Three days after Christmas, Dr. Ginger Bain was back in her office talking with her partner, Dr. Phyllis Barbarosa. Ginger wore a plain blue dress with a low cut neckline; Phyllis wore a white sweatshirt and jeans, and both wore a minimum of makeup and jewelry. Ginger was a plump, grandmotherly type of 55 with shocking red hair; Phyllis was a statuesque beauty of 45 with dark hair. "So, how was Christmas?" Phyllis asked.
"Not bad. Had to make a house call."
"How long was it?"
"Oh, he had about six inches, but it was enough for this girl."
"Ginger, you're incorrigible. Who among our patients needed an emergency fucking over Christmas?"
"Harold Mims."
"Don't remember him. One of yours?"
"Yes, one of mine. Grief case, suicidal."
"So you fucked somebody to save their life?"
She gave her partner a deadpan look of disbelief. "You make it sound so ignoble."
Phyllis laughed and patted her hand. "I hope you didn't take any unnecessary risks."
"Only dietary. The food was wonderful."
"Christmas time isn't for diets."
"How was your holiday?"
"All right, but my love affair with Brian is over. Bastard stood me up without an excuse."
"Sorry to hear that. Your mother all right?"
"Yes. My daughter and granddaughter, too. I love the little imp, but I'm glad to be living by myself these days."
"At least your daughter knows better than dump her on you."
"Amen. So, you got any appointments tomorrow?"
"The usual lot. Nothing exciting. You?" "I see Mr. Shealy later today. He's put in a lot of overtime over the holidays."
"Good for you. He's really giving you a workout."
Phyllis smiled broadly. "Sweet Jesus, yes. It's been a while, and I'm so ready for a hot time. It's good I keep a change of clothes in my closet; his boss always dresses immaculately and I need to keep up appearances."
"Well, I gotta work on these damn numbers. See you later."
"Right. Be careful."
"Always. I should be saying that to you."
Phyllis left, her jeans twitching in anticipation. Ginger focused on her bookkeeping program: she handled the money for them, and needed to check over the entries before the end of the month during a lull. A knock on the door and Harold Mims entered, wearing a dapper dark suit and holding a single red rose. "Good morning, Dr. Bain."
"Good morning, Mr. Mims. Is there anything I can do for you today?" Inwardly, she groaned that he found her dressed down.
"Undoubtedly, but I am not making any demands on you. Just making an offer." He laid the rose on her desk.
She kept her focus on the screen. "Are you feeling better after the holidays?"
"Oh yes, the dark clouds are all gone. No need to work out my grief; once again, I remember my sister fondly and without much pain, grateful for what she gave me. Thank you."
"You're welcome; just doing my job." She took a quick glance at the flower and returned her attention to the numbers before. After a long silence, she said with her eyes fixed on the computer screen: "Does that rose mean what I think it does?"
"I don't know. There is a conventional meaning to this gift. In this case, it's a sign of my gratitude to you, personally, Dr. Bain."
She sighed and looked at him. "You know those three days were therapy, an act. I was trying to keep you from taking your stash of drugs. Trying to keep you alive."
"Of course. If you say so." His eyebrow lifted and a smirk came across his face.
She put her hands on her hips and tried to bore holes through his head with her eyes. "What do you mean by that?"
The smile was unflappable, and the eyes were relentlessly warm. "What you did was more than Lucy would do. You took her spirit and pushed it farther. This is not what therapy of any kind requires; you were looking for enjoyment and solace as much as I was."
She sat quietly, dumbfounded. He took the rose and stroked her chubby cheek with it. "You didn't want to be lonely at Christmastime, either, in fact, you don't want to be lonely now. You try to drown yourself in work and it doesn't work. Not that you're not good at what you do, helping people. I just want to help you."
She closed her eyes and felt the gentle petal across her cheek. "What do you want?" she said huskily.
"What do you want, Dr. Bain? I want to help you. I want to make you feel like a woman, feel loved. Will you let me do that?"