by Parker, Ali
Her tone made it sound like she was making a declaration, and apparently, she wasn’t done yet. “Love is so hard to find in this world that it’s so obvious to see it when you’ve had the privilege of finding it for yourself.”
“Uh.” Olive coughed, bringing her hand to her chest. “Thank you.”
“Finding your soul mate is a beautiful thing,” I said agreeably, giving Olive a meaningful look, even if I wasn’t sure exactly what the meaning behind it was.
She returned it, leaning in to plant a chase kiss on my lips. “Yes, yes it is.”
Ariel beamed at us and then, obviously having deemed us worthy, started telling us all about their children and their grandchildren. Six children and twelve grandchildren to be precise. Ben chimed in occasionally, but it seemed like he was more than happy to let his wife do the talking.
He did cut her off eventually, apologizing to us and explaining that they had a spa appointment to get to. Olive and I finished breakfast after that, avoiding any talk of what had been said until we took a walk to the front of the ship later.
We found a quiet spot against the railing and I stood behind her, my forearms resting on the warm metal, my front pressed to her back. “Was it too forward to tell that couple that we’d been together for a long time?”
Olive shook her head before leaning it back against my shoulder, turning so I was able to look into her eyes. “I didn’t take any offense to it at all, don’t worry about it.”
Chapter 24
Olive
Sunday came too soon. Before I knew it, our weekend was over and we were saying our goodbyes to Ben and Ariel at the port. They had been great tablemates and I was sad to see our cruise together end.
Even Rylen seemed rather affected while we had been saying goodbye to them. The drive back to my house was quiet. My hand was on his on the gear lever, my fingers tracing patters on the back of his.
“Thank you again for taking me, Rylen. I really enjoyed the cruise.”
Since his eyes were covered by his sunglasses, I couldn’t see them, but I did see the smile that came to his lips. “So did I. Thanks for coming with me. You were much better company than Edgar would have been.”
“I still think he would have looked decent in that bikini,” I teased, patting his hand. “Maybe next time we should pick him up something to model for you at the hospital.”
Rylen made a small, disgusted sound. “You’re ruining so many good memories for me right now. Let’s just agree never to mention Edgar in a bikini again. I’m liking this mention of next time, though. What did you have in mind?”
“Another weekend away?” I had been the one to bring it up, but it had been more in the context of teasing him about Edgar. “I didn’t really have anything in mind, but it would be fun. I’ll have to see about work first, though. I might not be able to do it for a couple of months.”
“No problem.” He flipped his hand over beneath mine, winding our fingers together. “Speaking of work, how are you feeling about tomorrow?”
“Nervous,” I admitted. “I haven’t really been thinking about it all weekend, but now that we’re back, it’s like there’s this shadow looming over me. I have no idea what to expect. It’s disconcerting. I’ve never even met my boss before.”
“True, but you’re going to be great.” He squeezed my fingers, holding on to them tightly. “You’ll get to know your boss, all his associates, and everyone else there quickly. Even if you had been for an interview, you still wouldn’t really have known anyone. Don’t let it get in your head.”
“I won’t.” I had no idea how I was going to keep that promise, but I was going to try. He was right, after all.
At any new job, it sucked to be the new person. The last time I’d had to start somewhere new, I’d had my two best friends at my side and even that had been a learning curve at the beginning.
I’d been the new girl enough times to know that it always took a couple of months to settle in, but eventually you looked around and you realized that you knew the place and the people in it. You had figured out which bathroom stall didn’t close properly and which people to steer clear of, you knew which shortcut to take to arrive early and everything in between.
What was new for me was to receive support in the run-up. Usually it was just me on the day before I started, lying in my bed at night and wondering what I was in for the next day. It was nice to have someone to support me.
“Well, I guess this is it,” I said when we pulled up in front of my house.
Rylen frowned, pushing his sunglasses onto his head. He reached for my hand and caught my wrist, tugging me forward. It was so unexpected that I landed against his chest. His arms wrapped around me, his lips brushing against my ear.
“No, this is not it. This is just the end of our first weekend together. It’s Sunday afternoon and you’re starting a new job tomorrow, or else I’d be taking you to my place.”
Pulling back so I could look into his eyes, I was surprised of the intensity in their hazel depths. “Okay. Sheesh. That was what I meant.”
He pursed his lips, his brows lifting just a fraction before coming back down. “It wasn’t, and both of us know it. Anyway, I’ll see you again soon, okay?”
“Okay.” I tipped my head back, offering him my lips. His hand slid to the back of my neck, his mouth claiming mine in a deep, passionate kiss that went a long way in assuring me that he really did want to see me again.
Unfortunately, we were in a car and in public, so he had to end the kiss just when it was getting really good. It was comforting that he seemed as disappointed to have to do it as I was.
After carrying my bag to my living room, he planted a kiss on the tip of my nose. “I had a really good weekend with you, Olive. We’ll do it again, I promise. For now, focus on your new job and we’ll talk.”
“Yes.” I smiled, pushing up on my toes to press a kiss to his jaw. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
Rylen left after a few more false starts, finally calling me when he was halfway home to tell me he was halfway home. I was still smiling like an idiot from the call when my phone rang again.
Thinking it was him calling to tell me he was home, I answered without checking the screen. A pathetically girly giggle came out along with my greeting. “Really? You’ve only been away from me for maybe thirty minutes. How are you going to get through the next twenty-four hours, at least?”
There was a pause, and then a very confused Valerie spoke over the line. “Sorry, I was just checking that I’d called the right number. Is that you, Olive? You sound like Olive, but different.”
“It’s me.” I cleared my throat, trying to swallow the unreasonable disappointment that it wasn’t Rylen again. I was happy that it was Valerie, though. We hadn’t spoken in so long. “I’m sorry too. I thought you were someone else.”
“Clearly.” She laughed, but I could imagine the look on her face right then. “Pray tell, my little Olive. Who is this person who has only been away from you for maybe thirty minutes? Why might surviving the next twenty-four hours without you be a problem for said person and for the love of God, please tell me that the person is a romantic interest. Male or female, I have no preference. I only want to know everything.”
As usual when it came to the topic of romance in any of our lives, Valerie’s words came out as an excited ramble. In the past, there may have been some bitterness or even a tiny dash of judgment when said romance appeared to be blossoming into something more than sex, but those days were long past.
My commitment-phobic friend had found the person who had looked her phobia in the eye and conquered it. Valerie was more in love than I ever dreamed I’d see her, and I loved it.
“His name is Rylen,” I confessed, carrying my phone to the couch and sinking down on it. “I think I’ve told you about him before, but maybe not. I can’t remember.”
“Wait, is that the doctor dude?”
I nodded, though, she couldn’t see me. “It is. We’ve gotten to k
now each other and we’ve just spent the weekend together.”
A muffled crackling could be heard, like she was trying to hold the receiver closed. I heard what she was saying, though, and it made me laugh out loud. Also, it made me really miss my friend.
“Fulton! Get the champagne. I think Olive’s finally tossed out the V-card. We need to celebrate.”
I was still laughing when she came back, but it seemed like the perfect time to tell her. “You’re right, I did.”
After waiting for her squeals to end, I gave in to her demand to tell her everything. I started at the beginning, but again left out any details that seemed too intimate to share. There were certain things that felt like they belonged only to Rylen and me, no one else.
It was almost an hour later when I was done, and my ear hurt from holding the phone against it. Pulling it away, I pressed the button for speaker mode and lay back on the couch, holding the phone near my lips.
“So that’s that. I like him, Val. I really, really like him.”
“I knew you did the second you said his name.” Her voice was softer than it had been while she’d been quizzing me about him, gentler. “God, I can’t believe so much has happened in your life since the last time we spoke. I’m so sorry for not keeping in touch with you more. I’m a shitty, terrible friend.”
“No, you’re not.” I wasn’t even just saying it. I was starting to realize that we never were going to be as close as we once had been indefinitely. “You’ve just been busy, Val. I understand that. Between Fulton, traveling, and your job, I really do understand. It’s nice to hear from you, though.”
“It’s nice to talk to you, hon.” She sighed, and I heard the door click shut wherever she was. She was about to get serious if she was making sure she was alone. “Listen to me, babe. I know you’re probably freaked out right now. A lot has happened with Rylen in not so much time, but I don’t want you to overthink it, okay?”
“Why not?” My teeth sank into my lip. “You know me too well. If you hadn’t called, I’d already have been overthinking why he hadn’t called again yet.”
“I had the same feelings you have now when I met Fulton, and believe it or not, I had the same doubts too. Nothing you’ve told me about him makes me think that you have anything to worry about or anything to overthink about. Plus, if you’re feeling the same things I felt about Fulton, I’d say that’s a good sign.”
Chapter 25
Rylen
“Please tell me you’re joking?” Edgar stared at me like I’d grown another head or two. “You did not just tell me that you spent the entire weekend with a girl. On a cruise.”
“I did tell you that, because it’s the truth. You asked what I did this weekend and that’s what I did.” I calmly sipped my coffee, trying to keep a straight face. It was difficult, considering all the ways Edgar was pulling his face.
“Shit.” He released a heavy sigh, sagging into the lumpy couch in our break room. “Please tell me this doesn’t mean that you’re starting a relationship. Relationships are the worst, bro.”
“How’s that?” I didn’t agree with him and he wasn’t going to change my mind regardless of what he said, but hearing what he had to say could be entertaining.
We had finished our second to last surgery for the day, but both of us were still on shift for one last one. After completing our paperwork, we’d decided on coffee before we scrubbed up again.
It had been a long, harrowing shift. At one point, I’d almost been convinced that it was reality’s way of slapping me in the face. I still hadn’t lost someone during surgery, but we’d had two patients coding.
The emergency unit had sent up four teenage patients who had received electrical injuries to be checked out. They refused to tell us exactly how it had happened, but we had managed to learn that all four of them had been touching an electric fence somewhere.
Of course that meant that the police had to be called, which in turn meant that in between everything else, I’d had to carve out time to give my official statement. Eleven hours after I’d arrived that morning, and this was the first time I really had the chance to sit down.
Edgar looked like I felt, his eyes watery and red with dark-blue circles underneath them. I felt like all the renewed strength I’d arrived with—after the best weekend in a long time—had been sapped right out of me.
All that I really wanted to do was to crawl into bed with Olive and sleep for four days straight. Unfortunately, my shifts for the rest of the week weren’t looking much better.
At this rate, I was going to be lucky to get her on the phone during hours she would be awake. Seeing her didn’t seem likely, sleeping beside her seemed like an impossibility.
I sighed, rubbing my eyes. Closing them made them sting and water, so I rubbed harder to push past it. When I opened them again, Edgar was still staring at me, but he had a calculating expression on his tired face.
“Relationships are the worst for reasons I’m thinking of in my head, but I can’t seem to find the words to say. They’re just bad, okay? Everyone knows it. Playing the field is the way to go. There’s no expectations then, no getting in trouble with the girl if you stay out late or work too hard, and not getting yelled at when you check out someone’s ass.”
“Thought you couldn’t find the words?” Despite my exhaustion, I felt the corners of my mouth tipping up. “That was a lot of words for someone who claimed not to have any.”
Edgar shrugged. “Once I got started, it was easier. I’m going to have to get some sleep before I give you the rest, though. I don’t have it in me to think anymore.”
My coffee was ice cold by now, but I sipped it anyway. I was pretty sure the caffeine was the only thing keeping me awake. “You should be happy for me, man. I met someone who I genuinely like and who genuinely likes me, at least I think she does.”
His head was shaking before I’d even finished my sentence. “I would have been happy for you if I didn’t think you were making a huge mistake.”
My wrist vibrated, giving me the heads-up that it was time to head into the next surgery. It would be a quick one, and after that, we would finally get to go home.
Edgar looked down at his watch at the same time, having received the same notification. “Let’s go. I’ll fill you in on all the reasons why this is a shitty idea while we’re in there. As many as I can think of anyway, then I’ll give you the rest tomorrow.”
“No, you’re not.” I drained my mug and gave him a scowl that I hoped would discourage him. I should have known better.
While we scrubbed in and went through the preop procedures, Edgar was on his best professional behavior. As soon as the patient was under and the room was filled with only familiar and trusted ears, he continued with his crusade.
“Relationships are bad for you because we’re not meant to be chained to one person for the rest of our lives.”
“Ben and Ariel wouldn’t agree with you.”
He frowned at me, passing me the next instrument I needed without having to be asked or skipping a beat. “Who the fuck are Ben and Ariel?”
“They were our tablemates on the cruise this weekend. Been married over four decades and they’re still happy.” I made the incision, my hands steady despite the caffeine. At some point, I’d developed an immunity to most of the effects of the stuff. “Plus, I’m not asking her to be with me for the rest of our lives. All I said was that I liked her and we spent the weekend together.”
“I think that’s very nice, Dr. Page,” another one of the nurses said. I didn’t know for a fact, but I was pretty sure she’d had a fling with Edgar sometime. “Unlike what some people may think, relationships are healthy and people can be happy together forever.”
Edgar scoffed. “Explain the divorce rate then, Tina. Nothing about how common divorce is indicates that people can be happy together forever.”
The anesthesiologist decided to add his two cents to the discussion. “Divorce statistics can’t be used to accurately assess t
he happiness or otherwise of those involved in monogamous relationships. There are many people who live together but aren’t married, and there are many people who marry for reasons other than love. Therefore, people are divorced who never married for the right reasons and others are happy together for many years, but never marry.”
He checked the patient, pressing one of the buttons on his rig before sitting back and folding his arms. “Why are we talking about this again?”
“Rylen has met someone,” Edgar said. He held out his hand for the instrument I was about to be done with and passed me the suction. “He thinks I should be happy for him, but I don’t agree. Relationships are bad for a person’s health.”
He nodded at the patient on the operating table. “Just ask this guy. I bet his wife was the cause of at least half the stress that led him to this point.”
“He’s not married,” one of the other nurses said, flipping through the patient’s chart. “His brother is listed as his next of kin.”
“Well.” Edgar paused, narrowing his eyes at me above his mask. “If he had a wife, I’m still sure she would have been the cause of at least half the stress that led him here.”
“It’s a moot point,” I told him. “He doesn’t have a wife, so there’s no way to prove your hypothesis. He’s here because he’s here, not because of his wife. Perhaps his brother is distressing, but I guess we’ll never know.”
Edgar sighed. “Fair enough, but it doesn’t change the facts. Being in a relationship is going to be bad for you. I just know it. Don’t go there, man.”
“I think you should go there,” the anesthesiologist said, holding up his left hand to show off a wedding band, only the outline visible beneath his blue rubber glove. “I’ve been happily married for twelve years. There have been days where I’ve wanted to throw my wife over a wall, but I’d always be the one to fetch her too. No one is one hundred percent happy with each other all day every day, but the days that you are, are worth three of the bad ones.”