Page 38 of Paging Dr. Breakup
True to her promise, Deirdre had remained at his side until he was gone.
For an hour after that, she had sat there, his cooling hand grasped in hers.
Elijah wasn’t here anymore. Hadn’t been in a long time.
Calvin was here. But not for long.
What did she want?
What had she wanted, those years ago, when everything was possible and both Calvin and Elijah held special places in her young heart? That was the impossible question.
She took a fortifying sip of coffee and dropped her head in her hands, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips.
“Knock, knock, is this a closed meeting?” Mav poked his head in, his big grin dropping to a frown of concern. “You okay, sis?”
“Fine.” She motioned to the chair in front of her desk. “Come on in. What can I do for you?”
“Nuh-uh. You’re not pulling the administrator crap on your brother.” He sprawled in the office chair and rested a booted ankle on the opposite knee. “Spill.”
“Since when do you say spill?”
“Since I have an amazing and hip girlfriend who has opened my eyes to the value of sharing.”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s not an answer.” He rested his hands on his stomach, ready to stay for a while. “So?”
Deirdre wrapped her hands around the coffee mug, as if the mug was a flotation device that would keep her head above the cold water of the thoughts that dragged at her. “Just busy.”
“That’s also not going to fly. I’ve seen you busy before. Even doing a million things at once, you’re the calmest, steadiest person in the room.” He pointed at her. “This is not calm or steady. This is upset. Your eyes are all red.”
“Since when did you get in touch with other people’s feelings, Mav? You don’t even get in touch with your own feelings.” Okay, that last bit was harsh, and maybe less true these days. She took another sip of coffee, glaring at it when she didn’t immediately perk up. “It’s not nice to comment on people’s appearances. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Because of?” His light brown eyebrows waggled. “Any juicy news?” He froze, then narrowed his eyes. “Do I need to hurt someone for you?”
She almost laughed. Almost. “Nothing like that.” Actually, pretty much like that. Which was the problem. She ground her teeth. “I was thinking a lot.”
“Thinking about what?”
“Lots of things.”
“Such as?”
“You’re being annoying.”
He grinned, and for a flash she saw him as her kid brother, circa age thirteen. In the present, though, she wanted to pummel him for getting into her business.
He said, “I can do this all day long, Dee. I got a million more questions I can ask and nothing but time. Shift ended an hour ago.”
“Crap.”
“Or you can keep talking. It might be good for you.”
“Come on, Mav.”
He buffed his nails on his medic jacket and somehow relaxed his big frame further into the seat. “Try again.”
Where to begin?
