“What?” He claps me on the shoulder. “Garrett, that’s wonderful news.”
“It is. But I wish my dad was here to be reconnected with them, you know?”
He takes a deep breath, his eyes closing, and he nods. “I understand.”
I hope he does. Because I’m not going to let anyone tell Rory that she might lose me if she’s not enough. She will always be enough for me.
Chapter 26
Rory
“You’re hot shit.”
I jerk my head up and see that I’m not alone in the small resident room. Based on the schedule posted on the wall, there are a couple of surgical residents here, doing rural rotations, but neither of them are actuallyinthe hospital today, and one of the nurses said I could use the computer.
Dr. Schmidt has tracked me down, apparently.
“I’m a good doctor.”
“That’s an understatement. You’re chief resident at one of the busiest OB/GYN programs in the country.”
I shrug. “Must be a quiet day here if you’re looking into me.”
“My wife went on a cruise with her parents. I don’t have anything else to do today.”
“Oh.” I wince. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m glad I was here when Dani came in, and I’m glad I got to meet you. Turns out I went to school with your program director.”
I don’t mind that he was checking up on me—I stormedinto his hospital and started suggesting shit—but something about the way he drops Glenda’s name makes me feel vaguely queasy. “Oh? That’s a small world.”
“Relax, it’s fine.” He gestures to the chair next to mine. “Can I sit?”
“It’s your hospital.”
“Yeah.” He sprawls out and pulls off his surgical cap. Under it he’s got more grey hair than I expected. His face is relatively youthful. “What are your plans for next year?”
The queasiness intensifies. I hear Garrett’s voice echoing from earlier.I don’t hate your job, Roar.Youhate your job.I force the gross, slimy feeling down and reach for the same answer I’ve been giving the surgeons in my program for months. “I’m still exploring my options.”
“Are you leaning towards a fellowship? Or do you want to go straight to a consultant position?”
Since he’s clearly talked about this with my program director, and probably knows I haven’t done any job interviews yet, I admit the most sanitized version of the truth. “I’m behind on that process.”
To my surprise, he just shrugs. “You’ll find something. And there’s always locums.”
I stare at him.
He laughs. “What, you thought I’d give you a hard time?” He shakes his head. “You’ve been beating yourself up about this for months, I bet. I don’t need to pile on top of that.”
I let out a shaky exhale. “Thanks.”
He clicks his tongue against his teeth and pushes to his feet. “I saw the lit review you sent me, and I agree that the risks are minimal. I’m not going to do an internal exam today, we’ll just see what her cervix looks like tomorrow.”
I jump up. “Are you going to tell her now?”
“You want to come with me?”
“Of course.” I grab my purse and coat, and chase after him.
