Friday afternoon, I was sitting on the sofa with Maverick curled up at my side while I scratched his head. The television was on, but I wasn’t paying attention to it. I was debating whether or not to eat lunch since I hadn’t had breakfast, and, if so, what to have.
A knock on my door interrupted my internal debate, and Maverick sat up, barking. I rubbed his head as I shushed him and reluctantly stood from the couch and walked to the door.
When I opened it, I was surprised to see Haley standing on the other side.
“Hi,” she said softly as her eyes scanned over me.
I could only imagine what I looked like—sweatpants, T-shirt, hair disheveled, faint stubble from lack of shaving.
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Hey.”
“I, um…I’m sorry to drop by like this. I was talking to Dr. Tomblin, since I start working under your supervision next week. There were a couple of forms she still needed you to sign.” She held up a few papers. “I offered to bring them by…you know, just so you had time to look at them and bring them on Monday.”
I knew what she was doing. This was something that could have waited until Monday, but she used the opportunity to check on me.
I hesitated before nodding, stepping aside to let her in. As I shut the door behind her, Maverick came bounding over, his tail wagging.
Haley smiled, crouching down to pet him. “Hi, boy.” Hespun in a circle before lying at her feet and flipping to his back for a belly rub, earning a chuckle from her.
While she was occupied with him, I grabbed a pen from my counter and walked back to the living area, sitting on the couch and looking over the papers—they were just preceptorship forms.
A moment later, I felt the couch shift when she sat down beside me. “How…how are you?”
I nodded, not looking at her. “Good.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her gaze subtly shift around the open space, probably thinking the worst of me because of the mess. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”
“No,” I replied quietly with a shake of my head as I flipped to another page. “Just me debating lunch with myself.”
“You don’t have to read those right this second,” she said gently. “If you don’t want to, I mean. You have all weekend.”
I let out a breath, then nodded, tossing them onto the disarray of my coffee table before sitting back and scrubbing a hand down my face. I felt Maverick rest his head on my thigh, and I reached out to pet him.
“What were you going to make for lunch?”
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. I wasn’t sure I was going to eat at all, but I didn’t say that part out loud.
“You should eat something…” She stood from the couch, leaving me there as she walked into the kitchen area behind me. I heard the refrigerator door open, followed by the sound of her rummaging through the contents. I didn’t care enough to stop her. “How old is this grilled chicken?”
“Uh…” I thought for a moment. “From Wednesday night.”
“Can I use it?”
“Haley, you don’t–”
“I know,” she interrupted. “Can I use it or not?”
I lifted my hands in a gesture that said “go ahead.”
Behind me, I could hear cabinets and drawers open, the sound of a glass bowl being set on the counter, the clang of silverware, and the chop and slice of a knife. I had no idea what the hell she was doing in my kitchen or attempting to make, but I remained on the couch with my back to her.
A part of me felt ashamed. She’d seen my episode at work on Wednesday. She’d seen me leave midway through my shift. And now, here I was, looking like a damn mess, my house a mess. She probably thought I was fucking pathetic. I was waiting for her to start asking questions, to ask me what the hell my problem was, to tell me to clean my house and get in the damn shower and act like a fucking adult. But at the same time, another part of me didn’t give a shit.
Ten minutes later, Haley walked back into the living room—she moved some things out of the way on the coffee table and set down a plate with what appeared to be some kind of wrap, along with a bottle of water beside it.
“Eat.”
One word. Gentle yet firm.
