Back in town David parked at the town green. This time they got out and strolled up Main Street.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it: no litter, no graffiti, and no homeless people,” Angela said. “It’s like a different country.”
“What do you think of the people?” David asked. They had been passing pedestrians since they’d gotten out of the car.
“I’d say they look reserved,” Angela said. “But not unfriendly.”
David stopped outside of Staley’s Hardware Store. “I’m going to run in and ask where we should eat.”
Angela nodded. She and Nikki were looking into the window of the neighboring shoe store.
David was back in a flash. “The word is that the diner is best for a quick lunch, but the Iron Horse Inn has the best food. I vote for the diner.”
“Me too,” Nikki said.
“Well, that settles that,” Angela said.
All three had hamburgers the old-fashioned way: with toasted buns, raw onion, and lots of ketchup. When they were through, Angela excused herself.
“There’s no way I’m going to an interview until I brush my teeth,” she said.
David took a handful of mints after paying the check.
On the way back to the car they approached a woman coming in their direction with a golden retriever puppy on a leash.
“Oh, how cute!” Nikki exclaimed.
The woman graciously stopped so Nikki could pet the dog.
“How old is she?” Angela asked.
“Twelve weeks,” the woman said.
“Could you direct us to the Bartlet Community Hospital?” David asked.
“Certainly,” the woman said. “Go up to the town green. The road on the right is Front Street. Take that right up to the hospital’s front door.”
They thanked the woman and moved on. Nikki walked sideways to keep the puppy in sight. “He was darling,” she said. “If we come to live here, may I have a dog?”
David and Angela exchanged glances. Both were touched. Nikki’s modest request after all the medical problems she’d been through melted their hearts.
“Of course you may have a dog,” Angela said.
“You can even pick it out,” David said.
“Well, then I want to come here,” Nikki said with conviction. “Can we?”
Angela looked at David in hopes he would answer, but he gestured for her to field the question. Angela wrestled with her answer. She didn’t know what to say. “Whether we come here or not is a difficult decision,” she said finally. “There are many things we have to consider.”
“Like what?” Nikki asked.
“Like whether they want me and your father,” Angela said, relieved to have come up with a simple explanation, as the three got back in their car.
Bartlet Community Hospital was larger and more imposing than David or Angela had expected, even though they knew it was a referral center for a significant portion of the state.
Despite a sign that clearly said “Parking in the Rear,” David pulled to the curb in the turnout before the front entrance. He put the car in park but left the engine running.
“This is truly beautiful,” he said. “I never thought I would say that about a hospital.”
“What a view,” Angela said.
The hospital was midway up a hill just north of the town. It faced south and its facade was bathed in bright sunlight. Just below them at the base of the hill they could see the whole town. The Methodist church’s steeple was especially prominent. In the distance the Green Mountains provided a scalloped border to the horizon.
Angela tapped David’s arm. “We’d better get inside,” she said. “My interview is in ten minutes.”
David put the car in gear and drove around to the back of the hospital. There were two parking lots rising up in terraced tiers separated by a stand of trees. They found visitor slots next to the hospital’s rear entrance in the lower lot.
Appropriately placed signs made finding the administrative offices easy, and a helpful secretary directed them to Michael Caldwell’s office. Michael Caldwell was Bartlet’s medical director.
Angela knocked on the jamb of the open door. Inside, Michael Caldwell looked up from his desk, then rose to greet her. He immediately reminded Angela of David with his olive coloring and trim, athletic build. He was also close to David’s age of thirty, as well as his height of six feet. Like David’s, his hair tended to form a natural center part. But there the similarities ended. Caldwell’s features were harder than David’s; his nose was hawk-like and narrower.