Page 58 of Time for You
“For one thing, they’re diseases that are most deadlyforchildren, not that adults don’t ever get them. So it’ll protect you from that. For another, it’ll make it less likely for you to give it to a child.” She bit the inside of her cheek, doing her best not to think about the fact that Henry might one day go on to have children with someone else. She wanted him to be happy, she really did, but she couldn’t pretend that image didn’t hurt a little.
Henry winced again as the needle went in, and Daphne switched sides so Vibol could put the remaining ones in his left arm. “And these have truly been so successful you’ve never even seen some of these?”
“I saw measles once,” Ellie said, tossing the alcohol wipe. “Had a case in here my second shift. But never polio, or the others.”
“It’s been so successful people don’t remember these diseases kill kids,” Vibol grumbled. He placed a Band-Aid over Henry’s injection site. “Flu shot is something we do annually, so this one won’t last. The others all last longer, so long as we can get you at least one more before you leave.”
“It won’t be the full schedule, but it’s better than nothing,” Daphne agreed, ignoring the way her heart started to curl in on itself at thethought of him leaving.He’s not leaving yet, we still have time,she reminded herself.
“Will these make me sick?” he asked.
“You’ll probably feel like shit tonight, yeah,” Ellie said. “But I planned ahead and bought instant ramen for you.”
Henry brightened. “The Japanese dish? I’ve been meaning to try that.”
“The real thing is better,” Vibol warned. “The instant stuff is mostly salt, but yeah, it’ll be what you want in about”—he glanced at the clock—“six to twelve hours.”
“We’ll stay in and watch a movie tonight,” Daphne said.
Vibol and Ellie trashed their gloves and exchanged a look. “Glad I’m working tonight,” Ellie said, making a face.
“Speaking of, if we’re not down in the ED in five, Gupta will probably kill us,” Vibol said. “You’re welcome for the continual protection from disease and the miracle of modern medicine.”
“Thank you,” Henry said, laughing but sincere. He took Daphne’s hand in his and turned to her. “Now, about that ramen.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Daphne was still in her room, tugging the dress into place. The annual hospital gala was about wining and dining donors for the attendings, but for residents like them, it was really an excuse to dress up and drink while someone else paid the bill. Henry had been delighted at the idea, since those sorts of events were apparently the main form of entertainment for wealthier people back in his day. Henry and Ellie had had a long, in-depth conversation about exactly how “rich merchant in Edinburgh” stacked up against Ellie’s vast knowledge of the English Regency, courtesy of her extensive romance novel collection. It would seem there were a lot of similarities (he did go to balls, and he knew how to dance, as was expected of a man of his age) but also some differences (mainly that he didn’t spend a lot of time in London, and also he lived about seventy years after most of those books were set and considered a lot of Ellie’s understandings to be “rather dated”).
“Are y’all ready?” Brittany called, opening their front door. “Because the RideShare is on its way, so you better be.”
“Stop stalling and get out here,” Ellie yelled through Daphne’s door. There wasn’t really a reason for her to feel so nervous, but still butterflies ricocheted through her chest and made her hands tremble like they did the first time she’d had to intubate a patient. But if the car was on its way, there really wasn’t much else she could do.
Daphne squared her shoulders and walked out to an explosion of noise. “Jesus Christ, that is not fair,” Ellie yelled. “Why the fuck are you so pretty?”
“Holy shit,” Brittany exclaimed at the same time. “What god did you sacrifice to, and can I do that, too?”
But Daphne’s gaze went straight toward Henry, who was looking at her with such softness she had to turn away. “Thanks, guys,” she muttered. “Where’s Vibol and Michelle?”
“They’re meeting us downstairs. You ready?” Brittany said.
“You look lovely,” Henry murmured and tucked Daphne’s hand into the crook of his arm. He was in a borrowed suit from Vibol that stretched nicely across his shoulders, and a blush crawled up Daphne’s chest from the deep neckline of her dark-blue dress.
“Gross,” Ellie said, grinning. “Like, happy for you guys and all, but also: gross.”
“Gross indeed,” Brittany sighed.
Vibol and Michelle were in fact waiting in the lobby, and his tie was a light purple that matched her dress. “Aren’t you going to make fun of them, too?” Daphne grumbled to Ellie.
“Already did,” Ellie said, with an inexplicable high five to Vibol.
A thing that none of them had considered, despite being five of the most overeducated people around and a time traveler, was that some people from the hospital might recognize Henry. Meghan was the first to clock him, even though she hadn’t spent much time with him.
“Isn’t he the ‘I’m from the past’ guy?” she asked them as they stood around with glasses of wine. Henry was off at the bar, having said he wanted to “brave the crowds” and “explore what this century had to offer for refreshment.”
“He’s my cousin,” Michelle blurted, and then immediately shot the rest of them anoopsface when Meghan looked understandablyconfused, given Michelle’s being Black and Henry’s being very much not. “Uh, second cousin,” she amended. “He was here visiting me when the, um, accident happened?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?” Meghan replied.
