“I thought you were my friend. Why would you send me to a hospital?”

“I don’t want you to get an infection.”

“I’ll get an infection at the hospital.”

“Take a deep breath.” Frankie put her hand on his shoulder.

Charlie held his breath while Frankie searched his instep with a scalpel.

“Charlie, you can breathe now.”

“Aren’t you going to give me an anesthetic?”

“If you’re good, you get a lollipop.” Frankie looked at him. “I just did this for Sea Bernstein after he fell from the helicopter pad in East Hampton.”

“And I thought I had a pretentious practice!”

“Ready?”

“Ready.”

Frankie put on rubber gloves and removed the glass while Charlie watched her.

“Most of my patients turn away.”

“I’m around thirty years older than most of your patients.” Charlie clenched his fist like a child.

“Charlie, where’s Samantha?”

“I don’t know.”

“She was on television tonight with Spike Lee and Denzel Washington.”

“You are so lucky you didn’t come with Jil to that.”

“Jil didn’t invite me to that,” she said nonchalantly.

“Oh, well, you didn’t miss anything, except for Judy and Albert Tremont dressed up as Ike and Tina Turner.”

“Oh God.” Frankie laughed openly.

“What the hell time is it?”

“Around five a.m.,” she answered.

“I have to be at the hospital at six.” Charlie looked at her. “Do you mind if I take a little nap here? Maybe I could read the monster book again.”

“Won’t Samantha be worried about you?”

“Try to stop being such a good girl, Francesca!”

Charlie lay down on the examining table while Frankie stood in the corner.

“Sit down, Francesca. You’re making me nervous.”

Frankie sat back down on the stool.

“Sit up here.” Charlie waved to her. “I was just mugged in my neighborhood. I might have nightmares with you all the way over there.”

Frankie sat down on her examining table and Charlie put his head on her lap.

“There. That’s much better.” He snuggled into her.

Charlie began snoring immediately as Frankie sat looking at the everyday supplies in the room: rubber gloves, disposal, washcloths, and the drooping wire toy with wooden beads. It was then that Frankie realized she was falling in love with Charlie.

Charlie suddenly looked up at her. “Francesca, I left out the best part. My mugger was wearing a Harvard crew team sweatshirt.”

Frankie laughed. “Do you think he was a cox or a stroke?”

“That’s my girl.” Charlie looked at her and closed his eyes.

CHAPTER TWENTY

·CHAPTER TWENTY·

Samantha

At 4 a.m., the morning after her triumph in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Samantha flew with Barry on his private plane to his house in Nantucket. Samantha didn’t precisely say yes, but Barry would not take no for an answer.

On their way out to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, Samantha took off her shoes and lit a cigarette.