Hannah's List (Blossom Street #7)(49)

He sighed. "I know what a house call is."

"I figured you would." She sent him a bright smile. "So, do you make them?"

"No, I don't," he said.

"But would you?" she asked hopefully.

"No."

"Don't you think it would be better to see patients when they're relaxed and comfortable?"

"Depends."

"Wouldn't you be able to make a more accurate assessment?"

"Not always. There are tests I couldn't run at a patient's house."

"But you could order those, right?" she persisted.

"Is there a reason you're asking me all these questions? Does it have to do with the patient you want me to see?"

"Y-e-s." She drawled the word, but didn't elaborate. She needed to line up her arguments first.

"I don't make house calls so it's a moot point," he said with finality.

"But you could."

"No," he said. "For malpractice insurance reasons it's out of the question."

"Oh."

He closed his checkbook and returned it to the top drawer.

"But what if we bartered for it?" Macy asked.

"That's irrelevant. As I explained, because of my insurance restrictions, it's impossible, no matter how you paid for it."

She bit her lip and tried a different approach. "I have a friend I want you to meet."

"Why?"

"Because he's sick and refuses to see a doctor."

"How old is your friend?"

"Eighty-six."

Dr. Everett's eyebrows rose. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm a pediatrician. I treat children. I have no expertise in geriatrics."

"That's all right," Macy said half-humorously. "Harvey sometimes says he's going through his second childhood."

The physician didn't even crack a smile. "I apologize, but I can't see your friend on a professional basis."

"Could you just meet him?"

"Socially I can meet anyone."

Macy clapped her hands. "That's perfect. Then I'll stick to my original agreement. I'll paint the mural at the price I quoted the other day. Otherwise...it would have to be more."

Dr. Everett closed his eyes, then opened them again. "Ms. Roth, first, your business practices are questionable, to say the least. Second, I have no intention of meeting your friend."

"Okay, if you insist I'll pay you, but the mural will be fourteen hundred dollars instead. I was giving you a fifty percent discount for meeting Harvey."

He exhaled in what seemed to be complete confusion. "You have no idea what you're asking me to do."

He was probably right, but Macy was desperate. "Harvey is a wonderful old man and I don't think he realizes how sick he is. He doesn't have anyone in the world. Except me--and Sammy."

"Sammy's his son? But you said--"

"No, he's a stray dog I rescued. I found him in the street. He would've been killed if I hadn't gone after him. I share him with Harvey." She didn't understand why it was so important that he hear every detail, but she couldn't make herself stop talking. Macy was sure that once Michael got to know Harvey, he wouldn't be able to refuse.

"At first Harvey didn't want anything to do with Sammy, but he needs someone with him and I can't be there as much I'd like. Sammy's great and I can tell he belonged to someone, so I put up notices hoping to find his rightful owner, but the truth is, I was just as glad no one claimed him because Sammy's such a good companion for Harvey." This last part was said in one gigantic breath.

"Ms. Roth--"

"Please," she said, willing to beg if necessary. "Harvey's like a grandfather to me. I love that old man and want him to live for many years to come. He's a war hero, you know."

"Ah..."

"Please. I'll paint the mural for free if you'll come and meet Harvey. That's all I want--for you to meet him. You don't have to listen to his heart or take his blood pressure or anything else that would put you at risk with the big powerful insurance company."

He hesitated and Macy could see he was thinking about it.

"Harvey never married," she said, rushing ahead with more reasons for him to meet her neighbor. "He was in World War II and fought in the South Pacific. He once told me he got malaria and was sick for months and then he was captured by the Japanese and we both know those prison camps weren't like Camp Winnemucca where I went each summer as a kid."

"My grandfather was in the war, too," the doctor said quietly.

Again Macy could see that he was giving the matter serious consideration. Perhaps she'd misjudged him. She felt she was generally a good judge of character and wondered if she'd been too quick to find fault with Dr. Everett. "If this was your grandfather, wouldn't you want someone who cared about him to get a doctor to visit? Wouldn't you?"

Dr. Everett exhaled slowly. "Tell me what's going on with Harvey."

"That's just it," she cried. "I don't know! I think it must be his heart or it could be a recurrence of malaria. He has weak spells and sometimes faints, but he brushes off my concern."