“Garlic bread is my favorite.” Nikki didn’t need direction—as soon as Vincent started to herd her toward the kitchen, she took off at a skip. “Can you make lasagna out of just garlic bread instead of noodles?”
“I don’t think so, sweet stuff.”
“What about if you put cheese on the garlic bread? I like cheese.”
“Tell you what? You can have cheesy garlic breadifyou agree to have a vegetable tray for a birthday cake.”
“No!”
Vincent and Nikki had already left the room, but their conversation carried to Mal’s ears all the same. It instilled in him a joy he rarely experienced—although not by blood, Vincent and Nikki had welcomed him into their family, and they shared with him all the small, but important ways that family mattered.
“Mal?” Nikki called from the kitchen. “Are you coming? My dad is being mean. He didn’t really get a vegetable tray instead of a cake—you don’t have to worry.”
Mal laughed. “Good. Iwasworried. But now that I know, I’m on my way.”
He left the dining room to join them, heart fuller than it had ever been before.
34
Vincent
What do you need to do before you show up for the transfer today?Vincent wrote. He sat in the break room, hunched over his phone, wishing that he could indulge in coffee.
Patient Zimmerman had shown up for the first appointment of the day with an empty bladder despite prior counsel. Rather than attempt to perform the transfer and risk a rate reduction, Dr. Heaney had decided that it was best if they reschedule the appointment. Vincent, as skilled as he was, could only do so much with limited visibility, and they couldn’t afford to wait the extra half hour to forty-five minutes it would take for Zimmerman’s bladder to fill when there were so many other patients scheduled for the day.
Mal was up next, and even though he’d been through several rounds of IVF, for Vincent’s peace of mind, he needed to check in.
Chug 32oz in fifteen minutes,Mal replied.
And when do you need to do that in relation to your appointment?
About half an hour before I’m scheduled to arrive. I’ve already started. I’m about to hit the road.
Good. Vincent breathed in through his nostrils until his lungs couldn’t stretch any farther, then breathed out noisily.That’s perfect. Thank you. We had an incident this morning with someone who didn’t remember to drink before arriving, and we had to reschedule. Not only is it an inconvenience, it puts the viability of the embryos at risk.
Mal sent a picture of a massive bottle of water, its cap off and its contents partially drained.I’m on it. When it comes to my appointment, you have nothing to worry about.
You’re a lifesaver.
And today, you’re a life starter :)
The smiley face. Vincent slid his arms across the table and slumped down, grinning. How could a colon and a parenthesis make him so happy?
While he basked in the afterglow of Mal’s message, a notification popped up from the Single Dads. Vincent had been tagged in a post.
LoveHarley: Hey @xVerity, I saw your pictures from Nikki’s birthday just now! She’s growing up fast, isn’t she? I had no idea she was THAT into Heaven, Locked haha. That action doll’s been sold out for months. Man, we should chat about that sometime soon. If I’d have known, I would have sent her something.
xVerity: Thank you, Harley. That’s sweet.
LoveHarley: No big. I’m going to be in Aurora on business sometime next year, date is still TBD. When I’m in your neck of the woods I’ll make sure to bring her something extra cool, okay?
xVerity: Sure.
KnotMyProblem: Wait wait, hold on. Harley, do you do something other than surf?
LoveHarley: It may surprise you to know that the last time I tried to surf, I fell on my face and almost broke my nose
Gwynning: Pretty sure we had this conversation before. Were you not there for it, Knot? Harley, you’re a bouncer, right?
