Chapter Forty

Knocking on the door, Trapper didn’t wait for an answer before tried the knob. “Leah?” he called, sticking his head in the door. When he heard her voice call from the bedroom, he walked to the cracked bedroom door. “Are you decent?”

“Yes. Come on in.” She turned to see him enter with his tuxedo on a hanger in one hand and his dress shoes and toiletry bag in the other. “Are you moving in, Dr. McIntyre?” she asked with an amused smile.

“No. I just thought it would give us more time if we need it if we didn’t have to go to two different places to dress for the symphony.”

“Good idea. Closet’s through there,” she said, pointing at a door.

He disappeared through the door for only a minute and returned. “Do you have any idea what kind of car you want?”

“No,” she snickered, pulling her hair back in a ponytail and looking in the mirror one last time. When she turned, his arms wrapped around her.

“Then I suggest we go to a used car lot,” he said, just before he kissed her.

“Hm. Hm,” she giggled. “But I don’t want a used car.”

Turning her toward the front door with his arm around her, he replied, “Yes, but a used car lot usually has a big selection of different makes, models and manufacturers, so you can get an idea of what you want, and then we can look at new cars.”

She dropped her car keys in his hand when they walked out the door. “What’s this for?”

“We can take my car, so I can trade it in when I find something.”

“Oh no. You’ll never get what that car is worth as a trade in. You need to do a private party sale.”

“How do I do that?”

“You list it in the classifieds,” he answered, opening her car door for her, and holding her hand as she stepped in.

***

While Leah dressed in her bedroom, Trapper got into his tuxedo in the living area. Even so, the bedroom door was open so they could hear each other. “I don’t see why I couldn’t go ahead and buy it,” she said loudly so he could hear her.

He laughed as he struggled with his tie. “I just thought you needed to think about it. It was quite a departure from what you’re used to.”

“Dr. McIntyre, what you think I’m used to isn’t my car. I’m really not particularly comfortable in it. It attracts too much attention,” she said, lowering her voice as she walked into the living area. “I don’t care for all the young kids trying to get me to race at traffic lights either.” Trapper didn’t say anything. He simply gazed at her reflection in the mirror over the small entry table. “Are you having trouble with your tie?” she said, stepping against his arm and moving her hand across his back. “Turn around. Let me help.”

“Midnight blue is your color. You look stunning.” His compliment came with an admiring look.

“Hush. Hold your chin up. It’s been awhile since I’ve done this,” she said, working on his bow tie. “And you look quite debonair yourself,” she added with a demure smile.

Trapper wore a double-breasted black tuxedo with a matching vest and white shirt with cufflinks. She wore a silk-lined lace tank-style top with a slender shawl skirt lined in silk charmeuse and a Venice lace border hanging down to her silver cross-strapped heels that complimented the silver embroidery on the skirt. Along with her diamond and sapphire jewelry, the blue of her dress made the blue of her eyes quite prominent. To top it all off, her hair was swept up on her head and fashioned with small, dangling pin curls.

Draping her black silk shawl over her shoulders, he held his arm out to her. “Shall we go? The limo is waiting.”

She grabbed her clutch off the small entry table, and took his arm. “Limo?”

“Yes, my dear. This kind of luxury requires a luxury automobile.”

She chuckled. “I can see why you questioned a Jeep CJ. I suppose we’d look rather odd in it tonight, wouldn’t we?”

Their driver stood at the ready and opened the car door, closing it behind the couple once they were settled in the back seat. When they arrived at the hall, the driver let them out right in front, and as they entered, Trapper guided her into a room where couples dressed as elegantly as they were milling about, greeting their friends and acquaintances and sipping champagne.

Trapper introduced Leah to several of his fellow physicians and their wives, and while he talked shop, the wives coaxed her to the other side of the room where they talked about life married to a hospital doctor, especially a surgeon. Leah listened and smiled politely, remembering the way it often was with John. “Leah, Trapper said you work at the hospital. What do you do there?”

“Well, I don’t really work for the hospital. My company is installing their new computer system, and I lead the team that’s doing that.”

“So you probably have no idea what being married to a Chief of Surgery is like. I remember John’s wife, Melanie. That’s why they ended up divorced. She just couldn’t deal with his erratic schedule interfering with everything.”

“Yes, I’ve met Mrs. McIntyre. She’s seems happy.”

“Well, just be prepared. It’s an adjustment.”

“I’m not so sure it’s that bad. I get calls at all hours to troubleshoot problems with the system, so Dr. McIntyre and I might actually see more of each other at the hospital. Besides that, there’s really nothing to be prepared for.”

“Don’t tell him that. He seems quite taken with you.”

Flashing a quick smile, Leah excused herself and went back to Trapper, who pulled her next to him as he continued his conversation about the possibility of computer-assisted surgeries. “Everyone, this is Leah Haverty, a computer engineer. What do you think about this talk of robotic surgery?”

She cocked her head, and glared at him for bringing her into a medical conversation with no warning. Luckily, she kept up with all the advancements in computer technology. “I will tell you that several prototypes are being tested and refined now, but they’re still several years away from introduction into hospitals. Once they are, you can bet that surgeries using robotics will be much more precise and less error prone. If you think about it, it makes sense. Basic instructions for many types of surgery can be pre-established with the surgeon inputting precise instructions for his specific patient. A robotic arm will carry out those instructions with exact precision where a human hand might waver, shake or otherwise be less controlled. It’s just a matter of time, gentlemen, when robotics will be a part of a surgeon’s daily life. In fact, at some point in the future, you might actually be doing surgeries remotely.”

They all laughed. “You are joking, aren’t you?”

Smiling confidently, she answered, “No. I’m not. Once I get the new system installed at San Francisco Memorial, it will already be time for an upgrade. Computer technology is advancing so quickly, that by the time you decide on computer equipment and carry it out the seller’s door, it’s already being replaced with the latest, greatest thing. What you just bought is obsolete in a matter of weeks, even days. I have some wiring harnesses that were new technology only a few months ago. I can’t get them anymore. I have to upgrade to new ones.”

“Trapper, where did you meet this young lady?”

“Leah and I met over a disputed computer…” He arched an eyebrow, and glanced down at her. “…on my desk. The computer is still there, and it’s proven itself useful if we can just get used to new procedures. It forces us to follow government regulations and those rules that allow us to maintain our accreditation.”

“Yes, well, I don’t see how well that’s going to work when we put people in that kind of position who know nothing of medical, much less surgical procedures.”

Leah bit. “You’d be surprised what I know,” she said with a stony gaze.

“Oliver, Leah knows more about the procedure codes from the regulatory and insurance standpoint than either one of us. And she probably knows a lot more about the procedures themselves than you think.”

Still giving Oliver a hard look, she said, “Yes. I do. My last name is actually Lewis. My husband was a recognized orthopedic surgeon in the LA area.”

“John Lewis?” asked Oliver.

“Yes. John Lewis. Trapper, is it time to go in?”

Nodding, Trapper bowed his head slightly. “Doctors, if you’ll excuse us, we don’t want to miss a single note tonight.” He had gotten tickets in the center of the new Symphony Hall at the same level as the stage, so going in a few minutes early would prevent them from having to step in front of people already in their seats.

After they were seated, Leah leaned against Trapper, so she could speak quietly. “I apologize.”

“For what?” he asked with furrowed brows.

“I was a bit short with Oliver. I hope I didn’t embarrass you in front of your friends.”

Trapper’s mouth opened slightly as she shook his head. “Oliver is one of those doctors who doesn’t even appreciate women in surgery. Strong women upset him,” he said, chuckling. “But then, you’re used to that, aren’t you? As I understand it, there aren’t many women in your industry in your position.”

She twisted her mouth. “Mark told you that, didn’t he?”

“Mm hm.”

Straightening in her chair, she asked, “So besides the orchestra, who are we seeing tonight?”

“Luciano Pavarotti,” he answered with a wide grin.

An instant broad smile appeared on her face just as the lights began to dim. “I love Pavarotti,” she said, perhaps a little too loudly as quiet chuckles sounded all around them. Barely in control of her excitement, she reached for Trapper’s hand, entwining her fingers in his and eliciting another big smile from him.