“Who?”
“Doctor Derek Shepherd.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know him. Which hospital does he work at?”
“Oh, he’s actually… a character fromGrey’s Anatomy.”
He let out a disbelieving snort. “A TV show? Seriously?”
“The greatest medical drama in television history. I can’t believe you’ve never seen it.”
“I don’t have time for that kind of nonsense.”
I considered that statement pure heresy.Grey’s Anatomywas my comfort show, one I’d watched since I was a teenager. But I let the insult slide for now.
“Right… so, you want to be the best doctor in the world to prove everyone wrong for dismissing you as an eccentric heir…”
“Saying it like that makes it sound… petty. Especially when the work itself could positively impact so many lives.”
“I agree. Itisgreat and important.”
“Thank you. Finally, someone understands. My family acts like it’s some kind of character flaw.”
“Well… my best friend is married to your brother. So, I’ve heard a thing or two. From what I can tell, they’re all incredibly proud of you. Especially Michael.”
“Michael lectures me the most.”
“Maybe because he understands that, as important as your work is… it shouldn’t beeverything.”
“I know, I know. The whole ‘family first’ speech. I love my family, Evelyn. But they need to understand I have obligations.”
“Let me tell you what I understand about family.” I paused, mentally scrolling through my life’s greatest hits. “Actually, I don’t understand much.”
“How so?”
“I have the most toxic mother you can imagine. And my father simply… doesn’t care. He wasn’t the classic workaholic; he was always home. Watching TV, reading the paper, sleeping, or arguing with my mother. He’s just… indifferent. My mother, on the other hand, cares too much about all the wrong things. Appearances and propriety matter more to her than actual happiness. She looks down on her divorced neighbors, even though many are visibly happier than she is. Her greatest shame is that I’m twenty-six, single, and childless. Well, more or less single…”
“How can you be ‘more or less’ single?”
“I never wanted a traditional marriage. But I lived with a boyfriend. My mother liked him, so she tolerated it. But after we broke up, her pressure for me to get back with him became a living hell.”
“I’m sorry, Evelyn.”
“It got a lot easier when I found my own family. Camila’s grandmother is my parents' neighbor. I practically grew up in her house. She’s the grandmother I never had, and Camila is the sister I’ve always wanted.”
“It’s great that you could choose your family.”
“But you never needed to, did you? I don’t know much about your father, but your mother is incredible. And your brothers are so close. And now you have two daughters, too.”
He stopped what he was doing and looked at Aurora, who was completely absorbed in decorating the tree. Then his gaze shifted to Anna, still at the table, lost in her drawing and oblivious to the festivities. He sighed, turning back to me.
“I’m trying. But I feel like I can’t communicate with either of them. It seems to come so easily to you… you even know sign language.”
“I learned in college and used it with hearing-impaired students. You can learn, too. In fact, it’s important that you do.”
“And what should I learn to talk to Anna?”
“I think the first step with her—with both of them, actually—is learning that they need to come first in your life.”
