Read Online Shark Out of Water by DelSheree Gladden - Free Book Online

startled Guy by reaching across his desk and grasping his hand in hers. “We are so glad she had you to take care of her. You were the only one she trusted.”
    “But…” Guy shook his head. “But I was wrong. She should not have trusted me to decide what was right for her.”
    Mr. Winselm finally looked up, perplexed. “What do you mean? You did everything you could. No other doctor has taken so much time to try and help her.”
    “She told me,” Guy argued. “She told me she would harm herself if I let them take her away. I did not listen. I thought she would be better off at a facility instead of releasing her.”
    Tears fell from Mrs. Winselm’s eyes. “Guy, you can’t blame yourself. Patricia was very troubled. She threatened to take her own life every time she was confronted.”
    “But she meant it this time. I did not listen. I should have known she would follow through.” He shook his head, angry at himself, angry at them for their efforts to wash away his guilt. “If I had released her, she would still be alive.”
    Mr. Winselm’s stricken expression did not change at all, but his empty eyes looked up at Guy. “If you would have released her, she would have died on the street. We wouldn’t have known where she was, or had the chance to see her again before it happened. Thank you for giving us that.”
    Guy sat in confused silence. Why were they not mad at him? Cursing him for his mistake? Screaming at him for his part in their daughter’s death? They were thanking him? Guy shook his head. This was not right. He deserved their blame. He wanted it.
    “We came to ask,” Mrs. Winselm said, a tremor in her voice now, “if you would be willing to be a pallbearer at her funeral. It will be this Thursday at our church.” She slid a neatly printed note onto Guy’s desk that contained all the pertinent information. “I know you may need time to think about it, but Patricia would have wanted you to be there.”
    She seemed so sure, but all Guy could think of were Patricia’s parting words to him. I hate you . Would she want him anywhere near her funeral?
    “Please think about it,” she said as she pulled her husband to standing. “We won’t keep you any longer. We know you have other patients to take care of.”
    Guy stood woodenly. Walking around the desk, he could only stand in front of them and blink. He was nearly knocked over by Mrs. Winselm throwing her arms around him. “Thank you for everything you did for our daughter. I know she didn’t always show it, but she loved you very much. You were her dearest friend.”
    She pulled away then, tugging her husband out of Guy’s office before he could respond or break down. Part of Guy wanted to collapse back into his chair and stay there for the rest of the day. Another part of him wanted to run. He no longer had the strength to resist the urge to escape anything that reminded him of Patricia.
    Pushing out of his office and down the hall, he barely stopped to tell Christine he needed to step out. He was on the elevator, riding down floor after floor before he even considered where he was going. When the elevator doors opened to the cafeteria, he stepped out with relief.
    When Guy first started working at the hospital, he had been on the night shift. The cafeteria staff grew to know him quickly as he was in constant need of caffeine, preferably in the form of coffee. He frequented the cafeteria less often on the day shift, but as he walked in, it was comforting to see that they still remembered him.
    “ Bonjour , Dr. Guy. It’s been too long since you’ve been down to see us,” one of the women behind the counter said. Guy did not recognize the second woman behind the counter, but he knew this charming woman very well.
    “ Bounjour , Samantha.” She beamed at him, obviously pleased he remembered her name. “I apologize for being, what is the phrase? M…I…?”
    Samantha chuckled, making her middle-aged features light up. “M.I.A., Dr.