“I don’t mind spending it alone. It’s not worth it to travel home for just the day,” Lauren said. She didn’t mention that she didn’t particularly want to go home. When she’d finally called her dad back, she’d caved and agreed to work as a fill-in pharmacist for two days at his store around Christmas. One trip to Oklahoma was enough. “I’m expected at Children’s Hospital that Saturday, and I ended up picking up a pharmacy shift Thanksgiving morning at the adult hospital. It’s not like I’m just going to sit at home all day.” She leaned forward and took a bite of the pumpkin pie Mr. Jones, a long-time patient, had brought that morning. It was sweet, moist, and had the perfect amount of spice. Lauren sighed with appreciation.
A frown lingered on Emma’s face. “Why don’t you come to my parents’ house when you get off? My mom loves you. We don’t have traditional Thanksgiving food for dinner, but she’s making a killer banh xeo. And bun rieu.”
“That’s really nice of you.” Lauren smiled, flattered at the invitation when she’d spent countless holidays alone. “Can I see how I feel after my shift? I might be in the mood to just crash and watch this new documentary in my queue.”
Emma rolled her eyes. “You’re such a nerd.”
Lauren had no argument.
One of the medical assistants walked into the room with a chart and handed it to Emma.
“Hey, could you do me a favor while I see this last patient?” Emma asked.
“Sure.”
Emma held out several sheets of paper. “Andrew Bishop called and requested a copy of his original PET scan report. He didn’t have an appointment, but I told him I’d run it down to infusion when he was here for chemo. Since you know him, could you take it for me?”
Lauren’s muscles tensed. “What do you mean, I know him?”
“You know who he is, right? You did his chemo counseling. I can’t imagine any red-blooded female would forget that face,” Emma said with a laugh. “If you’re busy, don’t worry about it. I just thought maybe we could both get out of here a little early.”
Lauren kept her face carefully disinterested and took the pages. “I can do that.”
“Thanks.” Emma stood up and walked out, chart in hand.
Lauren headed toward the stairwell, her heart doing a strange thump in her chest when she saw Andrew’s name at the top of the page.
Andrew and Jeni were in the front of Mandi’s section today, and both were looking at their phones when Lauren approached.
“Hi.”
“Hey, Lauren,” Jeni said.
Andrew jerked his gaze up, and a wide smile spread across his face. “Hey.”
“How’s it going?” Lauren’s return smile was tentative. It was the first time they’d seen each other in person since the non-kiss, and she felt a little awkward.
This wasn’t the first time they’d spoken though…far from it. It had been nearly two weeks since that night, and they’d texted almost every day since. Lauren never texted Andrew first, but he always seemed to find a reason to send her a message. She wasn’t going to be rude and ignore him.
If she didn’t initiate the communication, it wasn’t as bad…right? Her entire life, Lauren had walked the straight and narrow. She’d be the first to admit she was completely out of her element with this…whatever this was.
Andrew wore a beanie on his head, and there wasn’t a hint of hair near the bottom edge. He must have shaved his head.
Lucky for him and unlucky for her, he looked good in the hat. Really good. It was one of those oversized, slouched-types that David Beckham wore through every airport around the world.
She remembered his insecure comment about losing his hair, and she focused her eyes on his.
“We were just talking about Thanksgiving,” Jeni said. She dropped her feet to the floor and sat up straight. “I prevented a mass exodus of Bishops from Nebraska to Missouri, which would have included no less than eight minivans and pickup trucks full of extended family. I used Andrew here as an excuse, and it worked like a charm.”
“Who knew there would be a silver lining to having cancer?” Andrew said with a grin.
“You’d be surprised,” Lauren said. “For such a terrible thing, I’ve heard countless stories of positive things that come from it.”
“What are your holiday plans?” Jeni asked.
“I picked up a morning shift in the hospital pharmacy,” Lauren replied. “I don’t normally work over there, but I don’t have any other plans, and I figured I could give someone else the morning off.”
“And after that?”