“Are you okay?” I ask gently as I rest the coffees on the desk.
Harper looks up at me. The whites of her blue eyes arebloodshot, and her button nose is pink. “Hedumpedme.”
“Oh, Harper… I’m so sorry…”
Her eyes fill with fresh tears. “He wasn’t taking me to a nice restaurant to propose. He was taking me there so he could dump me and I wouldn’t be able to make a scene.”
“You should have made a scene anyway!”
She shakes her head. “What’s the point?”
“The point? The point is that you make him pay. You make him—” I see the expression on Harper’s face and realize that I’m talking to the wrong person. “Listen, you could have any guy you want. And now you can focus all your energy on your studies.”
“Nora is right,” Sheila speaks up. “Harper honey, you’re gorgeous. You’re way too good for him. Mark my words, in a month he’s going to beg you to take him back. And you are going to say no way.”
Harper offers a brave little smile.
Philip waltzes into the office at that moment, whistling a little tune under his breath. Philip likes to whistle. He even does it during surgeries. It drives the scrub nurses batshit crazy.
“Hey.” He skids to a halt when he sees us standing all together and Harper’s teary eyes. “What’s going on here? Everything okay?”
“Girl talk,” I snap at him.
He grins at me. “Like, you’re talking about your periods…?”
I could strangle him sometimes. “No.”
“Sonny broke up with me,” Harper blurts out.
“Oh.” Philip manages what is actually a veryempathetic expression. “I’m sorry to hear that, Harper. But I’m sure you’ll find somebody else who is even better.”
It would have been such a nice sentiment if he wasn’t pointing to his own chest when he said it.
“Will you get out of here?” I snap at him.
Philip rolls his eyes, but he goes on back to his office, although not before taking his coffee. Harper reaches for a tissue to dab at her own eyes. Fortunately, she wasn’t wearing any mascara. I’m not sure how she gets her eyes to look so beautiful without any mascara.
“I’m okay, Dr. Davis,” she sniffles. “I promise, I’m fine.”
I look at her doubtfully. She does not look fine at all. But everyone is right. Harperwastoo good for Sonny. This is the best thing that could’ve happened to her. Even if she doesn’t know it yet.
“Listen,” I say. “On your lunch break, I want you to take the business credit card, and I want you to buy yourself a great lunch, and also… buy yourself a present. Something decadent.”
Harper laughs through her tears. “I can’t do that.”
“You can and youwill.”
At least I’ve gotten a smile out of her now. She takes the coffee I bought for her and so does Sheila. I grab my own cup, then I head for my office. I thought I’d have a leisurely fifteen minutes to drink this, but now I’ve got less than five minutes to gulp it down before Sheila comes to grab me.
I log into my computer to check labs, but the computer is being slow booting up. While I’m waiting, I grab myphone and browse a local news website. I scroll down the screen, looking at the headlines. I pause when one catches my attention:
Local Man in Critical Condition After High-Speed Motor Vehicle Collision
I quickly skim the article. Although it doesn’t mention him by name, they confirm the location of the accident. It was definitely Callahan. He was clearly seriously hurt when he smashed into that tree.
A lump rises in my throat. It’s entirely my fault. Of course, if he hadn’t been following me and trying to scare me…
Maybe I should go check on him. The article mentions he was brought to the hospital where I work. I could bring him some flowers. Of course, if he’s in the ICU with a tube down his throat, he probably won’t appreciate it.
