The kid glanced over at him before nodding.“Alright, let’s do this.”
Rob watched them from his designated corner.The kid looked over at him from time to time, but June ignored him completely as if he wasn’t even there.
He took the time to study her.He was learning a lot about her just by watching how she communicated with the kid.She never pushed him, was always considerate of his limited mobility, but tried to challenge him as well.
When the kid got frustrated, she walked away to give him a few minutes to recoup before they tried again.
After their session, the kid nodded toward him and was placed in a wheelchair and pushed out of the room.June looked at him as if she had just remembered him then approached him with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Rob, I apologize for being harsh with you earlier, but you were out of line,” she commented in a firm and chiding tone.
He was the one out of line?She had berated him as if he had been the one yelling at her.“I was only defending you.You looked like you needed rescuing.”Again, he left unsaid.
“There is a time and place for rescue; this was not it.I don’t need your help.This isn’t the army or whatever you did before, Rob.This is my career.He’s not the first to yell, nor will he be the last.When you step in like that, it undermines my authority.”She pointed at herself with her thumb.
Rob felt chastened.He had misread the situation.He thought he’d been helping but had actually made it worse.He could see that now.“I’m sorry.”
“Apology accepted.”She nodded at him in gratitude.
“Just like that?No groveling?”Weren’t women known for holding a grudge?His sister always had.
“No,” she chuckled, and all of the strain she had been carrying when she’d come over melted away.“It’s not in my nature to hold onto things.Life’s too short for that.”
Truer words couldn’t be spoken.He’d had so many close calls in his life.Any moment could have been his last.“How did you know I was in the army?”
“That’s what you came to ask me?”She raised an eyebrow in question.
“No, but now I’m curious.”
“I come from a military family, you act like a military guy, and the way you addressed my client all tells me you were military.He was army, so I just guessed.”
“It was a good guess.I was in the army for ten years.”
“What did you do?”
“I could tell you, but I’d have to kill you.”He was only joking.Kind of.
June rolled her eyes.“Military men and their secrets.Fine, keep them.”June checked her watch.“What did you want to talk about?”
“Do you have another client coming?”he asked instead.
“More interrogation?”She giggled.
“I just didn’t know if I was going to be interrupting again.”No reason to get scolded if he didn’t have to.
“No, it’s my lunch break.I don’t have an appointment for an hour, but I need to run and get something to eat since I didn’t bring anything.”
“I haven’t had lunch.Mind if join you?”He found himself suggesting it before he thought better of it.
“Worried I’ll find trouble between here and the deli?”
“Well, it would save me the trouble to be with you instead of having to track you down.”June was doing her best to look stern, but he could see the hint of a smile on her face.“I’m only joking.I’m starting to see now, you can handle yourself just fine.”
“Not in every situation, but just about.I’m not afraid to ask for helpwhenI need it.”She emphasized the point.
“Noted.So, lunch?”
Rob could see the wheels turning in her head.June had a very expressive face, but he couldn’t read what she was thinking.He had always been able to read people, and she was proving difficult.That wasn’t a bad thing.It was just different.
