“I do too, but walking down a cobblestone road in them isn’t the best idea. Haven’t we already been over this?”
“Neither is having a loose pig in the middle of a town!”
“Fair enough,” Austin gives in. “Anyway, we’re just going to do a quick check on your head, but I think you’re okay.”
“Great.”
“Does anything else hurt?” Austin asks.
“My brain.”
“Besides your brain?” he continues, speaking calmly, unaffected by my mood.
“No.”
“I suppose this didn’t help your decision about staying here or going back to Boston,” he says, looking down at his hands.
“I’m going to go ahead and agree with that,” I tell him. I know that’s not what he wants to hear, but I’m at such a loss right now. I don’t know what to do and my heart is becoming more involved by the day.
“Okay, I have to go check on something. I’ll be right back,” Austin says.
He stands up from his stool and adjusts his pants like he always does when getting up. Watching him walk out the door just makes my heart feel heavier than it already did.
Clara plops down into his seat and takes my hand in hers, which is unusual since we haven’t said a whole lot to each other. I’ve gotten the feeling in the past month that she might have feelings for Austin, so I didn’t want to tiptoe too closely to that subject with her.
“Hey,” she says. I twist my head to look over at her. “That guy out there, he’s falling in love with you.”
Her words hit me like a bucket of cold water, and I gasp in shock. Austin and I haven’t even touched upon that subject, seeing as we were arguing about labels just a few hours ago. Not to mention the fact that I’ve been talking about going back to Boston.
“How do you know?” Did he tell her?
“I’ve known Austin since we were ten years old,” she says, laughing. “He was such a geek back in the day.” She rolls her eyes. “He had to grow up quickly and man up, though. He’s stayed away from gettin’ his heart hurt, and I can’t say I blame him, but this is the first time I’ve seen him care about someone as much as he cares about you.”
“Really?” I ask. I’m not sure I’m surprised, but now that she mentions it, he hasn’t mentioned a past relationship, just flings.
“I have loved that boy since we were kids, but we would never work. I’m too passive for him. Anyway, you are like his perfect match, and anyone would be a fool not to notice. I want Austin to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for him.”
“That’s really sweet of you,” I tell her. I appreciate her honesty more than I can express—it’s not a trait I’m familiar with.
“Now, I’m not about to tell you to give up your career ambitions or nothing, but things don’t have to be black and white, you know?”
“Do you ever get bored down here?” I ask her.
She purses her lips and shakes her head. “No way. There’s always something going on. I’ve always loved living here, but I haven’t lived anywhere else, to be fair.” While I’m thinking that nothing she said has been helpful, there is one thing that might have given me an idea.
“Thank you,” I tell her.
“You know, I know your friend left, so I just wanted to tell you that I do make for a pretty good friend if you’re in need.”
Clara has the sweetest personality. It’s easy to see why she’s in healthcare. “I’d like that. Really. Thank you for being so kind.”
“It’s my pleasure, sweetie.” She releases her hand from mine and taps me gently on the arm. “Take care of yourself. Austin will be back in a moment, I’m sure.”
