Road Doc
Chapter 48
Three months later:
They didn’t exactly call it a party, simply a celebration of the tour resuming. Held in a huge
arcade, everyone was there. Theresa smiled at a small group of sound men as she walked
through the crowd. Everyone looked well rested and excited about the tour starting back up.
She saw Brian first, his arm wrapped tightly around his fiancee’s waist. They were an adorable
couple and Theresa couldn’t help but smile at the way his eyes sparkled and he seemed to just
glow when she was by his side.
A pair of strong arms enveloped her from behind before she could make her way over to Brian
and she turned around to see a grinning Nick behind her.
“Hey trouble” Theresa said, giving him a huge hug. “I’ve sure missed you. Been staying out of
trouble?”
Nick grinned and looked over at a very attractive young man who was standing by watching the
exchange.
“I’ll take that as a no.” Theresa said laughing.
Nick hugged her tightly again and whispered into her ear “Yeah, but I’m being safe.”
Theresa heard Beth’s voice before she actually saw her come running up towards her. The two
hugged for a long time, kind of sighing in relief that things were finally getting back to normal.
“Hey doc” a deep voice said behind them. Theresa pulled away from Beth to see Kevin
standing back, his hands in his pockets, a warm smile on his face.
“You look great, Kevin” Theresa said, smiling back.
“I feel great” he said honestly.
“And Beth, look at you. You look fabulous.” Theresa said, noticing how Beth seemed to be
beaming.
“Do I look different?” she asked, grinning.
“Well, a little more tanned but still just as pretty as ever” Theresa said.
“Do I look like an old married lady?” Beth asked, her smile widening.
“What?” Theresa gasped, grabbing Beth’s hand and finding a beautiful wedding set on her ring
finger. “Congratulations you two”
“I figured any woman who would stick with me through what I went through was worth keeping
around” Kevin said, wrapping his arms around Beth.
Theresa hugged them both, happy to see that their relationship had endured Kevin’s problems,
had obviously flourished since he’d gotten better.
“Hey, lemme get in on this love fest” a raspy voice boomed from behind them.
AJ squeezed his way between the three of them and wrapped his arms tightly around Theresa.
“I’m glad to finally get to do this. Thank you” he said quietly into her ear as he hugged her.
“You look great, AJ” Theresa said honestly. She’d been able to keep up with his progress
through Suzy, who, true to her word had stuck by his side through re-hab.
“Now tell me...are you excited about going back out on the road with us fuck ups?” AJ said,
laughing.
Theresa looked around, Nick, AJ and Kevin were still smiling.
“I’m not going back on the road with you guys” she said, smiling sadly. “I finally found a little
office in my home town and am going to have a small family practice. It’s what I’ve wanted to
do all my life.”
She looked beyond them and saw Howie standing alone, watching her. She felt her heart rise
into her throat.
“I think that sounds wonderful” Kevin said sincerely.
“I think that sounds pretty boring” Nick said and everyone laughed.
They all visited for awhile, Theresa excitedly sharing her plans with them. She talked to a few
crew members and several of the dancers, getting caught up on what everyone had done during
their unexpected time off. All the while she was talking, she kept catching glimpses of Howie,
always standing alone, always watching her.
The party was certain to continue well into the night, and with the first show back the next night,
everyone was enjoying the chance to relax before things got hectic again. Theresa said her
good-byes around 10 o’clock, as she had a red-eye flight back home. She hadn’t really
wanted to see the first show, as it would have made her miss being on the road with them even
more than she already did. Her short trip back for the party was just a follow up of sorts for
her, a chance to check up on some of the most memorable patients she had, or ever would have
in her long career.
epilogue