“I’m here to see one of your...”
“Maddie!” Ty shrieks happily, racing towards me. He slams into my legs, wrapping his arms around them in a tight hug, nearly knocking me right off my feet.
“Woah! Slow down, buddy.” I laugh, bending to his level. “What are you guys doing here? Is everything okay?”
“We wanted to bring you lunch!” Ty beams, looking back towards Roman.
Roman gives me a guilty smile, holding up a paper bag with a shrug. “Ty’s idea.”
“You two know each other?” A strange look washes over Dr. Bauer as he glances back and forth between Roman and I.
“They’re friends, definitely not boyfriend and girlfriend.” Ty smirks up at Roman, who chuckles, but looks like he wants to crawl underneath a rock after being outed by his son.
I can’t help but laugh. Ty’s interjection is distraction enough to break up the tension that looms for everyone—almost everyone.
“Oh.” Dr. Bauer presses his lips into an awkward smile. “Well, have a great lunch. Madison, Come by my office when you’re done, will you?”
“Absolutely, Dr. Bauer. I’ll see you then.”
He nods back, scurrying off like he can’t get away from Roman fast enough. There’s a strange air between the two of them and it’s got me so curious.
“Come on, Maddie! Let’s eat!” Ty squeals, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the front doors. He runs a few steps ahead of Roman and me to a picnic bench that overlooks a pond.
“Definitely not boyfriend and girlfriend, huh?” I raise an eyebrow at Roman as we walk. His pinky grazes mine, and then he catches my hand in his. The touch makes my heart swell.
Despite his declarations last night, I still almost expected Roman to wake up with a change of heart, so I was pleasantly surprised when he got up just to make me coffee and kiss me goodbye before I left for work. And holding my hand in public is even better.
“I swear, that kid has a mind of his own.” He lets out a heavy laugh as we sit down. “He put me on the spot this morning and I didn’t know what to say.”
“I’m just giving you a hard time. I don’t care what we call this as long as we keep doing it.”
His face breaks into a wide smile as he leans in, pressing a quick kiss to my lips. “Oh, we’re going to keep doing it, alright. And make no mistake, I want you to be my girlfriend. I just promised we’d take this slow, and I need to be careful with Ty. He’s…it might be hard for him to understand right now.”
The sweet, conscientious side of Roman is new to me, but I have no complaints. I could get used to it.
“How has your day been?” Roman asks as he pulls takeout containers from the bag. Whatever it is, it smells incredible.
“It’s been busy. Nothing too crazy, but a few frequent flyers.”
“Frequent flyers?” He raises an eyebrow.
“That’s what we call people who come in all the time. Sometimes with legitimate reasons, sometimes without. I saw a man this morning that I’ve stitched up three times in the last month.”
“Wow.” Roman chuckles, crossing his ankle over his knee as he leans back. “Well, I’m sure it can get crazy here. Probably nice to have quiet shifts.”
I shrug, chewing on my lip. “I kind of like the crazy.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I sigh, trying to hide the defeat in my voice. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I went into medicine. “It’s what I went to school for to begin with. Trauma surgery.”
“And that’s not what you do here?” he wonders.
“Not exactly.” I swallow, wondering how much of this I should get into with Roman right now. “There are only a few hospitals in the country that let you fast track into trauma. Most of the time, you go through a general surgery residency, like what I’m doing here.”
“Where can you fast-track?”
“There are programs in LA, New York City, and St. Louis.”
