Laurel handed her a piece of paper. “Some reporter called. I think he said he wants to talk to you about… I don’t know… A baby, I think.”
Not surprising with her career choice, but reporters did not want to interview her. At least not unless there is a local one, who wants to talk her into doing a fundraiser. Or just desperate for an article to fill up the paper.
“Laurel, could you please do me a favor and call him back? Let him know I don’t have time for an interview right now. I have patients that need me.”
“You only have Mrs. Jones,” Laurel said, raising her brows.
“No need to tell him that. Please just call him and give him my message. I’m not in the mood for an interview today.” Krista was still tired from her trip to New York. Traveling was one thing, but public speaking added a whole new level of tension within her. Actually, the only time she felt like herself lately was when she’d delivered that baby on the side of the road. That was her comfort zone. Crazy as it might sound, she’d rather do that than go and speak in front of all those physicians again.
“Okay. I’ll call him and give him the message. I have a feeling he’s not going to take no for an answer,” Laurel said.
She looked at Laurel, puzzled. “And why do you think that?” she asked.
“Because I’ve been here for one hour and he’s already called six times,” Laurel sighed. “He’s almost as pushy as Mrs. Jones.”
Krista put her hand out and said, “Maybe I should call him myself.”
Laurel shrugged and handed her the paper. “I have a feeling you’re going to be meeting with him whether you like it or not.”
I hope you’re wrong.
When she got into her office, she closed the door and picked up the phone receiver. She punched in the numbers and waited while it rang.
“This is Darrell, how can I help you?”
“Hi, Darrell. This is Dr. Chinto. My receptionist said you’ve been trying to reach me. What did you want to talk about?” Krista did not want to waste either of their time, but she did want to know why he was calling.
“It’s about your visit to New York.”
“I was there attending a conference. Very cut and dried. Is there anything else?” she asked.
“I’m not calling about the conference. I’m talking about the baby. You know, the one you helped deliver. Do you have any comments?” Darrell asked.
More like a question. How the hell do you know about that?
So many things went running through her mind. Are the woman and the baby okay? Am I about to be sued? Also, how did they find me? No one there knew her. And she didn’t know any of them. There was only one thing to say, since she had no information whatsoever. “No comment.”
“Are you trying to tell me you did not deliver that baby?” Darrell asked.
“I’m telling you I have no comment. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have patients waiting. Have a good day.” Krista hung up the phone without waiting for Darrell to ask anything further. This was not something she was willing to discuss over the phone. She doubted Darrell would drop the matter after one phone call. She hoped he wouldn’t show up here in Montpelier and start asking a lot of questions. Maybe she’d been wrong that day. Maybe she should’ve gone along in the ambulance, spoken to the doctors, and put it all down for the record. But at the time, she felt she was leaving the woman and child in capable hands and all she wanted to do was go home.
As her day went on, she was surprised to find that Darrell did not call back. Could it really be that simple? Time will tell.