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“Now you know, huh?”
“Yeah.” She shakes her head. “Sorry.”
“Yep.” I’m already walking away. “Enjoy your day, your honor.”
Lane comes bouncing out of the county courthouse with a thousand-watt smile on her face. Her notepad is tucked under her arm, and her bag is flapping against her hip.
She jumps in before I can even get my seatbelt off.
“What’s up with you?” I ask.
“Just…happy.”
“You found something?”
She throws her arms around me and plants a big, wet kiss on my lips. “That’s an understatement.”
I wanna know, but at the same time, I don’t. So I say, “Congratulations,” and pull off, debating if today’s gonna be the day.
“Where are we going?" she says as she looks around. “This doesn’t look familiar.”
“I wanna show you something.”
I drive us out to the lot where the clinic will stand. It’s just gravel and foundation markers for now, but in my head, I see the vision. The walls, waiting room, exam tables. I see kids running in with coughs, the elderly filling their prescriptions. And nobody having to check their bank accounts before I check their vitals.
We stand there in the dust, and she looks around like she’s seeing it, too.
“This is it,” I say quietly. “This is what I’ve been fighting for.”
Her smile softens as she looks up at me. “This is healing something in you, isn’t it?”
I look down at her, surprised that the thought never occurred to me before she said it.
“Maybe,” I say, still working it out. “Thinking about my grandaddy…that still hurts.”
She’s quiet, absorbing it, her eyes steady on mine.
“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does.”
We’re quiet for a while before I turn to her. “What about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your story. Is that healing something in you?”
She kicks at a rock. “I just want the truth. That’s what drives me. Black letters on white paper. No obfuscation. No confusion. Just facts.”
I think about that. “But is it always black and white? Don’t we live some parts of our lives in the grey?”
“I don’t,” she says matter-of-factly. “I’m not built like that.”
“I hear you,” I say. “I respect it.”
Her smile widens. “No spoilers, but you’re really gonna respect me when you read what I wrote.”
“Can’t wait.”
