Page 87 of Scrubbing In
Laughing, Logan descends the steps, looking at Charlie out of the corner of his eye as he passes. “Of course not, buddy.” He slaps my shoulder, but doesn’t stop. “Enjoy dinner. I’m off to see what kind of tomfoolery has befallen the patient I’ve been summoned to fix.”
“Sorry you have to miss out on all the fun,” Charlie calls over her shoulder.
Leena and Charlie are already walking up the steps, but when Charlie gives Logan a little wave goodbye, his steps stutter. His eyes lock on his feet, then back up to Charlie, but she's already engrossed in conversation with Leena again, totally unaware that Logan just stumbled. His eyes slide to mine and I smirk at him. The girls may not have noticed, but I sure did. He clears his throat and continues on his way down the path, leaving me with a little secret I can't wait to watch unravel.
It’sa small group of people at Connor’s house. Aside from a little awkwardness and stilted conversation with Diego and Tasha—her being Devin’s closest friend—it has been a goodevening spending time with colleagues who are becoming friends.
I talk to a few hospitalists, CRNAs and anesthesiologists, and other surgeons I have met over the last few months. Chelsea and Joanne happily chatted away as we sat down to dinner. Almost no one bats an eye at my constant presence at Leena’s side, or my perpetual touching of her in some way.
Except for Sarina. She apologized profusely to us about the incident earlier in the week. She was shocked by the message and couldn’t believe I would dare hurt Leena. Apparently, she suspected something was going on between us from the first time she saw us together—back when she passed us at the entrance of the OR where Leena and I had been shocked to see each other. I assured her there were no hard feelings and thanked her for her discretion regarding us.
Leena and I just laugh when Charlie rolls her eyes at us, or when Connor takes great joy in ribbing us about our secret relationship. But he also seems genuinely happy for us.
Through it all, my girl holds on to me as tightly as I do her. She smiles up at me often and whispers, “I love you,” when I least expect it.
We couldn’t have asked for a better evening.
A contentment I’ve never experienced before settles over me.
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE
Leena
“Today is going to be amazing,”I cry as we walk up the covered employee walkway.
Julian usually lets me start my morning in companionable silence while I fully wake up, content just being able to touch or hold me. Today, however, my excitement can’t be contained. I chatted Julian’s ear off the entire drive to work—one of the perks of going public with our relationship.
Instead of being annoyed, he smiles fondly and kisses my forehead, affectionately tolerating my fangirling graciously. Because today he is repairing Elijah Mitchell’s knee.
Later that morning, Julian chuckles when I enter Elijah’s pre-op bay.
“Pretty girl,” he drolls, “what a surprise.”
Did I assign myself to Sarina’s break on purpose? Yes, of course I did. I totally took advantage of the opportunity to meet one of the best basketball players in Red Howler history and part of their most successful team era, then went on to have a highly successful professional career I followed.
“Pretty girl?” Elijah asks from the bed. “Is this the one who finally turned your head?”
“It most definitely is.” Holding his hand out to me, I place mine in his. Julian tugs, pulling me to his side. “Elijah, this is Leena. My girlfriend.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say while shaking his hand, reining in my excitement. “I’m giving your nurse a break before you go back.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Leena. I wish it was under different circumstances,” he says self-deprecatingly.
My heart aches for this man. Though he’s smiling and joking with Julian and being friendly with me, I can see the sadness in his eyes he can’t completely hide. I couldn’t imagine losing something I have spent my entire life loving in one fell swoop.
“Knock, knock,” someone calls from behind the curtain before it is pulled back. Jake, a pre-op nurse, enters with someone behind him. She looks timid and nervous. “Hello, everyone. Leena, I saw you come in and wanted to introduce you all to Marissa, a student nurse. Mr. Mitchell, if it’s alright with you, Marissa will be following you through your perioperative journey today.”
Turning back to Elijah to gauge his response, I’m shocked at what I see. No longer slumped back in the bed with hollow eyes, he’s sitting up, vibrating with a renewed energy, his gaze intensely focused on the student nurse.
With a small jerk of his head, speaking directly to the woman captivating his attention, he answers Jake. “Yeah, that’s completely okay with me.”
Marissa smiles shyly back at Elijah.
Suppressing my smile, I proceed with my pre-op interview.
Stepping out of the patient bay with Julian on my heels, I find Sarina leaning against the wall. “Oh, hey. Did you take your whole break?”
“Sure did. I was even able to count with Charlie. I was going to come in with Jake, but decided to just let you have yourmoment with your dude. I listened to the interview from out here.”
