Chapter Fifteen
Josie
The waiting was infinitely worse than the test, I decided. It was exactly two weeks after test day. Results would be posted in just a few hours, and without class or a scheduled lab shift to occupy my mind and time, I felt—listless. Months of an oversized workload and the sudden change felt more like a letdown than a relief. Getting out of bed each morning turned into a monumental effort, and even completing my regular schoolwork made me snappish and tired. I apologized to Andy whenever I got cranky with him, but he was considerate and understanding enough to wave it off.
“Everybody has their moments,” he said with a shrug, then bent over to brush a kiss on my forehead. “Just make sure to give me a pass when I have one of mine, okay?”
Still, I noticed the way he casually encouraged me to get to bed earlier and the extra fruits and vegetables that appeared in the kitchen. Andy wouldn’t nag me to take care of myself, but he would do what he could to make it happen.
And I loved him for it.
“It’s normal,” George, a veterinarian, told me matter-of-factly. “That much work and suddenly it just…vaporizes? Of course you’re feeling weird. Especially when you add on the stress of waiting. And I remember the MCAT—it sucks.”
I blinked in surprise. “You took the MCAT?”
My sister’s tall, dark-haired fiancé, his face disarmingly similar to Andy’s, nodded. “Yup. A couple of the schools I applied to preferred it. I took three different exams, actually. It was…a lot.”
I’d gone to my sister’s house that morning, unwilling to wait around at Andy’s—our place and wait for the hours to tick by until I could access my results. George answered the door when I knocked, and when he’d seen my tired face, he’d ushered me inside, sitting patiently next to my sister while I’d poured it all out. It was…surprisingly nice, I decided.
George really did understand this kind of academic pressure because he’d been through it himself.
“What was your MCAT score?” I tried to lean forward, but Annie’s dog, whose shoebox-sized head rested in my lap, kept me pinned into place. I gave up trying and leaned back again while I ruffled Athena’s silky ears.
George hesitated. “Would it be helpful for you to know or would it just stress you out?”
I thought for a second and decided to listen to my jangling nerves. “Don’t tell me.” In my lap, Athena snorted as if I’d said something amusing.
“I did fine, though,” he continued. “Not perfect, but good enough. And now I’m a vet, so it all worked out.”
“He’s a great vet,” Annie said. She elbowed him affectionately in the ribs and they exchanged smiles before she leveled her keen gray gaze back on me. “Just like you’ll be a great doctor. I am one hundred percent confident that you have kicked this test’s ass.”
I smiled weakly and looked down at Athena again. “Andy says the same thing.”
Annie frowned. “This is extremely not like you. You seem—kinda down, actually. Not that you’ve ever been the overly perky type, but you just seem a little slow and tired right now.”
“It’s the letdown, like George said, and the waiting, too,” I explained. “I’m not…not handling it well. I didn’t think it would be this hard. Once I know one way or another, I’ll feel better.”
I headed home not long after that, buoyed by George’s matter-of-fact encouragement, a long hug from Annie and a few sloppy doggy kisses from Athena. Fresh, spicy smells greeted me when I walked in the front door twenty minutes later—chorizo and the bite of hot peppers and onions.
“Tacos?” I said, sniffing greedily as I walked into the kitchen. Andy stood at the stove, barefoot in just basketball shorts and a worn t-shirt, prodding gently at a skillet with a wooden spoon.
“Yup.” He turned and bent down to kiss me, warm and sweet. “You said it was your favorite, so I figured it could be a celebratory meal or comfort food. Whatever you need it to be.”
Well, shit. I blinked away the sudden moisture that pooled in my eyes. “That’s…incredibly thoughtful,” I said hoarsely. “Thank you.”
Andy switched off the burner and moved the skillet away from the heat before he turned to face me again. “How much longer do you have to wait?”
I glanced at the clock on the microwave. “Not long. I guess I could check now. Maybe they’re up a little early.” I worried at my lower lip with my teeth. “I think I’m going to.”
“Alone or with me?”
“With you.” I nodded once. “Yeah, I want you there.”
Curled up on the couch next to Andy, my fingers shook as I typed in the web address and my log-in credentials, and when my first attempt failed, my stomach knotted up even harder. I reached toward the keyboard again, but a big, warm hand on my forearm made me pause.
“Deep breath,” Andy instructed.
I obeyed almost automatically, and my trembling fingers stilled. Not entirely, but enough for me to enter my credentials correctly.