“Just drive,” he grumbled. “The sooner we get there, the sooner I can realign my spine.”
“Okay, but don’t blame me when you have to see the chiropractor,” I teased.
“My brother is a doctor,” he shot back. “He can fix me.”
“Not my specialty.” I snapped my seat belt into place. “I won’t be much of a doctor this year, anyway. I’m doing research.”
“Research as a doctor,” Flynn persisted. “You graduatedmedical school, Aiden. You’re officially Dr. Donovan. Don’t sell yourself short.”
I turned my key in the ignition, and my engine revved to life with a cough and splutter.
Flynn frowned. “When’s the last time you had this thing serviced?”
“Uh…”
“Never mind. I’ll fix your car when we get to town.”
“Pretty handy having a mechanic in the family.”
“Almost as handy as having adoctorin the family.”
I smiled as I reversed out of the driveway. He wasn’t going to let it go. “Okay, Flynn. I get it. I’m still a doctor.”
“You sure as hell are. I’m so proud of you.”
“I’m looking forward to getting the experience I need to get a good residency,” I said. “I just wished I’d worked harder this year.”
“Aiden, all you do is work,” Flynn said. “I’ve never met anyone half as dedicated as you are.”
I navigated through town until I reached the on-ramp, then concentrated on merging into my lane.
Flynn meant well, but he didn’t understand. It wasn’t enough to work hard. I had to work harder than anyone else. Be smarter and more talented.
It was an unspoken rule that legacy kids had an advantage when pursuing the most prestigious residencies, and after them, the wealthiest graduates did. People like me, those who came from more humble beginnings, had far more to prove.
But I could still get where I wanted to go. It wasn’t too late. I just had to take a bit of a detour.
“I will get to spend the year working with an incredible cardiothoracic surgeon,” I acknowledged. “Did you know Dr. Rose used to work for Johns Hopkins?”
“No, I didn’t. That’s amazing.”
“It is,” I said, feeling a flicker of excitement. “She has done phenomenal things. They named a procedure after her—the Rose graft, for her advancements in aortal valve reconstruction.”
“That’s the specialty you want to go into, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “Yeah, working with Dr. Rose should give me an edge I didn’t have. If she wrote me a recommendation after this year? That could be as good as guaranteeing me any residency I want.”
“Wow,” Flynn said. “How did she end up in Riverton?”
“From what she told me in my interviews, she was raised in the Midwest, and she wanted to be closer to her grandkids. This is her retirement gig. Amazing doctors don’t usually land in Riverton.”
“Well, I guess they’re lucky to have you then.”
The jury was out on that, but Iwaslucky to work with Dr. Rose. I could learn a lot from observing her. My job was to do meaningful research that could be published, which would bring me and Elkhorn County Regional Hospital some much-needed esteem. Smaller hospitals didn’t have enough staff to dedicate time to research, so it was a win-win. But I planned to learn everything I could from Dr. Rose, too.
Flynn’s phone rang. He checked the screen and gave me a sheepish look. “It’s Bailey. Do you mind?”
“Nope. Talk to your guy. I’m good.”