Page 79 of Wish I Were Here
“She got called in to work. Maybe…” I march over to the counter. “Maybe she had her hand in someone’s chest and couldn’t reach her phone. Maybe she was literally keeping their heart beating.”
“And after?” He stares at me. “She was heading to the university.”
“She takes her work seriously.”
He opens his mouth to say something and then snaps it shut. Finally, he takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. “I’m worried that she didn’t think of you.”
I shake my head. Why do I feel like there’s more to this? After all, Luca is late all the time. He forgets thingsall the time. And he seems fine with buddying up to Dad, the most irresponsible person I know. Yet, when my mother is busyliterally saving lives, he has a problem with it. “She got distracted. It happens. You, of all people, should know about how that goes.”
Luca’s cheeks turn red. “I don’t forget people. Ever.”
With a huff, I spin away from him. “You and Mrs. Goodwin need to practice your dance, and I have to get to my coffee date.”
Luca sighs and rounds the front desk to follow me. “Catherine. We’ll drive you.”
I give a firm shake of my head. “No, thank you. I’ll take the bus.”
The bus pulls up just as I get to the stop, and I arrive at the café in record time. Melanie isn’t here yet, so I grab a table near the front and sit down to wait. Ten minutes go by, and I check my phone for messages. Melanie said she was heading over from the hospital, and that’s only a few minutes from here.
Maybe she’s caught in traffic. Or maybe a real patient with food poisoning came into the ER, and she had to explain the dangers of gas station sushi. There could be a million explanations.
The front door jingles, and I turn in my chair. But it’s not Melanie who walks into the café; it’s Dr. Gupta. This must be his usual spot. I wish I’d thought of that before I’d agreed to meet here. I’m trying to show Melanie that I’ve got my life together, and a conversation with my angry boss over my lost identity isn’t going to help my case. Suddenly, I’m grateful she’s running late.
Dr. Gupta makes his way over, and I force a smile and slide out of my chair. “Hello, sir. How are you?”
“Catherine,” he says, not bothering to answer the question or return the niceties. “Have you sorted out your identity issues yet?”
“Yes,” I answer, picturing my birth certificate tucked into my file box at home. I moved it from Melanie’s green folder to a red one so it matches all the others in that section of my personal paperwork. The DMV opens at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, and I’ll be first in line. From there, I’ll head over to the Social Security office. “It will be sorted first thing in the morning.” I mentally cross my fingers, hoping I’m right.
“I sincerely hope so.” Dr. Gupta gives the hostess a wave, indicating he wants a table for one. She nods and sets a menu by the window. He turns to follow her but then stops and looks at me. “I had a chance to look at the outline you sent this morning. I’m intrigued by your thoughts on methods for solving hyperbolic equations.” He hesitates and then gives me a curt nod. “Excellent work. I knew there was a reason we hired you.”
I let out a relieved sigh.
“I’ll send over my notes later today,” Dr. Gupta continues. “Make the changes and get it back to me by the end of the week.” His gaze slides away from me, distracted by something over my shoulder.
“Excuse me,” comes a familiar voice from behind me. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
I turn to find Melanie standing just inside the doorway, and from the way her lips curve upward, I can tell she heard Dr. Gupta’s words.
“You’re not interrupting,” I assure her. And then I have a vision of Dad barreling across the lawn with his juggling clubs and, later, nearly tearing Dr. Gupta’s arm off with his vigorous handshake. I appreciate that Melanie thinks aboutthe impression she’s making with my boss. “Melanie, this is Dr. Gupta, the dean of the mathematics department. And, Dr. Gupta, this is Melanie Jankowski, my mo—”
“A family friend,” Melanie cuts in smoothly, holding out her hand to give Dr. Gupta a quick, appropriate handshake. “Dr. Gupta, I believe we met at a faculty symposium last fall. I teach in the medical school.”
“Ah, yes, Dr. Jankowski. I remember your presentation well,” Dr. Gupta says, more animated than I’ve ever seen him, except for maybe that time he was yelling at me for losing my identity. “Brilliant.” He turns to me. “You keep very good company, Catherine.”
Again, I contrast this moment with Dr. Gupta backing away slowly from Dad. This is all going so well. Or it would be if one little thing weren’t nagging at me.
A family friend.
“I’ll be presenting again this year,” Melanie adds warmly. “Please do stop and say hello.”
“Of course.” They talk for a moment about her subject area, but I struggle to focus. Did Melanie intentionally cut me off when I was about to call her my mother? I remember her remarking that she doesn’t like to mix her career and personal life. I suppose that since we all work at the university, it’s easier to keep things compartmentalized. Still, my unease lingers, even when Dr. Gupta gives me another one of his approving nods. “I look forward to hearing from you soon, Catherine.” He heads to his table.
“Well,” Melanie says, sitting down in her seat across from me. “I’m glad to see you have a strong mentor.”
“Oh, yes, I’m very lucky,” I agree. Though I’m not sure I’d call Dr. Gupta my mentor quite yet. But I’m sure he’ll invest more time once I’ve sorted out the identity issues.
“He seems to admire your work,” she adds. Do I detect a hint of pride in her voice? “Well done. Keep it up.”
