Page 138 of Just One Look
“Oh, Nils,” Candy said. “Sheisgood.”
“Hardly the same,” he said. “I came from Norway.”
“Beautiful,” she said.
“Cold,” he said.
“So you came here for the beaches?”
“No,” he said. “I came for the humor and the friendliness, I believe. For the relaxed attitude, perhaps, and the casual lifestyle. Norwegians are less serious and conservative than Swedes, of course, but the fact remains. I came for the sailing as well. And the wife, of course.” He took Candy’s hand across the table and smiled at her, and Elizabeth thought,Huh. Maybe itisgood to spend social time with your colleagues. That was surprisingly nice.“I came on holiday, when I was nearly forty,” Nils continued. “I didn’t make impulsive decisions. Idon’tmake impulsive decisions. And yet I did. I found a position, and I emigrated.”
“And how has it worked out?” Elizabeth asked.
“Very well indeed,” he said. “Of course, our lives can go in a number of directions. Our satisfaction lies mainly within ourselves, and it’s a logical fallacy to believe that any path is the single route to happiness. But given the choice, I’ll take the beach.”
“And the wife,” Candy said.
“And the wife. And you, Elizabeth? What are you here for?”
Oh, boy. Did she have to open a veintwicetoday? She glanced at Luka, and he shrugged, which she figured meant,Say what you want.She decided that was, “Why do you ask?”
“To say that it’s unusual for a surgeon of your caliber,” he said, “one with the best education, too, to come to New Zealand as a locum is putting it mildly. Now that I’ve seen your work, it seems even more unusual. You were looking for a change, clearly. How much of a change?”
“Besides that I wanted a break?” She thought,Don’t think about what youhaveto say. Think about what youwantto say. It’s your reboot. You don’t have to open a vein to satisfy anybody’s curiosity, but you can also tell the truth.She said, “I think I’d still like to know why you’re asking.”
“I’m asking,” he said, “because if this is actually a test drive to see whether a move to New Zealand is feasible for you, of course we’d prefer to have you stay with us, and we’d like to express that preference early in the game. A work visa takes time, and besides, you never want the other team to put points on the board, do you, Luka? Much more difficult to come from behind.”
“Is this a hospital-sponsored fishing expedition, then? Or possibly a sales job?” Her heart was beating too hard, and she couldn’t look at Luka. “I have no current plans to stay,” she decided to say. “I have to be honest about that. It’s a break, and that’s all. I’m … there aren’t the same opportunities to advance the profession in New Zealand. Not the same opportunities, period.”
“Fair enough,” Nils said. “As for the hospital? It’s dinner. Shall we say that I’ve put a bug in your ear, though?”
“Consider it implanted,” she said. “And thank you.”
