ALISON
"Dr. Wakely, I didn't know you'd be back today! How was your trip?" Gina, my office's assistant manager, appeared in my doorway holding a steaming cup of coffee and a pile of paperwork.
"It was fine." I pasted on a smile that I hoped didn't look as phony as it felt.
"Bet it was nice to be in California," Gina went on. "I've never been further west than Tennessee. Did you see any movie stars?"
I shook my head. "Wrong part of the state. I mean, there might be a couple up in the Bay Area, but none who I saw. Besides, I spent most of the time either in the hotel or at the nursing home where my . . . relative lives."
"Oh." Her face fell into sympathetic lines. "Yeah, that's right, I think someone told me that you were flying out there to see your family. I didn't realize that's w
