“You’re right. It was entirely different. Women traveled for days sometimes to come to my clinic. Some of them from the more remote regions would camp out in the jungle near their due dates to be sure to have access to my clinic so their babies could be born safely. My midwife would take a week every month and hit the remote villages, teaching and delivering vitamins. And here I have Ms. Ibsen demanding an induction three weeks before her due date so she can go to Milan in time for a fashion show. Are you kidding me?”

“Cynthia, dear, you cannot compare a supermodel to an African villager. It’s not fair to either one of them.”

“I know.” She put her head back and looked up at the ceiling. “I just don’t think I can work here right now. I probably needed a longer reintegration time.”

Aunt Kate stood up, walked around her desk, and sat in the chair next to Cynthia. She reached out and took her hand. “You need to stop for a while. The last nine months have been extremes, and you’ve never once given yourself time to grieve the loss of your relationship, understand the immense differences in culture, and process what happened to you the last few days you were there. It’s a lot to take in. Maybe you jumped in with both feet too soon.”

Cynthia chewed on her bottom lip. “Maybe I’ve just seen too much now to be this kind of doctor. Maybe I need to be where I’m needed and worth something.”

“You are worth something to these patients too. They’re just unable to recognize it.”

As she got to her feet, she said, “I love you, Aunt Kate. Go ahead and hire a permanent replacement for me. I’m sorry to disrupt the staff this way.”

“No reason to be sorry, child. Go take some time to yourself. Mourn, pray, heal. Then look at everything and decide what you want to do next.” She stood and pulled Cynthia into her arms. “It won’t be working here, I know that, so expect a negative answer if you come asking.”

Cynthia chuckled. “That was the nicest firing ever.”

“You quit first. Don’t forget. Besides, Doctor Ennis just called, checking to see if I could add him to a regular rotation. He’ll be thrilled.” She cupped Cynthia’s cheeks. “Go on, then. Tell your mom I’ll see her tomorrow.”

DJIBOUTI

From the back of the briefing room, Rick watched the sergeant major and colonel go over the details of a mission for a more select team. Because his team had been back in Djibouti for only a few weeks, they would provide support for a fresher team from here on base rather than in the field. Rick wasn’t going to complain. The battle rhythm of combat operations was intensely stressful. His team needed a less demanding operational tempo.