Finn considered and discarded several possible responses. "Yeah," he said finally. "That does suck."
Miguel glanced up, maybe surprised by the simple acknowledgment.
“And I bet it doesn’t help that your mom has been so busy with work lately,” Finn added, hoping he wasn’t overstepping.
Miguel shrugged, still picking at his pizza crust. “Yeah, I give her a hard time about it sometimes.” He paused. “But I know she’s doing it for me. Since Dad left and everything. It’s… a lot I guess.”
Finn nodded. He found himself respecting this side of Miguel he hadn’t seen before.
“But why do you do it?”
Finn looked up to find Miguel looking up at him expectantly. “What, work so much?”
Miguel nodded back.
Finn took a sip of his soda, considering how much to reveal. “The work we’re doing could have helped someone very important to me,” he said finally.
Miguel looked at him with new understanding, a respect that hadn't been there before. "That’s pretty cool," Miguel said simply.
With that, the emotional talk was over. They housed the pizza with urgency and chugged Mountain Dew. There was no time to waste.
Finn wiped his hands on a napkin. "Zombies?" he asked, reaching for his controller.
"Yep," Miguel replied, grabbing his own. Only word needed.
Chapter Sixteen
ELENA
The restaurant was nice. Way too nice. The kind of place where you might get stared at if you placed your fork on the wrong side of the table.
David was already seated, his back to a wall of windows that framed an expensive view of the city. When he saw her, he rose with practiced grace, his smile bright. He was in his element here.
"Elena," he said, stepping forward to greet her. "You look absolutely stunning."
His eyes moved over her with appreciation, taking in the burgundy dress Laura had insisted would ‘make her boobs look fantastic.’ The thought made Elena suppress a smile as David pulled out her chair.
"Thank you," she said, settling into her seat. "This place is... impressive."
"Best in the city," David replied, signaling a server whomaterialized instantly at his side. "We'll start with a bottle of the ‘82 cabernet."
He didn’t ask if she wanted wine from 1982, but she let it slide. This was how dating worked, wasn't it? Taking turns making decisions, learning each other's preferences. It had been so long since she'd done this dance.
The wine arrived, a deep red. Elena preferred white. David went through the ritual of sniffing and tasting it with the ease of someone who had done this many times before. Elena spotted a watch on his wrist that probably cost more than her monthly mortgage payment.
"So," David said, leaning forward, "tell me more about how it’s been going with the new protocol.”
Elena felt herself relax. This was familiar territory. "Well, we are still working through the data that is coming in from our patient set. But the patients we started with are beginning to see improvement.”
"That's impressive.” He looked thoughtful, swirling his wine. "And how is it coming for the deadline? I’m sorry to ask. I know the timeline was... ambitious."
Elena nodded, appreciating the diplomatic phrasing for what had been an unreasonable deadline. "It's tight, but I think we are on track. We’ve been working extra hours to ensure we have sufficient data present at the deadline. My new research assistant has been invaluable. I don’t think we would have had a chance without him.”
"The young man from the gala," David said, a note of recognition in his voice. "Quiet fellow, very intense."
"He's brilliant," Elena said. "And he is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever met."
David's eyebrows lifted, a smirk crossing his face before he masked it with a polite smile. "I'm sure he is."
