Page 66 of Maxwell

“Try some of this braciole.” Maxwell reached across the table with his fork.

Without thinking, she opened her mouth. Only after she was chewing did she realize what she had done. Eating off his fork had felt so natural, as though they had been sharing bites with each other for years.

“I’m getting that next time,” Jasmine said.

“I haven’t had a bad meal here yet.”

Jasmine sipped her wine. “My dad told me you volunteered for six months before you started with us.”

He nodded as he finished chewing. “In Southwest Atlanta. My plan is to go back at some point to help out again. I didn’t want it to be one and done, you know?”

“I’m sure they appreciate the help. Did you learn anything different from what you did at Boston Children’s Hospital?”

He lowered his glass from his lips, his expression turning thoughtful. “During my residency, I became really good at treating symptoms fast and moving on to the next patient. The hospital is like a machine, but down there, I could spend more time with my patients. Twenty or thirty minutes instead of five or ten. Sometimes I’d see three siblings at the same time because their parents couldn’t afford to take off from work to bring their kids in on another day. That was their only shot at having their children examined. Working in those conditions clarified more than ever the importance of the work we as doctors perform. What medicine is supposed to be. Not overhead and insurance codes and productivity metrics, but showing up for people, answering questions, listening to solve problems.”

Jasmine heard the passion in his voice and knew without a doubt he wasn’t putting on an act. She was learning about the core of the man he was.

“Is that why you chose pediatrics?” Jasmine asked quietly, wanting to know more.

Maxwell didn’t answer right away, using his fork to move a piece of meat around in its tomato sauce. “When I was growing up, I had a friend named Deidra. She was a tomboy. I used to see her when I spent time on the farm my mother’s family runs. Deidra was a badass. She could outrun, outfish, out-everything all us boys.” He laughed, the smile disappearing as quickly as it came. “She died when I was ten. I didn’t find out the details until almost a year later. I overheard my mother and my Aunt Florence talking about how she had an infected tooth. Her family didn’t catch it in time because they couldn’t take her for regular checkups. The infection spread, and by the time they understood the severity of the situation, it was too late.”

Jasmine didn’t dare move. She was so enthralled by his explanation.

“No one should die because they can’t afford a simple checkup,” Maxwell continued, his jaw tight. “But a kid—a fucking kid?”

He shook his head, and she didn’t only see the pain on his face. She heard it in the rawness of his voice. Now she understood why he had been so oddly intense about the dental workshop.

“I can’t change what happened to her. I can’t fix the system that made it happen, either. I wish I could.” He released a dry, humorless huff. “But I wanted to do something. So I fix what’s in front of me, one kid at a time. No more Deidras.”

“That’s very noble,” Jasmine said softly.

“I’m not doing it to be noble.”

“That’s what makes it noble.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

As they left Beppe’s, Maxwell took Jasmine’s hand, and she glanced up at him. To his surprise, she didn’t pull away.

“The tiramisu was the perfect ending to a perfect dinner,” she remarked.

They had lingered over the dessert, splitting the hunk of cake and fighting over the last piece. Maxwell let her win.

“Perfect, until you made that lame joke at the end,” he pointed out.

“The waiter laughed,” Jasmine said defensively, bumping him with her hip.

“Of course he did. Poor guy felt obligated so he could get his tip.”

They stopped next to his vehicle.

“Did you really not think it was funny? Because I have more jokes. I can make you laugh.”

“That’s all right,” he said, reaching for the door.

Jasmine pushed away his hand. “Let me try one more time. Seriously, I have a ton of them.”

“It’s really not necessary.”