“Good, good.”
Courtney stood up, smiling at me, and handed over a file. “Your one o’clock.”
I read the name and turned to Mr. Sanchez and his dog, Buffy. “Come on through,” I said, gesturing to my examination room.
Dad eyed me as I went inside, but I closed the door so I could concentrate on my work. It was hard enough to stop smiling, but focusing on my patients did help.
I still hadn’t stopped smiling when Dad came into my examination room at the end of the day. I was disinfecting the stainless-steel table, which he didn’t even seem to notice. “Okay, tell me what happened?”
I tried to play it cool.
Which was futile because I’d never been cool in my life.
“You haven’t smiled this much since you beat me at D&D. I take it things with Winter went well,” Dad said, prompting me to talk.
“Yes.”
He waited. “And? Yes, what?”
“He asked me if I’d like to be his boyfriend.”
Dad’s eyes went wide. “Oh... well, that’s great, Deac. I’m happy for you.”
“I am happy for me also.”
He chuckled. “And you said Mrs. Stevens was okay?”
“Yes. She said she appreciated me stopping by. I didn’t tell her it was Winter’s idea. She was upset in the beginning, but Winter is good at talking and asking questions to distract her. He was much better at it than I was. I’m certain if he hadn’t been there, I’d have sat there awkwardly and she’d have grown more upset. He has quite a knack for making people feel comfortable.”
Dad’s smile softened. “He’s a good guy,” he said.
“He is.”
He was quiet for a moment, studying me. “So, boyfriends, huh?”
That rush of excitement, even at simply hearing the word. “Yes. He asked me. He said he was very happy and comfortable with how things were progressing, but he wondered if I’d be interested in upgrading from dating to boyfriends. He said he really likes me, and that I’m all kinds of wonderful. This was after I shoveled Mrs. Stevens’ path and collected her mail for her. I think he liked the fact I did this without having to be asked. He said I’m sweet and cute. And handsome in this coat. I think he likes this coat.”
Dad’s smile grew wide. “It’s a great coat.”
“It’s just a coat.”
“I’m happy for you, Deac. I think Ernie White was a bit concerned about you smiling so much. He wondered if you were okay.”
“Mr. White... I did wonder why he was staring at me. He seemed confused. Is he okay?”
He laughed. “He’s fine, son.” He gave me a quick clap on the shoulder. “Let’s go home. Your mom is gonna be so happy when you tell her. Her smile might even match yours.”
I was still smiling. “I think I might be in love with him.”
Dad stopped, stared at me, and blinked. “Oh.” He blinked again, gaining some composure. “Oh, well, that’s... that’s great. Maybe a little fast, but I can see it.”
“Fast? Is there a quantifiable allotment of time for falling in love? Some parameter I should meet first? Because I did google?—”
“No,” he said, amused by something I’d just said. He chewed on his bottom lip. “You googled, huh?”
“Simply to determine if there was a reason my tummy aches were only prevalent around him. And the heart palpitations, and my inability to think.”
His grin widened. “And Google diagnosed the big L-word, huh?”
