep.”

      “All I want is an education and a baby.”

      “That too. Well, are you up for that walk?”

      Emily tried to smile, tried to put some bounce in her step, tried to feel something for her husband at that moment, but it all fell flat.

      Ian didn’t notice.

      Chapter 3

      Things moved quickly after the first of the year. There were days when Emily barely spoke to Ian and days when she didn’t speak to him at all. Only the thought of their trip to the Cayman Islands kept her sane. She was packed, had been packed since the second of January. All she had to do was stick her comb and brush and toothbrush into her bag.

      Grudgingly, she had to admit Terrill Road was the perfect location for the second clinic. It was amazing, she thought from her position in the open doorway, how fast renovations could go in just two weeks. Ian must have promised the workers overtime and paid extra to have the equipment shipped out right away. When Ian wanted something, he left no stone unturned. For him it worked. For her it didn’t.

      She watched, huddled inside her heavy coat, as the examining tables were unloaded from a huge tractor trailer. Who was going to set them up? Her question was answered a moment later when four husky young men, probably Rutgers students on Christmas break, bounded out of a van. Two of them carried paint cans, another a tool kit, and a fourth was lugging boxes of tile. By nightfall, she was certain, everything would be in its place. When she stepped into what was going to be the waiting room, the shutters were up and painted on all the front windows. She shook her head in wonderment. Ian’s philosophy was, hire somebody, pay them well, they’ll do the job and get out and on to the next one. Not one minute wasted. Still, for all this to have happened in two short weeks meant the people he hired had worked round the clock.

      Emily felt a chill wash over her. If everything was done by the end of the weekend, they could be open for business on Monday. It wasn’t like Ian to open and then go off and leave the clinic to someone else to operate. The sign was already in the window.

      Emily stepped outside. A light swirling snow was starting to fall. All thoughts of the island vacation was whisked away with the gusty wind. She might as well go home and unpack her bags. Now that she thought