“I did know. He told me as I was packing my office. But it was more than that. I needed to get away from everyone. It was hard to even be in that building, let alone be near my family. It wouldn’t have made a difference.”
He sighed. “Yeah, well, you opened up a few doors for me, that’s for sure.”
“I’m glad.”
“Which brings me back to the partnership. I owe you a lot Liz. And you’re the best sports doctor I know. Plus, you already told me you wanted to move to family practice, so what do I need to chip away at to get you to join me?”
“Honestly, I’m seriously considering your offer. I don’t want to leave this community in a bind though, so I need a couple of months to put out some feelers. Don’t hold me to it, but know that I’m almost in.”
His muffled, “Yes!” told me he’d moved the phone away from his mouth. “I’ll have the lawyers start drafting up the contract.”
I laughed. “I said I’m almost in.”
“Almost. In. Same thing. Send me your terms, we’ll negotiate from there.”
When we hung up, a hopeful smile tugged on my lips. I wrapped my arms around myself and smiled optimistically.
One Friday night in May, I joined Thomas and Margo for dinner and a game of pool. Tyler and Kate joined us as well.
Thomas lined up his cue stick, aiming for a solid ball. “Pretty cool how the Kraken made the playoffs.” He hit the ball and stood upright. “One more game and they’ll have a real chance at the Cup.”
Margo sat on a bar stool next to me, holding a cue stick. She watched Thomas miss the shot. Turning her head slightly towards me, she asked, “Have you talked to him, Liz?”
A quick glance at Thomas told me he hadn’t said anything.
I tried to be as evasive as possible. “We talked a few times.”
Kate and Margo grinned at each other. Kate teased, “He so had the hots for you. What have you guys talked about? Is he coming to visit? Are you going to Seattle? C’mon, spill.”
I had worked so hard in college and then in medical school that I’d hardly had time for socializing. Most girls had avoided me, thinking I was too pretty and thus a threat to them. And honestly, I didn’t really have time for drama.
Before Clay, I’d had my older sister to talk to. But I could no longer confide in her. I wasn’t used to having these kinds of discussions with other girls.
Margo handed her stick to Tyler. “Take my turn.” Then sat down, facing me. “Yeah, spill.”
I huffed, laughing softly. “Uh, well, he kissed me outside the bar that night before Christmas.”
Margo slapped her hand down on the table. “I knew it!” She sat back, crossed her arms, and nodded slowly. “I knew it.”
I crunched my eyebrows together. “How could you know that?”
She shook her head and smiled. “You two were just so into each other at the bar.”
Kate added, “Yeah, I saw that too. Remember, I told you when we brought him in after his accident. You weren’t listening.”
Margo continued. “You were all leaning in to each other. You didn’t notice because you were all smitten.”
“I was not smitten.” I said as vehemently as I could. I tried not to smile, but couldn’t help it. “Maybe a little. But I didn’t want to be.”
Kate clucked her cheeks. “Happens like that. We get these men that act like boys, then we find we find out they’re really smart intellectually, but really dumb emotionally. We can’t win.” She looked longingly at Tyler. “We just have to love them.”
Margo added. “Yep. Just have to love them.”
Kate asked, “When are you going to see him again?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I couldn’t tell them about the partnership offer until I knew for certain that I had a replacement lined up. And that I was going to take it. For now, I just wanted to sit in this moment, sharing with these two women. “He keeps texting me to come to a game.”
Margo asked, “Are you going?”