Love Has No Labels (BWWM) ✔

Chapter 20: Dr. Phillips

April 1997

Angie sighed as she scanned the pages of one of her many textbooks in a last minute attempt to study for step two of her huge test tomorrow morning, in which will determine whether or not Angie will receive her Doctorate in Medicine, and then move on to her residency, in which she is looking forward to. She ran her fingers through her newly straightened long hair, as she scrutinized her notes she had taken during her time in Medical School. She felt that she needed to get this degree not just for herself, but for her family, as well as for her late father, who along with many others, overcame racial barriers to become a doctor. She was doing this for Austin, who loved and supported her along the way, and her three young children, so they could look up to her.

It was quiet in her house in Queens as the children were sleeping, much to Angie's reverie, and Austin was watching a little TV before bed. Angie and Austin bought their new family home in Jamaica (not the island country) after having their twins Cassandra and Charles. Things were getting crowded in their old apartment in Manhattan, and after ten years of living in that apartment, Angie moved into her new home and she loved it. She loved the space adjacent to the dining room, in which she used as a study area, so she could get her work done, and she was taking full advantage of it right now, studying for her exam.

The nerve-wracking part of this exam she was taking was how the duration of the test was super long; she felt that her brain would be fried when the day was through. Angie was finishing the last few highlighted pages of her notes before she heard her husband of almost thirteen and a half years call to her,

"Babe, come to bed."

"Oh, I'll be right up in a second, Austin," Angie replied, not looking up from her notes.

"You said that to me half an hour ago," Austin deadpanned. "Now, I'm not moving from this spot until you close those books and come upstairs."

"This test's tomorrow morning, and I need to be prepared," Angie protested, looking up at Austin. "You know that, baby."

"And you are prepared enough," Austin reassured, walking over to Angie, crouching in front of her and taking her hands in his.

"How do you possibly know that?" Angie asked, with a sigh. "I'm sitting down for an eight-hour exam! What if I forget something?" she continued, flipping through pages.

"Angela," Austin started sternly, taking hold of Angie's hand flipping pages. "That's why you need a good night's sleep for you to be at your full potential."

Angie sighed at the fact that Austin was right about that. She hung her head down.

"Baby, look at me," Austin said lowly.

Angie lifted her head up to look into Austin's sincere brown eyes. She almost smiled at the fact that Austin was always so nice to look at. For a 35-year-old, closing in on 40, he didn't look a day over nineteen.

"You are one of the smartest ladies I've ever known," Austin reassured, his thumbs brushing against the backs of her hands. "You have enough knowledge to pass this test and enough competence to be a fine doctor in whatever specialty you choose. I mean, you passed step one, and you're gonna pass step two."

"What knowledge?" Angie replied sadly. "For several years, I've been second banana to some doctors who are so prideful. I was just a nurse to them."

Austin looked at Angie as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Now, wait a minute, there's no such thing as being just a nurse, baby," he counseled. " 'Cause if I can recall precisely, a few years back, it was you who stopped a doctor from making one of the biggest medical mistakes Mount Sinai has ever seen, right?"