Two or three hundred thousand! My God! Mallory thought. He makes it sound like peanuts. “That…That would be very nice, sir.”
Alex Harrison smiled. “Ken, since I’m going to be your father-in-law, let’s get off this ‘sir’ business. Call me Alex.”
“Right, Alex.”
“You know, I’ve never been a June bride,” Lauren said. “Is June all right with you, darling?”
He could hear Kat’s voice saying: Don’t you think we should set a date? I thought maybe June.
Mallory took Lauren’s hand in his. “That sounds great.” That will give me plenty of time to handle Kat, Mallory decided. He smiled to himself. I’ll offer her some of the money I won getting her into bed.
“We have a yacht in the south of France,” Alex Harrison was saying, “Would you two like to honeymoon on the French Riviera? You can fly over in our Gulfstream.”
A yacht. The French Riviera. It was like a fantasy come true. Mallory looked at Lauren. “I’d honeymoon anywhere with Lauren.”
Alex Harrison nodded. “Well, it looks like everything is settled.” He smiled at his daughter. “I’m going to miss you, baby.”
“You’re not losing me, Father. You’re gaining a doctor!”
Alex Harrison nodded. “And a damn good one. I can never thank you enough for saving my life, Ken.”
Lauren stroked Mallory’s hand. “I’ll thank him for you.”
“Ken, why don’t we have lunch next week?” Alex Harrison said. “We’ll pick out some decent office space for you, maybe in the Post Building, and I’ll make a date for you to see Gary Gitlin. A lot of my friends are dying to meet you.”
“I think you might rephrase that, Father.” Lauren suggested. She turned to Ken. “I’ve been talking to my friends about you and they’re eager to meet you, too, only I’m not going to let them.”
“I’m not interested in anyone but you,” Mallory said warmly.
When they got into their chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce, Lauren asked, “Where can we drop you, darling?”
“The hospital. I’ve got to check on a few patients.” He had no intention of seeing any patients. Kat was on duty at the hospital.
Lauren stroked his cheek. “My poor baby. You work much too hard.”
Mallory sighed. “It doesn’t matter. As long as I’m helping people.”
He found Kat in the geriatric ward.
“Hi, Kat.”
She was in an angry mood. “We had a date last night, Ken.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to make it, and—”
“That’s the third time in the last week. What’s going on?”
She was becoming a boring nag. “Kat, I have to talk to you. Is there an empty room around here?”
She thought for a moment. “A patient checked out of 315. Let’s go in there.”
They started down the corridor. A nurse walked up to them. “Oh, Dr. Mallory! Dr. Peterson has been looking for you. He—”
“Tell him I’m busy.” He took Kat by the arm and led her to the elevator.
When they arrived at the third floor, they walked silently down the corridor and went into Room 315. Mallory closed the door behind them. He was hyperventilating. His whole golden future depended on the next few minutes.
He took Kat’s hand in his. It was time to be sincere. “Kat, you know I’m crazy about you. I’ve never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. But, honey, the idea of having a baby right now…well…can’t you see how wrong it would be? I mean…we’re both working day and night, we aren’t making enough money to…”
“But we can manage,” Kat said. “I love you, Ken, and I—”
“Wait. All I’m asking is that we put everything off for a little while. Let me finish my term at the hospital and get started in private practice somewhere. Maybe we’ll go back East. In a few years we’ll be able to afford to get married and have a baby.”
“In a few years? But I told you, I’m pregnant.”
“I know, darling, but it’s been what, now…two months? There’s still plenty of time to abort it.”
Kat looked at him, shocked. “No! I won’t abort it. I want us to get married right away. Now.”