I chuckled. “No, I get that. I’m not a seasoned horse person. I know my limitations.”
The song changed, and Theo turned the volume up. To my surprise, it was an older Paramore song. Theo head-bopped and I was pretty sure I could see him mouthing the lyrics.
Amused, I turned to look at the scenery and hummed along. It was a good song, after all. The next one wasn’t to Theo’s liking, so he turned the volume back down.
Before I could come up with anything to talk about, my phone rang, River’s face popping up with his name.
“Hey, babe, what’s going on?” I answered, because we’d just seen each other.
“I have an interview today!” he yelled loud enough that I pulled the phone five inches from my ear.
“Okay…?”
“That new practice I told you about, the pipe dream type of thing, remember?”
“Oh, right. The new guy who’s starting the more inclusive family practice, right?”
“Yes! He called me and he said that if I wanted to interview, it would be great.”
I frowned. “Why wouldn’t you? You applied, right?”
“Yeah, but apparently he’s gotten some applicants who show up and…I don’t know. He said something about them not being a good fit and that he feels like some of them put the word out and something…I don’t know.”
“Can I put you on speaker?” At River’s agreement, I tapped the screen. “Okay, repeat what you just told me and what’s the guy’s name?”
River explained the conversation he’d had with the Doc. “He’s Dr. Toby Cobb. New in town, apparently.”
“That name doesn’t ring a bell. What’s his deal?” Theo slowed down at an intersection, listening intently.
“Well, there’s this whole less traditional vibe about the practice he’s setting up, I guess. But I don’t know how exactly.”
“Have you done any social media stalking?” I asked.
“No, wait, that’s a good idea!” We could hear him typing on his laptop.
Theo chuckled. “I would’ve never thought of that.”
“I bet you have a Facebook account you don’t use,” I snarked.
He rolled his eyes at me. “I’ll have you know I don’t have any social media.”
River laughed at our banter. Then he gasped. “Holy shit.”
“What? What did you find?”
“Okay, okay…so think Doctor Mike only ten, fifteen years older and with full sleeve tattoos.” He sounded stunned. “One of which definitely has the pride flag colors subtly incorporated in it.”
“Oh wow…”
“That could explain why the older nurses might not want to work with him or feel like he’s…I don’t know.” Theo snorted softly. “There’s a lot of that sort of thing in the medical profession. Prejudices against tattoos and stuff, I mean.”
“Oh, I know. I got so much shit when I started to bleach my hair,” River murmured as he continued to go through Dr. Cobb’s social media.
“Okay, well, good luck with the interview. We’ll call if we get delayed at any point, but we should be home around dinnertime. Make sure there’s enough to feed Theo, too.”
Theo smiled a little. “Good luck, River.”
“Thanks, guys, see you later,” he replied in that distant way that told us he wasn’t really listening.
