Caldwell went to Beaton's office and stuck his head through the door. "I'm sorry for not having followed up on that situation," he said. "But it will be rectified within the hour. I promise."

Beaton nodded and went back to her work.

5

David had set the alarm for five forty-five as if it were a normal workday. By six-fifteen he was on his way to the hospital. The temperature had already climbed into the low seventies and the skies were clear. Before nine he was finished with his rounds and on his way home.

"Okay, you guys," he called as he entered the apartment. "I don't want to spend this whole day waiting. Let's get this show on the road."

Nikki appeared in her doorway. "That's not fair, Daddy. We've been waiting for you."

"Just kidding," David said with a laugh as he gave Nikki a playful tickle.

Soon they were off. Before long, urban sprawl gave way to tree-dotted suburbia followed by long stretches of forest. The farther north they went, the prettier the surroundings became, especially now that leaves were on the trees.

When they reached Bartlet, David slowed to a crawl. Like eager tourists they drank in the sights.

"This is even more picturesque than I remembered," Angela said.

"There's that same puppy!" Nikki cried. She pointed across the street. "Can we stop?"

David pulled into an empty diagonal parking slot. "You're right," he said. "I recognize the lady."

"I recognize the dog," Nikki said. She opened the car door and got out.

"Just a second," Angela called. She jumped out of the car and took Nikki's hand to cross the street. David followed.

"Hello again," the woman said when Nikki approached. The puppy caught sight of Nikki and strained at its leash. As Nikki bent down, the dog licked her face. Nikki laughed with surprise.

"I don't know if you'd be interested, but Mr. Staley's retriever just had puppies a few weeks ago," the woman said. "They're right over in the hardware store across the street."

"Can we go see them?" Nikki pleaded.

"Why not," David said. He thanked the woman.

Recrossing the street the Wilsons entered the hardware store. Near the front in a makeshift playpen was Mr. Staley's dog, Molly, suckling five floppy puppies.

"They're adorable," Nikki cried. "Can I pet them?"

"I don't know," David said. He turned to look for a store attendant and practically bumped into Mr. Staley, who was standing directly behind them.

"Sure, she can pet them," Mr. Staley said after introducing himself. "In fact, they're for sale. No way I need six golden retrievers."

Nikki collapsed on her knees and, reaching into the pen, gently stroked one of the puppies. He responded by attaching himself to Nikki's finger as if it were a teat. Nikki squealed with delight.

"Pick him up if you like," Mr. Staley said. "He's the brute of the litter."

Nikki scooped the puppy up in her arms. The tiny dog snuggled against her cheek and licked her nose.

"I love him," Nikki said. "I wish we could get him. Can we? I'll take care of him."

David felt an unexpected surge of tears that he had to forcibly suppress. He took his eyes off Nikki and looked at Angela. Angela dabbed a tissue into the corners of her eyes and glanced up at her husband. Their eyes met in a moment of complete understanding. Nikki's modest request affected them even more than it had on their first visit to Bartlet. Considering all that she'd been through with her cystic fibrosis, it wasn't much to ask for.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" David asked.

"I think so," Angela said. Her tears gave way to a smile. "It would mean we could buy a house."

"Goodbye, crime and pollution," he said. He looked down at Nikki. "Okay," he said. "You can have the dog. We're moving to Bartlet!"

Nikki's face lit up. She hugged the puppy to her chest as it licked her face.

David turned to Mr. Staley and settled on a price.

"I figure they will be ready to leave the mother in four weeks or so," Mr. Staley said.

"That will be perfect," David said. "We'll be coming up here at the end of the month."

With some difficulty, Nikki was separated from her puppy, and the Wilsons went back outside.

"What will we do now?" Angela asked with excitement.

"Let's celebrate," David said. "Let's have lunch at the inn."

A few minutes later they were sitting at a cloth-covered table with a view of the river. David and Angela each ordered a glass of white wine. Nikki had a cranberry juice. They touched their glasses.

"I'd like to toast our arrival in the Garden of Eden," David said.

"And I'd like to toast the beginning of paying back our debt," Angela said.

"Hear, hear!" David said, and they drank.

"Can you believe it?" Angela asked. "Our combined income will be over one hundred and twenty thousand dollars."

David sang a few bars of the song "We're in the Money."

"I think I'll call my dog Rusty," Nikki said.

"That's a wonderful name," David said.

"What do you think about me earning twice what you do?" Angela teased.

David had known the barb would come at some point so he was prepared. "You'll be earning it in your dark, dreary lab," he teased back. "At least I'll be seeing real, live, appreciative people."

"Won't it challenge your delicate masculinity?" Angela continued.

"Not in the slightest," David said. "Also it's nice to know that if we ever get divorced I'll get alimony."

Angela lunged across the table to give David a poke in the ribs.

David parried Angela's playful gesture. "Besides," he said, "that kind of differential won't last much longer. It's a legacy of a past era. Pathologists, like surgeons and other overpaid specialists, will soon be brought down to earth."

"Says who?" Angela demanded.

"Says me," David said.

After lunch, they decided to go straight to the hospital to let Caldwell know their decision. Once they presented themselves to his secretary, they were ushered in right away.

"That's fantastic!" Caldwell said when they informed him of their decision. "Does CMV know yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," David said.

"Come on," Caldwell said. "Let's go give them the good news."

Charles Kelley was equally pleased with the news. After a congratulatory handshake he asked David when he thought he'd be ready to start seeing patients.

"Just about immediately," David said without hesitation. "July first."

"Your residency isn't over until the thirtieth," Kelley said. "Don't you want some time to get settled?"

"With our debt," David said, "the sooner we start working the better we'll feel."

"Same for you?" Caldwell asked Angela.

"Absolutely," Angela answered.

David asked if they could go back to the office he'd be assigned. Kelley was happy to oblige.

David paused outside the waiting room door, fantasizing how his name would look in the empty slot under Dr. Randall Portland's name. It had been a long, hard road, starting from the moment in the eighth grade when he'd decided to become a doctor, but he'd finally made it.

David opened the door and stepped over the threshold. His reverie was broken when a figure dressed in surgical scrubs leaped off the waiting room couch.

"What is the meaning of this?" the man angrily demanded.

It took David a moment to recognize Dr. Portland. It was partly due to the unexpectedness of the encounter, but it was also because Dr. Portland had changed in the month since David had last seen him. He'd lost considerable weight; his eyes seemed sunken, even haunted, and his cheeks were gaunt.

Kelley pushed his way to the front of the group, reintroduced David and Randall, and then explained to Randall why they were there. Dr. Portland's anger waned. Like a balloon losing its air, he collapsed back onto the couch. David noticed that not only had Randall lost weight but he was pale.