Page 80 of Time for You
Vibol set his glass down. “Not like, worried-worried. But concerned worried.”
Henry tugged Daphne close and let her hand drop so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders, and she snuggled in tighter. It felt so unbelievably good to hold him again; she wasn’t sure if she’d ever be able to stop touching him.
Henry nuzzled the top of her head. “Vibol said you switched specialties. When did that happen?”
“Right after you left,” Daphne said. “You asked me to, and I didn’t think I’d see you ever again, so it felt like ... the right thing to do.”
“We made sure she wasn’t doing it just for you, though,” Ellie interjected.
“Yeah, we had like, fifteen interventions before she went through with it,” Vibol added.
“Correction: We had one intervention, and then Ellie had fourteen more,” Brittany said.
Ellie sniffed. “I just wanted to make sure she was doing it for the right reasons.”
“What are the ‘right reasons’?” Henry asked.
“To make myself happy, and not you,” Daphne explained.
“And you all are satisfied she did it for the right reasons?”
“She’s been happier than I’ve ever seen her, except for when she’s moping about you,” Ellie said.
Daphne beamed. “I’m at a family practice clinic now. I get to have actual conversations with patients, not just ask them what happened and quick-order some tests.”
“Hey, some of uslikegetting to do that,” Vibol protested.
“That’s because you have absolutely no bedside manner,” Michelle said, patting his hand.
“Exactly,” Vibol said. “But what do you think you’ll do, Henry?”
“Pretty sure he’s going to become a kept man,” Brittany said.
“A . . . kept . . . man?” he asked.
“Means I pay for everything,” Daphne explained with a grin. “Which is fine, but you will need to cook dinner.”
“That’s what I was thinking, actually. Not the kept-man thing, but—cooking. Professionally. It’ll take some time to get to the level I need to be at, but I think I’d enjoy it.”
“Yes, chef,” Brittany said with a salute, and at his blank look, she sighed and shook her head, muttering about needing to keep up his television education under her breath.
“I think that’s brilliant,” Daphne said, leaning over to kiss him while their friends groaned theatrically.
“Oooh, hey, now that you’re back, can you cook for us again? As practice for your future career?” Michelle asked excitedly.
“I’d love to,” Henry said. “Mac and cheese?”
“The stuff from the box?” Ellie asked, her eyebrows raising.
“It’s what I missed most,” Henry confessed sheepishly.
“I think we’ve got a box somewhere,” Ellie said.
“I’ve got two up in my apartment,” Brittany added.
Henry smiled so broadly Daphne’s own cheeks ached. “Then I’ll get the water boiling,” he announced.
Chapter Thirty-Four
