Page 103 of Hold the Pickle
Would I? This is a rare chance to try a new field.
As we exit the elevator and pass the windows where another newborn is getting its first cleanup, I wonder. Is this where I’m meant to be?
And then the next thought comes.
What would Nadia think?
I want to ask her.
Maybe I will.
35
NADIA
Neonatology. Working with babies. Dalton sounds excited.
We haven’t spoken in over a week, and it’s such a relief to hear his voice. “How has it been so far?”
“It’s so different from the ER. We have emergencies, but not fifty a shift.”
“Is there less drama?”
“I don’t know. Nobody gets stabbed, but man, expecting parents can be a lot.”
I pull Pumpkin from my jeans leg. She’s dug her claws in. “But moving specialties doesn’t change anything else?”
“No, I’ll still take my intern exams in a few months and hopefully move up to my residency.”
“Makes sense.” I was almost hoping the unexpected call with the change in his life might mean he could transfer.
“I just wanted to tell you. Tell someone.”
Pumpkin bats at my fingers as I push her away from my jeans. She’s determined to latch on. “Yes, of course. I’m glad you’re figuring it out.”
“Speaking of which, I have to run. I’m about to go on shift.”
“Good to talk to you.”
He ends the call with no endearments. No declarations.
Are we just friends now? Two people who update each other occasionally?
My heart squeezes. Surely not.
I pick up a feather toy to play with Pumpkin. She is desperate for attention. Ferris and Doppy realize I’m waving the yellow menace and dash onto the bed to join the fray.
“You all do know it’s not a real bird, right?” I laugh as I move it around, watching them lose their minds trying to catch the dancing toy.
The front door creaks open, and I pause to listen. A booming voice at the bottom of the stairs makes my heart speed up.
Is that who I think it is?
Oh, no.
I hop up to open my bedroom door. I can’t see the front door from here. I slide along the wall like I did in high school when I was sneaking out and peer around the edge to look down.
Uncle Sherman.
