I step closer to her, causing her to grin. She’s always been playful like this. “I don’t know. Should we get your diaper bag?”
I see her jaw start to tighten. She gets so mad when you call her a baby or insinuate that she doesn’t know anything because she’s young. It riles her up, and I’m the best at riling her up.
“Hold on a second,” I say, grabbing my phone from my pocket, “Let me call Ty and let him know you are out past curfew.”
She picks up the entire avocado bowl and dumps it on my head.
“Guess you need another shower,” She winks, grabbing her keys off the counter, “The reservation is at seven.”
She pushes out the door, a little confidence in her strut. She totally won.
I don’t want to go out tonight, but she’s right. The longer I sit here and sulk, the longer it will take to get back to my regular routine. And I have to go back to my normal routine. I have used two weeks of my vacation time, and while I’ve got time left, I’d like to save it. I can be miserable here or at work. It’s no different. Plus, it will probably keep my mind off of things.
I’m a pediatric anesthesiologist, so I typically work long hours, and if I’m worried about my patients and my work, then I don’t think about anything else. I can block it all out. At least that’s what I did when Jameson came back and flipped my entire world upside down.
The truth is, I probably never would’ve gone for Hanna had the opportunity not fallen straight into my lap. I was still in my residency, working as many hours as possible without falling asleep on the job, so I wasn’t even entertaining the idea of dating. And in she walked with her sweet little baby girl, scared to death. It was a routine procedure, a same-day surgery that would take all of fifteen minutes, but she was terrified. She was so cute pacing a hole in the floor while Ellie stared at her like she’d lost her mind. Ellie was just three years old then, and I was drawn to them. The ear tube surgery was easy, and when they brought her back from recovery, I couldn’t help but make a round back in to check on them before they left.
They became my life after that. It’s hard to believe that was nearly three years ago. I fell in love so quickly, almost as fast as they were gone.
In the blink of an eye, actually.
She was also young when we met, twenty-one, barely out of college. I was twenty-eight, had already been through med school, and worked a ton of hours at the hospital. She was a breath of fresh air in a predictable schedule I created for myself. It felt rebellious and wild. Maybe that’s why I liked it so much.
My parents weren’t thrilled about it at first, but they actually liked Hanna when they finally met her. I mean, who wouldn’t? She has a heart of gold and is so compassionate and strong-willed.
I sigh as I dry myself off from shower number two and pull on some trousers and a button-up shirt. The reservation is downtown at a place called 531. It’s upscale and Ty’s favorite. The sushi is incredible, he claims, and I wouldn’t know because I’m not eating that shit. I’d rather pay fifty bucks for something they actually had to cook. I shake my head as I slip my Rolex onto my wrist.
It was a pricey gift from my dad for graduating from med school. It’s a little over the top, but Hanna loved it. She said it was sexy.
Ugh. I shake the thought. Maybe my sister is right. I have changed. Before med school and Hanna, I was different. I was a carefree southern boy in jeans and boots who played baseball his first two years of college before hanging up his glove to focus on school. My dad has owned his own practice for thirty years in a small town about an hour from here. A place where there are two restaurants and maybe a Dollar General. So I thought if my dad could be successful and content, so could I. I wanted to live comfortably and raise a family, and at the time, I thought med school was my ticket.
I looked up to my dad and wanted what he had, but my path didn’t align with his. He still maintained his roots, knew all his patients by name, and always had my mom waiting for him when he came home around five. I push the self-pity away, reminding myself it wasn’t meant to be, that we weren’t meant to be.
The drive to the restaurant is quick, and when I pull up, I’m surprised at how busy the place is. Especially for a— wait, what day is it?
Tuesday? It’s Tuesday, right?
I find my family easily, and my mom wraps me in a hug almost immediately.
“Hey, mom.”
She pulls away, offering me a half smile, “Sweetie, I’m so glad you decided to come.”
I sigh, turning to Emma, “Well, she didn’t leave me much choice.”
Ty chuckles, kissing my sister’s cheek, “She’s tenacious, that’s for sure.”
Their happiness makes me want to crawl into a hole or run away, but mostly the latter. The server grabs our drink orders, and everyone decides on some sushi. At the same time, I stare at the menu for something that looks appetizing, trying to ignore the conversation around me until Emma elbows the shit out of my arm.
“Eric, did you hear me?”
I snap my gaze from the menu to her. “What?”
“Isn’t that Hanna’s friend? I remember her from the wedding.”
She motions across the room to a booth in the corner where Karly sits. She’s engaged in a conversation with some man—someone I’ve never seen before. I glare at them, but her body language isn’t the usual Karly that I know. She’s standoffish, and she looks a little uncomfortable. I trail my eyes down her body to the seat, and I notice how the hem of her dress hits around mid-thigh, her heels finishing off the look.
“Eric!”