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I’m feeling down. Spent the evening with Gramps.

Good. I will try to call later. Class is starting.

Okay.

Weeks later, I searched for the right words as I listened to Maddy’s stressed-out voice. There was nothing I could do to relieve her anxiety or the workload she was carrying. I had hoped hearing my voice would help her, but that didn’t seem to soothe her in any way. I offered the only words I thought might make her smile before our call finished.

“I love you,” I murmured. “That should help,” I added teasingly.

“Maybe tomorrow it will,” she whispered.

And hung up.

I stared at the phone, shocked. I expected her usual reply. An “I know.” Or maybe a small laugh and an “of course it does.”

Not a “maybe tomorrow it will.”

I set down the phone, running a hand through my hair in worry. Maddy sounded strange. Different. She was quieter, withdrawn. As I sat and thought about it, she had been that way the past few phone calls. Those were rare these days. With her class schedule, studying time, and volunteer work, she was struggling to juggle everything. I was still stuck on nights, and the three-hour time difference, which I never thought would be an issue, was a huge problem. When she was free, I was at work. When I was free, she was at school or asleep. She often tried to call during my shift, but since we were still one doctor short, I was rarely able to speak for more than a minute or two and oftentimes not even that. Even my days off were hit-or-miss. The last few calls had been filled with awkward silences, as if we were searching for something to say—news to share that warranted telling. And our texts were fast, checking in. I picked up my phone and scrolled back in our history. Our earlier messages had been long. Filled with stories, information, messages of love and missing each other. I was shocked to realize we hadn’t mentioned the word love in the past month.

And yet, I did still love her. I missed her deeply. The three months apart hadn’t changed that for me, but my emotions were a slow simmer, not the hot, intense passion we had shared when she was here.

I shook my head as doubts crept in. I was tired, drained from the long hours and emotional upheaval of everything. Maddy was exhausted and battling the hours of the day and not enough of them. She had confessed to me that she wondered if the program was too much to handle. She even doubted her choice of career at times, given how hard they were being pushed. She thought at first she could handle it, but by the second month, she was questioning her decision. Four students had dropped out of the program, deciding to return to the regular curriculum.

My phone rang, and I answered without looking at the screen, hoping it was Maddy. That she would laugh and tell me she forgot to tell me she loved me back or something that would settle my racing thoughts. But it was a male voice that greeted me. One I knew well.

“Matthew, it’s Bentley.”

“Hey, Uncle Bent,” I replied.

“Thomas is giving a lecture, and I’ve decided to surprise him and fly in to BC. I’ll be heading back to Ontario Friday. Aiden said I should check if you want to join me on the return flight?”

I hesitated, quickly thinking. I could fly in, see Maddy, and reassure her she could do this. We could do this. Take her to dinner. Hold her. Maybe persuade her to spend the night at a hotel with me and let her get a good rest. It would be worth working extra if I could see her.

“I need to see if I can switch a couple of shifts, but if I can, that would be incredible.”

“We have tons of points with the company. I’ll get your return booked through those.”

“No need, Uncle Bent.”

“Nope. Part of the deal. You see what you can do, and we’ll work out the details.”

“Great. Thanks.”

A few days later, I was anxious by the time I got to Maddy’s place. The whole flight, I was nervous. I tried to hide it, talk to Bentley as if everything was fine. Emmy had wanted to come but wasn’t feeling well, so it was only him in the comfortable jet. Luckily, he was distracted by some contracts and worrying about Emmy, so he left me alone for the most part, aside from asking me if I was anxious to see “my girl.”

“Yeah,” I replied. “This long-distance thing is harder than I thought.”

“I imagine so. I understand the program she is in is intense.”

“It is.”

“And so is your career.”

I nodded.

He rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. “Lots of stress for you both.”

I sighed. “Yes.”