The door closed behind them, and he turned back to his screen. It was eerily quiet. He usually preferred it this way, just him and the work. Tonight, though, it just felt empty.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It was 2pm on a Wednesday and Elena had actually left the lab early for once. Miguel got out of school early on Wednesdays, and with Eric’s final health assessment scheduled for tonight, she decided to enjoy a few hours in the afternoon with her son while she could.
“So,” she said, glancing over at Miguel in the passenger seat as they pulled away from the school, “What should we do with our afternoon?”
Miguel shifted into what Elena called his ‘thinking pose’. After a moment, he suggested, “I suppose we could play Zombie Apocalypse 3.”
Elena scoffed. “Absolutely not. I thought I told you to delete that horrible video game?”
“Oh, right… Ididdelete the game. Just like you asked me to.”
Elena rolled her eyes at his blatant lie.
“You can play it the next time Finn comes over.” The words slipped out before she thought them through. There were no plans for Finn to come over. That wasn’t something that couldhappen again. So why had she said ‘next time’, like it was inevitable?
“Cool.” Miguel said casually.
Elena glanced over. He was staring out the window, but she could see the smile he was trying to hide.
They got ice cream first, chocolate in waffle cones. While they ate, they debated their afternoon movie. Elena let Miguel talk her into some action movie called ‘The Unit’ about a special-ops military unit defending the planet from an alien invasion. Miguel insisted it was a thoughtful, slow-paced film. That turned out to be another lie. It was mostly explosions with occasional dialogue.
After the movie ended, Elena glanced at her phone. Almost time for Eric’s final check-up. “I need to go back to work for a bit. It should only be an hour or two.”
She braced herself for Miguel’s disappointment. But he just nodded, still relaxed on the couch. “Another movie when you get back?”
Elena smiled. “Okay. But I get to pick this one.”
Miguel’s head dropped in dramatic fashion. “Please tell me it won’t be three hours of people talking about their emotions and crying.”
“I promise it will have at least one explosion. Happy?”
“Perfect. That should be everything we need.” Elena removed the sensors that were attached to Eric.
“Wow, I can’t believe it’s been three months already,” Eric said, rubbing the back of his neck where the sensors had been.
“Thank you for taking a chance on us, Eric,” Finn said. “I know it wasn’t a sure thing, but you trusted us anyway.”
“Are you kidding me?” Eric looked at them. “I should bethanking you. Both of you. I haven’t felt this good in a long time.” Eric smiled and picked up a bag from beside his chair. “Which is why I got you these.”
Elena exchanged a quick glance with Finn. Their patients rarely brought gifts, and there was something almost mischievous in Eric's expression that made her curious.
"You didn't have to do that," she said, though she leaned forward to see what was in the bag.
"Oh, but I did." Eric reached into the bag with dramatic flair and pulled out two boxes. "Ta-da!"
Elena stared at the flamboyant packaging. FlexiKnives, complete with Brad Valentino's overly enthusiastic face plastered on the front.
"They were running a three-for-one special," Eric explained, beaming. "So I got one for myself too." He pulled out a third box, cradling it like a precious family heirloom.
Before Elena could respond, she noticed Finn's reaction to the knives. His face had lit up in a way she'd never seen before.
"Are these really...?" Finn asked, reaching for one of the boxes with surprising eagerness.
Eric grinned. "Oh yeah. The complete set. Even comes with the bonus paring attachment."
Elena watched in bewilderment as the two men began unboxing the knives. Their excitement was so genuine that she couldn't help but smile. Finn removed his knife with the same precision he used when handling delicate lab equipment. The intense examination was far more than the cheap merchandise deserved.
