He sighed, knowing that there was really only one answer here. "What time should I come get her?"
She gave him the details before ending the call to dash home to get Ella's things together. Henry didn't mind having his niece hang out with him and had actually enjoyed the time she'd slept over before-again, because Morgan was away somewhere for work. He'd even played a game of Candyland for the first time in his life.
He pressed his assistant's extension. "Marion? You're going to have to reschedule my four thirty meeting." He considered the current contents of his refrigerator, which, according to his memory, consisted of hummus, brie, caviar, and maybe a bag of carrots. He should probably head out early, get some kid-friendly options. Including Skittles, which Ella had thought the greatest junk food ever when he'd bought some last time, even if they had to keep it their little secret since his sister was trying to raise a sugar-free kid, or some such nonsense. "I'm actually going to cut out of here in another hour. If there are any emergencies, send them to my cell phone, otherwise I'll handle it tomorrow."
"No problem. And don't forget, you and Becks have that meeting with AirPro Athletics first thing in the morning."
As if he could forget. The clients who needed to believe that Henry was merely misrepresented in the media. That he was a man of strong moral fiber and responsibility. A man who understood their vision.
Hell, selling things was his expertise. He could sell this.
He could sell anything.
He had to be the worst uncle in the history of the world. Henry couldn't imagine what his sister was going to say when he talked to her later tonight. The only reason she didn't know where they were now was because she'd written the name of Ella's pediatrician and his phone number on the long list of contacts she'd left for him. Thank God Dr. Barnett's office had an after-hours clinic versus taking Ella to the ER.
A Skittle up the nose? Now he was really busted.
Ella didn't seem to be all that affected by the fact her nose was bulging on the left side thanks to the offending piece of candy, or by the more strenuous breathing sounds she made with the reduced air capacity.
It scared the crap out of Henry, though.
Where was the damned doctor? He looked at his phone. Twenty minutes past their appointment. There was a scuffling sound outside the room, like someone was flipping through pages, then the door opened.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Sorensen and I'll be-" But whatever words were going to follow stopped as the good doctor looked up.
The madwoman who strode into his place like Godzilla the other night was standing in the doorway. No slippers, at least. Her hair was combed and pulled back into an uninspiring ponytail this time. Her clothing wasn't much of an improvement from the pj's either. She wore light green scrubs that successfully hid any curves from the discerning eye, hideous white sneakers, and the usual white lab coat, probably thrown on to convince her patients she really was a bona fide doctor. From what he could tell, her face was devoid of any makeup, not even a hint of colored ChapStick on those full lips.
Was she allergic to wanting to look pretty?
Her overall packaging was completely unflattering-something he couldn't understand as a man whose whole career was putting forth the best package that consumers would clamor to get. Entirely unflattering except for those dark-fringed, spectacular blue eyes that had widened in horror as she recognized him.
He grinned. "Dr. Sorensen."
She looked from his niece, spinning around on the doctor's stool, back to him, clearly confused. Then she seemed to snap out of her shock and came in, shutting the door behind her. "I didn't realize you were a father."
"Uncle. This is Ella, my niece, who's staying with me for a few days."
She bent down to peer into Ella's face. "Hi, Ella. I'm Dr. Sorensen. Let's have you sit up here so I can have a better look. Okay?"
Henry stood and without being asked, lifted Ella to the exam table. The woman didn't appear to see him, her attention now on her patient. "You know you're supposed to eat the candy, right?" she teased.
This earned a giggle from Ella. "I just wanted to see if it would fit."
"I can see that." She turned to look at Henry, with clear judgment in her eyes. "And you approved?"
He raised his hands as if helpless. "I was getting us root beer floats in the kitchen."
Her right brow shot up-in question, he was sure, at his diabetes-inspired diet-before turning back to her charge. "Well, I'm going to try a few different things to see if we can get that thing out of there. Okay?"
A few minutes later, however, the Skittle remained.
"Okay, Ella, I'm going to go get a couple of things that might help to get that out. I'll be right back."
When Benny returned with a small pair of tweezers and alarmingly large forceps, Ella turned to him in terror.
"I know they look scary and they may be a little uncomfortable, but I promise you're going to be okay," she said in assurance. "And I know with certainty I have a root beer-flavored Popsicle for you when we're all finished."
Ella shook her head, panicked. "I want my-my mom," she stuttered.
"Ella, honey, it's going to be okay." He grabbed the little girl's hand in his own and nodded as he met her eyes, now filled with tears. It was like a kick in the stomach to see her so distressed.
It took about thirty seconds to pull out the offending candy, but every second that he saw the fear on his niece's face felt like an hour. Was this what it was like? Having a kid? Being responsible for every little scratch and cut? It was terrifying.
Benny held the purple Skittle up to Ella for a moment. "We got it. Great job." She walked to the garbage and dropped it inside. "I'm just going to do a quick check inside your nose again to make sure I have everything, Ella." She pulled a scope-looking thing from the wall and peered in both of Ella's nostrils and her ears. "Looks good. She might be sensitive for a few hours. If there seems to be excessive runniness or she complains of pain, give us a call. Otherwise, she should be fine." She turned her attention back to Ella. "Now you've got to promise me that you're not going to stick anything else up your nose, okay? That goes for the ears, too."
"Promise," Ella said with a burst of enthusiasm. "Can I have that Popsicle now?"
"I'll be back in a minute." Benny opened the door and headed down the hall.
"Are we going to tell mom about the Skittle?"
Henry looked at his niece, considering only briefly the possibility of keeping this a secret. "I'm afraid so." In good time, anyhow.
Footsteps were returning, but before they reached the door, there was a startled yelp followed by a thud. In a few steps, he was at the door, looking out at what caused the commotion.
Benny Sorensen was sitting on the floor, still grasping the Popsicle in her hand. A guy in a white lab coat was trying to help her up. It was hard to miss the stain covering her front-coffee, if the mug tipped over on the floor next to her was any indication.
"Dr. Sorensen, are you okay?" the guy was asking her.
She nodded, barely giving him a glance. "Y-yes. Fine thanks."
"You were walking so fast around that corner I didn't have time to get out of the way," the guy said apologetically before chuckling as he looked down at her. "You're going to need to keep a few extra coats in the office if we keep running into each other."
Benny Sorensen was actually blushing? This was intriguing, and Henry leaned against the doorframe to watch the scene unfold.
Benny, however, didn't appear to realize she had an audience, her gaze on the guy's coat, which looked like it had suffered a little from the spill, too. "Oh, your jacket. I'm sorry." She reached out like she was going to blot it with her fingers but realized, hand in midair, what she was about to do and froze.
"It's fine. I'm done here tonight anyway. You have more patients?"
"Dr. Seeley?" interrupted the nasally voiced nurse who'd seen Henry and Ella when they first arrived. She'd come out of nowhere, and her brown eyes quickly assessed the situation, but she made no comment.
The doctor who'd taken out Benny Sorensen with his mug of coffee nodded at the nurse and waited for whatever message she had for him.
"Your friend is here. Should I send her back to your office?" There was a hint of disapproval in the nurse's tone.
"Sure, Roz. Thanks." Roz's face didn't show any reaction as she turned and headed back to the reception area. "Glad you're okay," Dr. Seeley said, returning his attention to Benny Sorensen. "I'll catch you tomorrow."
She just nodded, tongue-tied still, and Henry might have laughed if it wasn't all so tragic.
The guy smiled indulgently-if Benny had been a dog he might have even patted her head. "Okay, good night then."
Dr. Seeley went down the hall and stopped at a closed door at the end and opened it, flipping on a light.
"Luke!"
Dr. Seeley turned his head just as a tall woman with wavy blond hair and dressed in a slinky black dress reached him. She put her arms over his shoulder and practically sucked the guys face off with the determination of a Hoover vacuum.
Hot. She was definitely hot. Henry wouldn't mind if she sucked on his face a little bit, either.
Benny was still as a statue, the Popsicle gripped tightly in her hand as she watched the embrace, her own reaction momentarily unguarded. She looked devastated.