She glanced around, taking in the decor. “It’s beautiful in here.”
For the first time since sitting down, I took my eyes off of her and looked around the restaurant. The hardwood floors were matched by a similar glossy wood of the walls, aligned with what I assumed to be Ethiopian artwork. The dining space was illuminated by overhead hanging lanterns that were outlined in colorful wicker designs.
“It’s not bad.” I turned back to her, enjoying this view much more.
“What made you want to be a doctor?” she asked as our waitress brought out two glasses of water.
I paused, allowing the waitress to place our waters down and take our orders. Grace opted for the eggplant vegetable medley with injera while I chose the chicken tibs, also with injera.
“I wanted to help people,” I responded to her earlier question. I pushed back in my chair when she immediately started giggling. Her laughter actually tugged a smile from my own lips.
“That’s the kind of bullshit answer you give in an interview. What’s the real reason you became a doctor?”
Quickly sobering up, I planted my elbows on the table, leaning in. “I was forced to.” Those four words, or rather the weight of them, seemed to sober Grace up as well.
She frowned and tilted her head, questioningly.
I shrugged. “In my family you were either one of two things, a doctor or a lawyer.” I looked down and unfolded the napkin into my lap, avoiding eye contact for a handful of seconds before lifting my gaze again.
“What stopped you from completing your licensure to become a nurse anesthetist?”
Grace avoided my gaze in a similar way I had earlier. “Life got in the way.” Her eyes darted to the corner of the room.
“Life? What does that mean?”
She looked me in the eye. “You don’t know how to take a hint, huh?”
I leaned in farther. “I know how, I’m just choosing to ignore it.” It was obvious she didn’t want to tell me the full reasoning behind her career delay but I didn’t care about her not wanting to share. I wanted to know more and more about her with each passing day.
“All you need to—”
“Jacob?”
I was instantly annoyed by the interruption as I was forced to look away from Grace to the couple who approached our table. I reminded myself I shouldn’t be too annoyed seeing as how the man inching closer to our table was the main reason I was able to get on the reservation list for this restaurant in the first place.
“Joshua,” I greeted. “Kayla.” I nodded at his wife. Joshua Townsend knew me better as “Doc” from the Underground, but in public we used one another’s names.
“Sorry for the interruption, I just wasn’t expecting to see you tonight.” Joshua smiled as I stood to shake his hand.
“No problem,” I lied, and the small smirk that crossed his face told me he knew I was lying.
“This is Grace. Grace, this is Joshua Townsend and his wife, Kayla.”
“Hello—”
“No, please don’t stand. We don’t mean to interrupt your dinner. Joshua just wanted to say hello to an old friend,” Kayla insisted to Grace.
“Yes, we’ll be on our way. Enjoy your meal,” Joshua stated before wrapping his arm around Kayla’s waist and heading off.
“Wow. I had no idea you knewtheJoshua Townsend.”
Before I could say anything, Grace smacked her forehead in a silly way and said, “What am I talking about? You’re a plastic surgeon, and people like the Townsends probably know every surgeon in your field from here to the East Coast.”
Shaking my head, I grunted. “Something like that.” Joshua, nor anyone in his family, had ever been a patient of mine but that wasn’t for me to bring up.
We made idle conversation for the next few minutes until our food arrived. Once it did, I derived a distinct pleasure in watching Grace enjoy her food. So much so, that my plate was only halfway eaten when she took her final bite. For the duration of our meal, I only had one main thought:I’m going to fuck her so hard.
****
