THE WRITER

Chapter 1

Reid sat behind his desk, trying to take stock of the three men sitting opposite him.  He was actually more interested in the young man sitting between Mark and Noah than either of the friends he already knew, hoping to ascertain his true motives for wanting to relocate to Oakdale from Chicago.  Something just didn’t sit right with the entire scenario.

“I understand the three of you wanted to see me.  Please enlighten me as to the purpose of this visit.”  Reid sat back in his chair but made no pretense of appearing to being relaxed and calm.  He had learned that ongoing eye contact was the best way to keep a possible adversary on his toes and could spot when he wasn’t being straight with him.

The three looked from one to the other before Noah broke the silence.  “Reid... Dr. Oliver-Snyder, we would like to introduce you to Dan Barton.  He’s the journalist who wrote the article in the medical journal a couple of months ago.  I’m sure you remember it well.”

“Undoubtedly.”  Although Reid knew the answer to the next question, he ventured on.  “Hmm, did he write the corrected follow up as well?”

Mark spoke up this time.  “No, Reid, he didn’t.  The journal chose not to use him as one of their writers anymore.”

Reid nodded.  “So you were fired for inaccurately representing Memorial Hospital.”  Reid paused briefly, then continued.  “I’d say I’m happy to meet you but that would be a lie, and I never lie.”

Dan bit his lip and finally spoke.  “I wanted to apologize in person and offer my amends for making such a foolish error in judgment with that article.”  Reid not only noted the air of confidence in the young man but also couldn’t avoid noticing his obvious good looks.  He had wavy dark hair, cut fashionably short, without being too short, was probably close to Noah’s height, and had clearly been working out regularly.

“How do you propose to make amends for your foolish choices?”  Reid made sure to accentuate the word Dan had used as it completely coincided with Reid’s view of the piece, although he could have added a couple of four letter descriptives as well.

“Noah has kindly offered me the opportunity, despite my earlier behavior, to work with him on an honest, up front, documentary about Memorial Hospital and its evolution over the past sixty years.  We plan to feature all the doctors and how they came to work here, as well as hold interviews with Dr. Robert Hughes, and several other long-term members of the staff who have retired.  In addition, we’ll have a complete segment of the film devoted to the Snyder Neurology Pavilion and how it came to be.”

“Noah, does this mean you now trust this hack to do his job correctly?”  Reid wasn’t about to mince words or take any risks with the hospital he had grown very fond of, as had his predecessor.

Leaning forward and placing a hand flatly on Reid’s desk, Noah spoke up for Dan.  “It means I think Dan Barton’s a good writer who had a skewed vision of what he thought I wanted to see, and how to impress me.”

Dan interjected.  “You, see, Dr. Oliver, I had a desire to impress Noah.  I admire him as he’s become a success in the media world without giving up his life to get there, as well as the way he handles himself as a confident man.  I let those childish feelings get in the way of quality journalism.”

Reid noticed Noah blush and Mark grip his chair so tightly his knuckles began to whiten.  “Young man, and I use the phrase man loosely as you are clearly quite young in all aspects of your life, first things first -- my name is Dr. Oliver-Snyder, don’t get it wrong in anything you ever produce using my name.  Second, if I consider this offer I would like to know who will be supervising your work, in addition to Noah as my trust in his supervision did come down a peg after the last fiasco, and where you will be staying so I can reach you.”

Mark smiled, his grip loosening a bit.  Reid knew how to put a kid in his place and it was clear Mark appreciated his friend’s way of handling this one.

“I’ll be supervising Dan, along with Katie.  Kim also plans to get involved as she remembers many years at the hospital as well as the evolution of Oakdale over the past forty years.”

“That sounds appropriate and acceptable.”  Reid glanced from Noah to Mark.  “And will Mr. Barton be living with the two of you?”

Dan sat up taller in his chair.  “Oh no, sir.” 

Reid hated the term sir.  It made him feel old and seeing this kid’s cocky edge, wondered if that was this idiot’s purpose.  “Then where will I be able to get in touch with you besides your cell number?”

“Noah put me in contact with this really nice old woman who has a lot of space in her home.  In exchange for helping her care for a rather large barn and several horses, she’s letting me rent a room.”

Knowing exactly who the kid was talking about, Reid pinched the bridge of his nose.  “You’re staying with Emma Snyder?”

“Yes.  I think she’s a relative of your partner.”

“Get the terms straight, kid, or your writing career will only suffer further.  She is my husband’s grandmother, and therefore my grandmother as well.  We absorbed each other’s families, and all that entails the day we two decided to spend our lives together.”  Dan slouched in his chair, bringing a small grin to Reid’s face.  “Do you understand, young man?  I don’t like people making glaring errors, especially where my husband, our family, or I am concerned.”

“I understand, sir.”  Dan looked directly at Reid and sat up once again.

“The name is Dr. Oliver-Snyder.  Please don’t get it wrong in the documentary or when you address me in the future.”

“So you’ll consider doing it?” 

Noah placed an arm on Dan’s shoulder, to apparently try to calm the kid’s renewed enthusiasm.

“I’ll discuss it with my husband.”  Reid sat back and folded his hands together.  “Why don’t we meet at Emma’s for dinner in a couple of days so I can take my time to ponder this decision thoughtfully?”  Reid looked at Mark.  “Do you think the two of you can join us, with your son of course?  I’d like Luke in on the details since he had such a big hand in developing the Neuro wing.”

Noah stood up and shook Reid’s hand.  “Thank you, Reid.  We’ll be there whenever you want.”  Noah took a moment to turn to Mark, who nodded his agreement.  “I’ll take Dan out and show him a little bit of the hospital.  Mark, can you meet up with us in about an hour for lunch at Al’s?”

“I’ll be there.”  Mark gave Noah a much more ardent good-bye kiss than was necessary or appropriate under the circumstances, but Reid read the message loud and clear -- this man is mine, hands off, Mr. Barton.

After Noah and Dan left the office, Mark took his seat again and faced Reid who had been watching everyone’s interaction silently as Noah and the writer parted.  “That was entertaining.”

“Reid, I don’t know what it is about that guy, but he rubs me the wrong way.  I don’t think he wants Noah anymore after seeing us together during the past couple of days, but something just doesn’t sit right.”  Mark looked directly at Reid.  “Am I seeing things that aren’t there due to jealousy, or am I right?”  Mark took a deep breath.  “I trust Noah completely and know he only has eyes for Sammy and me.  There’s just something that’s gnawing at me and I can’t put my finger on it.”

“Like you, my friend, I have similar feelings.  I don’t know what it is.  I can’t quite pinpoint it, but something’s bothering me about the new addition to Emma’s humble abode, although she’s very good at reading people and will watch him closely.  It wouldn’t hurt us to keep a close eye on him too.  I’m not sure what he really wants, but it seems like a big opportunity to move his career forward is not the only thing he’s after.”

Both men sat opposite each other quietly for over a minute until their pagers went off almost simultaneously and they headed back to work.

[TBC]

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