Private Practices Read Online Free PDF Page B

water on too strong.”
    â€œShe’s careless in the kitchen,” Sidney said. “Too cocky.”
    After Mulenberg called his driver and left, Claudia finally told Ben her news. “I’m pregnant,” she said quietly, while Sidney busied himself pouring a cognac. “We wanted you to be the first to know.”
    Ben glanced at Claudia with guarded eyes and couldn’t, at first, trust himself to speak. Jealousy welled up in him like an acid, spreading from his stomach to the back of his throat. He envied not only Claudia and Sidney their child, but the unborn child its parentage. But he was psychologically sophisticated, and used to his despairing jealousies whenever other people’s lives seemed richer than his own. “I’m glad,” he finally managed to say to them. “How wonderful. How terrific for you.”
    Once the words were out of his mouth, he was even able to give Claudia a hug and to act, if not feel, as if he were indeed pleased for her and Sidney. Acts were what counted, he reminded himself. Everyone had angry, infantile thoughts, and such thoughts were harmless as long as they were never accompanied by harmful acts or words.
    â€œYou needn’t feel left out,” Claudia rewarded his congratulations by saying. “We’d like you to be the doctor. That is, if you’ll take the case.”
    Ben let go of her and stepped back, amazed. He had thought Sidney, with his penchant for excellence, would have chosen someone far more distinguished than himself. Martin Stearns, perhaps, or even their department chief, Thomas Alithorn. “Surely Stearns would be a better choice,” he began, pleased at being offered a role in the birth of his nephew or niece, but puzzled by it nevertheless. “Or Alithorn. Can’t you get him, Sid? He still takes some maternity cases, doesn’t he?”
    Sidney said emphatically, “Cut it out. You’re the man we want.” Then he added teasingly, “Besides, your flaws I know. Better the known than the unknown.”
    Ben grimaced. He wanted to be sure they really wanted him. “What about you, Claudia?” he asked. “How do you feel about having me as the doctor?”
    â€œShe feels fine about it,” Sidney said gruffly. “Now forget it. It’s settled.” He stood up, swallowing the last of his cognac, and went to the teak bar in the corner of the room to pour himself another. “The truth is,” he added, his back turned, “I like the idea of keeping it in the family.”
    Claudia pursed her lips, started to say something, and then thought better of it. “You want a brandy?” Sidney asked, turning and gesticulating with the bottle. Both Ben and Claudia shook their heads and Sidney sat back down on the couch, the bottle still in one hand, his brandy snifter in the other. “Come,” Claudia said, suddenly taking Ben’s arm. “I want to show you something. A present I got.”
    She held him and began leading him rapidly through the dining room and the kitchen, heading for the unused maid’s room in the back of the apartment. “Don’t mind Sidney,” she said as they passed through the darkened corridor. “He’s had a lot to drink tonight. It makes him jumpy.”
    He felt grateful for her concern and remembered that at the time Sidney had married her he had also gone through a turbulent period, replete with fears of loss and abandonment. But his fears had proved foolish. If anything Claudia, with her meticulous manners, had brought him and Sidney into even greater contact than they had had before the wedding, had ritualized their meetings by organizing a wealth of family dinners and celebrations.
    It made him feel better about the baby. He would bring it into the world and would share in its world. All would be as it had been before. Reassured, he said to Claudia, “Thanks. Thanks for worrying about me.”