He laughs softly, wiping at his eyes. “I’ve had some trauma. I haven’t found a good therapist to deal with it, so I gave up.”
“It can be challenging to find the right fit. I’m out of Chicago, but I’m sure I have some colleagues who know solid therapists here in Madison. I could ask around if you’d like?”
He looks nervously over my shoulder. “Giuliano doesn’t know.”
“It’s completely confidential.” I reach into my back pocket and pull out my wallet to grab a business card. “Text me if you want my help. I’m happy to see what I can do.”
Jacob nods, glancing at my card before tucking it into his front pocket. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
“Yo, Doc,” Nantes calls out. “You ready?”
I pat Jacob’s shoulder then turn to Nantes. “I’m ready.”
As we walk out together, I clap his shoulder. “Why do you call me Doc when you’re also a doctor?”
Nantes tilts his head. “Huh. Good question. Guess it just came out.”
“I don’t mind. I’m rarely referred to that way. I insist my patients use my first name. Makes me more approachable.”
“No one ever used my first name. It was always Dr. Benedetti, or as my department head called me, Bennie.”
I laugh softly. “That’s funny.”
“The life of kids with weird names. Am I right,Vanian?”
“Absolutely.”
He rubs his hands together. “Let’s get ready to turn up. Wait… is that what young people say now?”
“No, I think it’s lit. Or maybe that means the thing is lit, like fun. God, we’re old.”
“Shit, we are, aren’t we? We still look young though, and that counts.”
“It absolutely counts.”
“Alright, old man, let’s get ready to have fun. How’s that?”
“Works for me.”
Chapter 10
Nantes
An hour and a half later, we pull into the parking lot of the club where my friend is DJing. The lot is already packed, but as people exit their cars and flow towards the entrance, I notice the age diversity. At least it’s not just full of UW students.
Vanian grins at me as he slides out of the passenger seat. He changed into a tight-fitting deep blue t-shirt and ripped jeans with black ankle boots. He looks incredible. I chose a simple black tee, jeans, and fashion sneakers. It’s been so long since I’ve been out to a club, I have no idea what the appropriate dress code is these days, so hopefully this works.
At the door, the bouncer lets us through, and then we stop at the front desk to pay the cover charge. After that, we walk through the curtain into an environment I haven’t participated in for years.
Vanian grabs my arm, leaning close to me. “I feel like a fish out of water.”
Chuckling, I nod. “Me too. Let’s go say hi to my friend and maybe grab a drink. That should help.”
“Let’s do it.”
We navigate the dark room with pulsing strobe lights and loud music until we get to the DJ booth. I wave at Lex, who grins and waves back at me, using his index finger to let me know he’ll chat in a second.
