“Magnolia?” Dr. Armstrong prods.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Armstrong, my mind is all over the place.” I push out a breath, and force my lips into a smile. “Anything else?”
He looks at me for another moment, his gaze lingering. “I was just saying that regardless of how this looks, or how you feel right now, I saw your performance last night, it was incredible.”
I know the blush on my cheeks is immediate, even though I do my best to tamp it down. “Even though I ended up cracking my foot?”
He purses his lips to hide his smile. “The audience didn’t have the slightest idea.”
I push out a rough exhale and move to sit up on the side of the table. He steps forward, a gentle hand curling around my elbow to help me. “Thank you, Dr. Armstrong.”
He nods, pulling his hand away once I’m stable. “It was good to meet you, Magnolia. I’m just sorry it was under these circumstances.” He smiles at me for a second longer. He’s an attractive man, older than me, with a rich brown head of hair and beard with flecks of gray starting by his chin. He’s tall, and I can tell even under his white coat that he’s fit, but looking at any other man only makes me hurt, only makes the longing I have for one man sting that much more.
He swings the door open. “My PA will be just a moment to fit you for a boot. Reception will get you set up with an x-ray and our next follow-up.”
I nod. “Thank you for everything, Dr. Armstrong.”
He flicks back the panel on his white coat to rest his hands on his hips. “See you in a few weeks, Magnolia.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m trudging down the hall; the sad squish of my crutch pads move across the tile, echoing with each limp I take.
Raymond stands when he sees me coming, and his sad smile makes my lower lip wobble.
“Quit looking at me like that, or I’m going to break down,” I whisper as I approach, continuing to crutch past him toward the exit. He meets my stride, and I keep my gaze forward, focused on the sunshine and the doors outside, and not on the expression painted on his face.
He helps me to a bench, and sets my purse by my side. “Wait here, I’ll bring the car around.”
He runs off, and I reach for my purse, digging through to find my phone. What I wouldn’t give to be able to just call Lukas, to talk to him, to hear his voice, to have him tell me that everything will be okay.
The sting of fresh tears is hot, and I close my eyes, tilting my head back as I let the hot summer sun warm my face.
Winter seemed to last forever. The spring was cold, dreary, wet. Each spring rain chilled me right to the bone. When summer arrived, I thought that chill would go away. In some ways, it did, but even as I sit here, eyes closed, breeze softly tickling my face, a part of me still feels numb inside.
My phone vibrates in my palm, and when I open my eyes, my heart pounds against my ribs when I see it’s Lukas calling. With shaking hands, I quickly swipe to answer and press the phone to my ear. “Lukas?”
“Hey, baby.” His baritone voice has tears springing to my eyes.
“You have no idea how badly I needed to hear from you.”
The phone line crackles, static so loud I have to pull it away from my ear.
“Mags,” he calls out. “You there?”
I sit up straight, somehow thinking the change in position will get us better reception, and the heel of my boot knocks on the pavement, sending a jolt of pain through my foot.
“Yeah. Hey. Can you hear me?” I hear him trying to talk over the static, but can’t make out what he’s saying. “Lukas,” I call out, raising my voice a little. “All I hear is static. Can you move somewhere else on base?”
“Magnolia?”
“Yes, right there! I can hear you.”
“What’s going on? You alright?”
Before I can answer, he asks me to hold on, and the phone muffles as if it’s pressed to his chest, and I hear him talking in the background to someone.
Raymond pulls his car around, and he parks it next to the curb, but when he sees me on the phone, he puts it in park, coming to sit next to me on the bench.
“Lukas, do you have a sec? It won’t take long, I just wanted to talk to you about something.”
