Carter walked into the house after Simeon ushered him in. He stopped abruptly when he saw Richard and Henry.
"You must be Mr. Hinesburg," Carter said and cleared his throat.
"That's right. And you are?" Richard asked and stretched out his hands to shake the younger man.
"I am Carter," He responded and shook Richard's hands. Richard raised his eyebrows.
"Carter Michael," He said again. He assumed that Richard raised his eyebrows because he initially didn't say his last name. At that moment, Caitlyn walked into the sitting room and found them shaking hands.
"Oh, Richard. I forgot to tell you that I was expecting my junior colleague. We've got some important things to discuss so I suggested he came to my house. He is a pediatric cardiac surgeon," Caitlyn quickly explained.
"Alright. Welcome Carter," Richard said and walked out of the sitting room. Carter sat on a sofa while Caitlyn went to meet her husband in the kitchen.
"What are you planning to cook? I can help out while you have the important discussion with Carter," Richard said. Caitlyn smiled, she felt really happy.
"This is the Richard I knew," She thought and walked out of the kitchen. She found Carter talking with Henry. She heard some of the discussions before she came into sight, they were talking about basketball.
"Your son is a really good player," Carter said and smiled.
"Oh, yes he is. Let's go into the garden to talk," Caitlyn responded.
"You have a garden, that's interesting," Carter said and followed her to the garden. They sat on a chair and Carter continued to look around.
"I love this place. The idea of having a garden never crossed my mind, but I think seeing this has brought something fresh into my mind. This is beautiful," He said and closed his eyes. Caitlyn laughed.
"Enough of being touched by my lovely garden. Let's get to the matter at hand," She said and he opened his eyes.
"The meeting is set to happen when?" Caitlyn asked.
"Next week Monday. Today is Friday, so we've got a long weekend ahead to prepare for whatever we want to present in opposition to Doctor Ochoa's stance on the matter," Carter said. Caitlyn nodded and stood.
"I think we need to take some vodka to clear our minds. You want some?"
"No, thank you. I only take Soju and I specially order from South Korea," He responded and Caitlyn raised her eyebrows.
"Is this some sort of a joke?" She asked and laughed.
"No, it's not. Maybe it's weird, but that's the truth. You definitely don't know a lot about me and I don't know most things about you too," Carter said and smiled. Caitlyn nodded and left the garden. She came back with a bottle of vodka and two big mugs.
"You're going to try Vodka today, hopefully, you can stick with it and stop bothering yourself with shipping in Soju," Caitlyn said and sat. She poured out the drinks and Carter helped himself to a mouthful.
"This is too strong, I still prefer Soju," He commented.
"Is Jasmine worried about the general meeting?" Caitlyn asked and studied him.
"How won't she be worried for goodness sake? This is someone who is being neglected by her senior colleague who is meant to be a mentor because she is suffering from Spastic Diplegic Cerebral Palsy. Why won't Ochoa make her stay for her housemanship? This is insane!" Carter exclaimed.
"Maybe you are the one that didn't understand what Ochoa was trying to say. Maybe Jasmine isn't good and up to the task," Caitlyn said but was interrupted sharply by Carter.
"She isn't really good? Jesus! Jasmine is a fucking genius! Dr. Ochoa doesn't want her on his team because of her disability, he is just insane and biased. This is someone who struggled to go through medical school despite her problems only to face discrimination during housemanship," Carter continued to explain and took another gulp from the mug.
"Have you discussed this with Jasmine? What's her take on the matter?" Caitlyn asked and rubbed her forehead, she swiveled the drink in the mug and stared at the motion it formed while trying to understand the situation.
"Jasmine initially wanted to leave the hospital and be placed under the training of another doctor. She insisted that she didn't want any problem with Ochoa. But after having conversations with the rest of the team members, we persuaded her to take up the matter. As you would imagine, Ochoa was angry and insisted he has the right to choose who will stay on his team. As you are also aware, the matter has gone to the MD and the executives, that's why we are having the meeting on Monday. I want you to support Jasmine, you're among the head doctors. You are highly respected and this shouldn't be a problem. You have to do something about this, Cate," Carter said adamantly. Caitlyn drew in a shaky breath, stood, and began pacing in the garden.
"I will think about it during the weekend and get back to you by Sunday evening,"
"Thank you, Cate! I appreciate this," Carter said and smiled broadly, hope and excitement were written all over his face.
"Don't get super excited, I'm currently still sitting on the fence," She responded and he shrugged. Carter stood and they both walked to the sitting room. Sheila was the only one there, she was painting her nails and typing on her phone at the same time. She raised her head to look at the intruders. She paused what she was doing and blew out the gum she was chewing.
"Hello, mum. And who do we have here?" She asked and continued to stare at Carter who shifted his weight from his left leg to his right leg and repeated the process. Caitlyn realized that Carter wasn't comfortable under her daughter's piercing gaze, so she decided to step in.
"Sheila, this is Carter. Carter, that's my daughter Sheila," Caitlyn said and moved towards the kitchen, to drop the vodka bottle and the two mugs. Sheila stood and walked towards Carter, she stopped a few meters away from him.
"Your name's Carter?" She asked and smirked. He nodded and hurriedly stepped away from her. He walked to the door and was about to open the door when Sheila spoke again.
"Your eyes are blue, Do you wear contact lenses?" Sheila asked and Carter almost tripped at the door, he hurriedly got out without answering the question.
"It's recommended, Sheila. People use contact lenses every day. What was that about?" Caitlyn asked her daughter as she walked back to the sitting room.
"Have you ever seen his real eyes? Just asking though. He gives off a weird vibe," Sheila said.
"Well, I haven't seen him without his contact lenses. Cut him some slacks, he is a junior doctor at my place of work," Caitlyn said and walked away from her daughter.
Sheila walked to the kitchen and met her father cooking while Caitlyn was cleaning the dishes for dinner.
"Hmmm….. vegetarian spaghetti pie casserole," Sheila said, she took a plate and put three spoons of the food onto the plate. She tasted it and winked at her father.
"It's been a long time since I've tasted your food. This is good. What have you been up to lately tho?" Sheila asked and blew air at the spaghetti, to reduce the temperature.
"Damn! This is hot," Sheila mumbled words with food in her mouth. Caitlyn cleared her throat.
"Quickly finish the meal and join me in setting the dining table," Caitlyn said. Sheila knew she was trying to change the conversation.
"I've got to go over to Jordyn's house today. I wasn't able to do that cause of yesterday's commotion," Sheila said and slightly glanced at her father, who hadn't uttered a word but kept cutting ginger into the kettle.
"You can go and make sure you get back home at 10 am tomorrow. Your Aunt is coming over. Richard, the ginger is already enough. Cover the kettle and heat the water," Caitlyn said and moved to the dining room with the plates.
"Only heaven knows why she makes us take this drink some nights," Sheila said and stared at the kettle with a frown.
"Ginger water is good for the body. Ginger water is full of antioxidants, which play an important role in helping your body handle free radicals, lowering your risk of health conditions like cancer, heart diseases, and diabetes," Richard responded softly and smiled at his daughter.
"I've heard that several times from mum. I thought your wife was the doctor, it's like you're already keeping up with her. Are we about to have a competition?" She asked and smiled.
"You should know I'm not interested in these health talks," He responded and laughed.
"Have you ever felt trapped in your body? Like you're not acting up to your potential? Or you're probably living a fake life and nobody knows anything about you?" Sheila suddenly asked and Richard coughed.
"Wh..what do you mean? What are you talking about? Is this about me or you? I mean, y'all know everything about me and I don't keep secrets from your mother," He said and coughed again.
"I mean I'm not living a fake life. Where's this coming from?" Richard asked and looked at his daughter intensely. His breathing had quickened and his chest rose and fell at a fast rate. Sheila walked to the door of the kitchen and turned to speak.
"It's a question from Mrs. Anderson, one of my literature teachers. Sort of an assignment, relax dad. Why are you so anxious anyway?" Sheila asked and walked out of the kitchen.
Richard took a deep breath and cursed silently.