Page 105 of Love What's Left
“Hawai’i looks like it was good for you,” he says.
She runs her tongue over her front teeth, her brow creasing slightly. “Yeah. It was great.”
“You really should make an appointment to come into the office for your follow-up visit,” he says.
Sydney’s head nod looks almost slow motion.
Granthy reaches into his pocket and hands her a business card. “To help you remember that you need to make an appointment.”
She accepts the card without looking at it and tucks it into her shorts. “You look familiar.”
He gives a hearty laugh. “Glad to hear it.”
“Gabriel, do you have my phone?” she asks.
Her shorts have only small pockets, so she handed it to me hours ago. When I pass the phone over, she steps in the middle between me and Granthy and holds it up for a selfie.
“Lean in. Say, ‘Cheese,’” she says.
We do as she asks, and Sydney snaps a photo of the three of us together.
“Maybe it’ll help me remember this meeting.”
Dr. Granthy straightens, then reaches for the phone in his pocket, holding it up to look at a notification. “The life of a doctor on-call. I have to take this. Happy birthday, Sydney.”
He heads back inside the house, his phone to his ear.
“Do you need to sit down?” I ask.
She sighs. “Probably. My legs are wobbly.”
When she sits, I join her at the table.
“So, that was Dr. Granthy,” she says.
“Yes.”
“If I keep staring at this picture long enough, do you think I’ll remember him next time?” she asks.
“I don’t know.”
“My therapist says I associate him with the trauma, the same way I did Dr. Frankhouser. I think she’s right.”
She opensup the photo on her phone and examines it. “What’s wrong with this picture?”
“Nothing.”
Sydney glances at her can of seltzer, then makes a face. “I’m sorry. I can’t drink this after it sat open. I know it’s wasteful, but I can’t stand seltzer, anyway, let alone at room temperature. I gaslight myself into thinking I like it because it doesn’t have sugar. But this is raspberry/lime-flavored sadness with a sprinkle of dirty socks.”
“Give it here. I’ll drink your dirty socks and get you something else.”
She passes it over. “I’m going to stare at this photo until I figure out what’s wrong with it.”
“I’ll be right back.”
“Do you trust Dr. Granthy? Completely?”
“Frederick Granthy is the last person I can imagine causing harm to this family.”
