“For his own good.”
Ben strolled beside her in silence, waiting for her to continue. “That’s it? For his own good?”
Her brows drew together. “Yes. Have you seen him? He looks terrible. His job is killing him, but he won’t tell anyone.”
“But he said he hasn’t been sleeping.”
Grace shook her head. “It’s like this. Remember a few months ago when Brad and Josh were up for the same position at Mercy General and Josh beat him out?”
“Vaguely. I think I remember giving him a hard time about it. It’s not often someone manages to get the better of him.”
“Well, that’s the reason Brad has such a strained schedule. And he doesn’t have any prospects of moving up because Josh is above him and they’re the same age. When the time comes to appoint a new head of Emergency Medicine, it’ll go to Josh.”
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“So maybe Brad needs to go somewhere else.”
“Exactly—that’s what I told him. But he told me he wouldn’t even consider it, no matter how great the opportunity. In fact he told me he wouldn’t move even if it was his dream job.”
“Why not?”
“Because of us. Because of me. He thinks I wouldn’t be happy if I moved away from my family. But I tried telling him I’d be fine as long as I could Skype with them. He refused to listen.”
“So are you telling me you broke up with him so he’ll give up on you and take a better job in some other city?”
“Yes, I’m hoping to get back together with him once he’s accepted another job.”
Ben rubbed the back of his neck. “I see some flaws in your plan.”
“I know... I know it’s possible he’ll be so hurt or angry he won’t take me back at all.”
Ben grimaced. “I’m afraid that’s pretty likely. Why don’t you just tell him straight out you’ll date him if he promises to search for a position at another hospital where he has better opportunities?”
The look she gave him must have been the one she used on her first graders when she was losing patience with them. “He’ll just say the words he thinks I want to hear. Think about it! You know him. If he really believes I’ll be unhappy living somewhere else, he’ll never actually move me. He’ll just sacrifice himself—you know I’m right.”
“Why hasn’t Josh figured it out?”
“Josh hasn’t realized the implications for Brad’s future, and Brad doesn’t want to make him feel guilty. So Brad’s never said anything to Josh about it.”
“You know, Grace, not every doctor gets to be department head. Brad seems to love his work. Maybe he’d be perfectly happy living in New York and working where he is. He’s never said anything to me about wanting to move.”
“Haven’t you seen how bad he looks? He needs better hours. He can’t keep this up forever.”
“Like I said, he told us he hasn’t been sleeping well.”
Grace shook her head. “That’s because he doesn’t want Josh to know. If it was just a sleep issue, he could prescribe himself a sleeping pill.”
“Josh suggested he take a prescription drug to help with sleep, but he said that would be a last resort.”
“He’s just covering up to protect Josh.”
Ben rubbed his temples. “Okay—I can follow your logic. And I have to say, that alone is kind of a scary thing. In fact, I don’t usually mention girls in the same sentence with logic.”
Grace’s elbow almost knocked him off the sidewalk. “Hey!” Ben chuckled. “I’m glad you’re short or that would’ve hurt my shoulder. As it is, my knee may never recover.”
“I’m not that short, and I’m about to knock your head off to prove it.”
“That might be good. I’ve been told my current head is too big.”