I’m kind of nomadic.
That so?
Residency here. Fellowship there. Short contracts. I don’t stay anywhere long.
Doesn’t that get lonely?
It does.
I think about empty apartments, boxed dishes, and the way I stop unpacking fully because what’s the point.
Sometimes.
Three dots appear. Disappear. Appear again.
I think loneliness is worse when you’re surrounded by people who don’t really know you.
You’re surprisingly thoughtful for a man who texted me about my lips.
Both sets of them.
I’m old and wise.
You aren’t THAT much older than me. Are you?
38
See? Six years.
Dinner comes and goes in stolen bites. I eat a granola bar over a keyboard while answering a nurse’s questions about a medication order.
BUZZ.
JAGGER
Family?
My mom passed a while ago. My dad lives in Baltimore. He’s loving, suffocating, and still thinks I’m twelve.
Relatable
You?
Four brothers. One sister.
My eyebrows shoot up. That’s a huge family.
Your poor parents.
Biologically, I’m an only child.
???
Hawk, Damon, Gunnar, Mattis, and Abby…
They’re my family.
Something warm settles in my chest.
