Chapter 24
Mentorship
Iwas picking up my mail when my phone dinged with a message.
Unkown:Have you given any thought to dinner?
Hector. Of course he still had my number. I’d never changed it.
Me:I haven’t decided yet.
Hector:Tell me nothing of what I said brought up more questions. Please let me complete the story.
Me:We’ll see.
He stopped messaging after that. When I got back to my apartment, I scanned through my mail and was surprised to find a hand-written personal letter. My pulse quickened when I saw the name on the upper left corner of the envelope: Andrea Carter.
With trembling hands, I tore open the letter and read, and then read it a second time:
Dear Carolina,
I’m sure you can guess the Andrea writing this letter is also the Andrea who was once married to Hector. I’ve taken my second husband’s last name. I wanted to explain the change.
I know it’s strange to receive a letter from me—I can hardly believe I’m writing it at this very moment, but I’m forcing myself to put this in the mailbox because while I may no longer be in love with Hector Medina, I will always cherish him as the father of our child. I still want his happiness.
Marisela has informed me that he is headed back to Kansas City and we can only assume he is trying to get you back. Please don’t be mad at Marisela. We only want Hector’s happiness, and she has convinced me you are the key.
Can you believe I am trying to wing-man my own ex-husband? I’ll have my head examined about it soon.
Hector and I check in on each other on tough dates. Jake’s birthday, holidays—that kind of thing. We remember our son together and keep the memory of him alive in our hearts. It’s also a time to make sure the other is doing well. The last few times I’ve spoken with Hector on the phone have left me worried about him. He isn’t happy, and now I know that unhappiness has everything to do with the distance and years he’s placed between the two of you.
I know seven years is a long time, and I so hope you haven’t moved on, because Hector hasn’t. If you love him even a fraction of the way he loves you, then please, give him a chance.
If you do end up together like I’m hoping, I promise to never meddle again. And I sincerely hope you’ll be okay with our check-ins with each other. Please trust they are all about Jake.
From a new friend,
Andrea Carter.
When one door closes,a window opens—somewhere. It may sound contrived and even useless in dire circumstances, but it is also true. I wasn’t lying to that university student at my lecture when I told her that there are great female mentors in the field of medicine, even if they are rare.Extremelyrare.
In my case, I had found a unicorn during Hector’s time away.
Dr. Monica Lopez joined Heartland Metro Hospital as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery a year after Hector’s departure. She was a female chief, which was rare, and Latina, which was even rarer. I had thanked the gods for sending me another mentor even if she was in another department.
Dr. Lopez understood many of the difficulties all women, and women of color especially, face when trying to enter any male-dominated field. She had been instrumental in helping me get back on track when everything had seemed lost.
She was also a no-bullshit kind of gal, so I knew she would have an unbiased opinion. I had always been grateful to her for also advising me on personal matters.
She agreed to chat between surgeries, but only if I brought food to her office, so I stole some of Dad’s leftover chicken mole and rice for lunch.
“Carolina.” Dr. Lopez greeted me from behind her desk as I entered her office. She wore light blue hospital scrubs and still had her scrub cap on. In her mid-fifties, Dr. Lopez was a stunning woman. She was short and curvy in all the right places. Her long, rectangular face was perfectly framed by thick, black curls when they weren’t pinned back under a scrub cap. I only hoped that I aged half as well as she had. “How was your book tour?” she asked.
“It was good—mostly.”
“Uh-oh. I know that look. What happened?”
“No, really, the book tour was great. All the talks went smoothly; I was able to manage my stage fright.”