Page 46 of Return

She tapped her phone a few times, then her eyes lit up as she shook her head. “Turns out, I don’t! My next patient canceled his appointment, so I don’t have to be back until three. You have time?”

Dean waved the waitress back over, grinning. “We changed our minds. We’d like to split a piece of…” He looked at Vivian, who had her answer ready.

“Cheesecake,” she replied.

“And a couple cups of coffee,” Dean added.

“You’re sure I’m not keeping you from anything?” Vivian asked, when the waitress left. “I know you have a game tonight.”

“I have things well in hand for that. I’d much rather be here.”

She smiled.

“You planning to come tonight?”

Vivian sighed. “I wish I could, but I got a little overzealous when Pip started school. Signed up to join the PTA, then added my name to the Halloween party committee. We’re meeting tonight to put the finishing touches on our costume carnival.”

“Sounds fun,” Dean said, chuckling when Vivian shot him an “are you serious?” raised eyebrow. “Or maybe I’m supposed to call it hell on earth? I have no frame of reference here.”

Vivian snorted. “Somewhere in the middle of those two. Personally, I’d rather be cheering on the Rays.”

And he would rather have her in the stands, though he suspected it would be better for his work ethic if she wasn’t. Dean didn’t doubt for a minute, he’d spend too much of the night sneaking peeks up at the team’s family box, hoping for glimpses of her. Without her in the arena, there was a chance he’d be able to focus on the game. A slim one, but a chance just the same.

The waitress returned with a large slice of cheesecake and two clean forks, then she poured them each a cup of coffee. Dean couldn’t help but notice they both took theirs with cream, no sugar.

“So why coaching?” Vivian asked, before taking a bite of the dessert.

Dean shrugged. “While my body was ready to give up hockey, my head and heart weren’t.” He tapped both those places as he said them.

“That makes sense.”

“I’ve lived and breathed hockey since I was Pip’s age. It’s all I’ve ever known.”

“So you think you’ll always be a coach?”

Dean rubbed his jaw. “This tends to be a cutthroat field. One bad season and I could be kicked out on my ass. But, optimistically speaking, yeah, I’d like to keep coaching for the foreseeable future. I’m not ready to retire from the sport yet.”

“You mentioned commentating in Boston. Do you think you’d ever pursue that? For the record, I think you’d be great at that.”

“I’ve been approached with offers. It’s not something I’ve considered since stepping behind the bench as a coach, but I never say never. If things with the coaching gig go south, that would be one way to keep a foot on the ice.” Dean licked his fork. “Okay. Your turn. Why genetic counseling?”

“That wasn’t actually my dream job. It was the backup plan, the one that allowed me to stay at home, work normal hours, and provide Pip with stability and a proper home life.”

“Oh,” he said, surprised by that confession. He seemed to recall her talking about being a geneticist back when she was eighteen and in her first year at college.

“Don’t get me wrong,” she added hastily. “I genuinely enjoy my work at Hopkins.”

“So what was the dream job?”

“Paleopopulation genetics.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. Her career had become a running joke between them, because once she started talking about work, he realized just how fucking smart Vivian was, and it always became obvious that he didn’t fully grasp what it was that she did.

“You didn’t realize those were two different careers, did you?” she asked.

“In my defense, they both have the word gene in them.”

Vivian threw her head back, laughing loudly. Dean joined her.