“That was pleasant.”
“And as much as I enjoy being with my daughter, it was nice having a grown-ups only night. Not to mention no Waldo.”
She laughed. “I’ve enjoyed the time we’ve spent with Alice, but I have to agree that a little Waldo goes a long way.”
“I warned Jacqui about Waldo. She said she likes dogs, but I assured her she wouldn’t be expected to take care of him. Feeding, bathing and cleaning up after her dog were all conditions of the contract Alice signed when she took on a pet.”
“You had her sign a contract?”
He chuckled sheepishly. “Well, yeah. The lawyer in me, I guess.”
“I think it’s a great idea. My parents required us to take care of our own pets, too—at the risk of losing our privileges if we ever dared to neglect an animal—but they never thought to have us sign contracts.”
He shrugged. “It was never an issue when I was growing up. My parents let me have pets once I was old enough to take care of them, but they wanted nothing to do with them. I knew if I didn’t take care of the pets, no one else would.”
Before she could comment, her phone rang. It was the first time either of them had been disturbed by a phone call all evening, so she supposed she could count herself lucky in that regard. Murmuring an apology, she glanced at the phone screen. Calls coming in this late always worried her. Seeing her mother’s number, she lifted the phone quickly to her ear. “Mom?”
“I’m sorry to disturb you so late, Meagan. I hope you weren’t already in bed.”
“No, I’m not in bed.” She didn’t meet Seth’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”
“Is it okay if I give your grandmother some ibuprofen? She says she has a headache and can’t sleep. She got into the chocolate earlier and you know how too much chocolate always gives her a headache.”
Relieved there was nothing more to the call, Meagan relaxed. “Yes, you can give her an ibuprofen. One should be enough, but if her head still hurts in a couple of hours give her another. If that doesn’t help, call me back.”
“Your grandmother again?” Seth asked when she disconnected the call a few moments later.
“She has a headache. Mom’s afraid to give her anything without checking with me first.”
“Always with you? Not your brother or sister?”
“Only when I’m not available.” She shrugged. “I’m the oldest and I’ve been a doctor the longest, so Mom thinks that grants me seniority or something.”
“Lucky you.”
She shrugged. “I don’t mind, really. I try to help her out when I can. I have to admit I felt guilty after my surgery, when she felt like she had to take care of me as well as Meemaw.”
“Meemaw?”
She laughed in response to his teasing repetition. “Well, what did you call your grandparents?”
“I hardly remember.”
She set her phone aside, hoping it wouldn’t ring again.
“You seem to have completely recovered from your surgery,” Seth commented. “No offense, but you looked a little peaked that first night I met you.”
Remembering that she’d been exhausted just from carrying Waldo across the street, she grimaced good-naturedly. “Gee, thanks.”
“Oh, you were still gorgeous. Just peaked,” he teased.
Her cheeks warmed a little in response to the compliment. She was hardly gorgeous—but it was nice to hear him say so anyway, even if he was teasing. “Yes, I’ve completely recovered. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble returning to work Monday. I’m looking forward to getting back into the O.R.”
“To cut people up and take stuff out of them?”
She laughed at his wicked imitation of Alice. “Yeah, something like that.”
“Do you mind if I ask what sort of surgery you had? You’ve never said—not that it’s any of my business, of course.”