Cassi stayed by the buffet table for a while eating and chatting with several other wives. When she was sure she had absorbed enough calories to balance her insulin, she decided she’d better find Thomas. She had no idea what drugs he’d taken, and she was nervous. She had just started for the living room when George Sherman stopped her.
“You look beautiful, as usual,” he said with a warm smile.
“You look good yourself, George,” said Cassi. “I like you far better in a tuxedo than that old corduroy jacket of yours.”
George laughed self-consciously. “I’ve been meaning to ask how you find psychiatry. I was surprised when I heard you’d made the switch. In a lot of ways, I envy you.”
“Don’t tell me you give psychiatry any credibility. I didn’t think any surgeon did.”
“My mother suffered a severe postpartum depression after my younger brother was born. I’m convinced her psychiatrist saved her life. I might have chosen it as a specialty if I thought I would have been successful. It takes a sensitivity I don’t have.”
“Nonsense,” said Cassi. “You have the sensitivity. I think it would be the passivity that would give you trouble. It’s the patient who has to do the work in psychiatry,” George was silent for a moment, and as Cassi watched his face she suddenly thought of fixing him up with Joan. They were both such nice people.
“Are you interested in meeting an attractive new woman these days?”
“I’m always interested in attractive women. Though few measure up to you.”
“Her name is Joan Widiker. She’s a third-year psychiatry resident.”
“Wait a second,” said George. “I’m not sure I can handle a psychiatrist. She’ll probably ask me all sorts of tough questions when I drag out my whips and chains. I might be too self-conscious. Worse than when I was with you. Remember that first date?”
Cassi laughed. How could she forget? George had clumsily knocked her hand during dinner so that she’d spilled linguini Alfredo into her lap. Then, in his eagerness to help mop it up, he’d knocked her Chianti Classico into her lap as well.
“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful,” said George. “I do appreciate your thinking of me and I’ll give Joan a call. But Cassi, I wanted to talk to you about something a little more serious.”
Cassi unconsciously straightened, unsure of what was coming.
“As a colleague, I’m worried about Thomas.”
“Oh?” said Cassi as casually as she could.
“He works too damn hard. It’s one thing to be dedicated, quite another to be obsessed. I’ve seen it before. Often physicians can go along at nine hundred miles an hour for years and then suddenly burn themselves out. The reason I’m saying all this is to ask you to try to get Thomas to slow down, maybe take a vacation. He’s been wound up like a coiled spring. There’s gossip he’s had a couple of bad arguments with the residents and nurses.”
George’s words awakened all Cassi’s submerged tears. She bit her lip, but remained silent.
“If you could get him to take some vacation time, I’ll be happy to cover his practice if need be.” George was startled to see Cassi’s eyes fill with tears. She turned away, hiding her face.
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” said George. Reaching out, he put his hand on her shoulder.
“It’s all right,” said Cassi, struggling to regain her composure. “I’m okay.” She looked up and managed a smile.
“Dr. Ballantine and I have discussed Thomas,” said George. “We’d like to help. We both think that when someone works as hard as Thomas, he has to recognize that there’s an emotional price to pay.”
Cassi nodded as if she understood. She gave George’s hand a squeeze.
“If you feel uncomfortable talking to me, maybe see Dr. Ballantine. He thinks the world of your husband. Maybe you’d like the chief s private extension at the hospital?”
Cassi evaded George’s warm gaze. Concentrating on her purse, she extracted a small notepad and pencil.
When George gave her the number, she wrote it down. When she looked up, her heart almost stopped. She found herself looking directly into Thomas’s unblinking stare. With knowledge born of intimacy, she instantly knew he was violently angry. All at once, George’s hand felt heavy on her shoulder.