Page 84 of The Gift
Julian
“No one else?”I asked Kathy, emerging from the exam room after tidying up from my last patient Monday morning. “Are weclear?”
Kathy twirled in her chair and gave me a grin. “Yep. That was the last one and then we’re done untiltomorrow.”
“Thank you, Jesus,” I said, leaning back against the doorframe. “I need anap.”
“Same.” Kathy rubbed her enormous belly and wiggled in the chair, trying to get comfortable. “Judging by the kicking going on all night long, I feel like I’m carrying a litter of babies, though Dr. Morgan assures me there’s just one very activefetus.”
“Little Julio is excited to meet us, that’sall.”
“Julio?”
“Named in honor of his or her favorite Uncle Julian,obviously.”
“Ah. Obviously.” Kathy grinned. “There you go.Decided. Julio Chang, boy or girl. Rick’s parents will lovethat.”
I smiled tiredly and Kathy’s grinslipped.
“So we know whyIhaven’t been sleeping. What’s your excuse?” she asked. “Youfloatedinto this place at the beginning of last week, practically leaving a trail of glitter and rainbows behind you. I didn’t even have toaskhow your Thanksgiving weekendwas—”
“Because you heard the whole story of Thanksgiving through the gossipmill.”
“Not about anything that would have caused the glittery floating,” she shot back. “But here you are today, after the Light Parade, the jolliest non-denominational holiday gathering in theentiregreater O’Leary/Camdenarea…”
Isnorted.
“…and you need walls to prop you up. Whatgives?”
I straightened from my slouch. “Nothinggives.”
“So you’refine.”
“Obviously.”
“And things with you and Daniel arefine.”
“Of course.” This was true, in the sense that we hadn’t spoken in almost two days, so they hadn’t had a chance to become un-fine. I was pretty sure Daniel was massively pissed at me, but if I didn’t give him a chance to tell me so, then it was almost like things werefine.
Right?
I moved to the file cabinet to file away a stack of charts from each of the patients I’d seen thatmorning.
“And the rumors that you argued at the parade? That Daniel ended up going out with Cal and Ash and a bunch of others while you went home with aheadache?”
“Are greatly exaggerated. I did have a headache.” Also, true. By the end of the parade, I’d worked myself into a huge fuckingthrobbingheadache.
“Hmm.”
“Hmm?” I turned my head to glance at her. “What’s thatmean?”
“It means, I had those files stacked there so I could take care of the billing before I re-filed them, which is the process we’ve had for like three yearsnow.”
“Oh.Right.”
“It means,” she said gently, “that not everything has to be okay all the time. You know that,right?”
I sighed and started pulling out the charts I’d tuckedaway.
