Page 25 of Before the Storm

I extended my hand and offered her the card, but she dismissed me with a wave.

“I was hoping we could avoid that,” she said, a polite smile on her face. “I mean…” She laughed. “I don’t want to impose.”

Impose?Imposing is exactly what you are doing! Stopping me in the middle of the street in the dead of summer to ask me todiagnose a child by just looking at a photo taken with a camera phone.

“Oh.” I waved my hand. “None of that. I’m happy to see the kiddo.”

She glared, and my first reaction was to yell. But I was too polite for this town and its intrusions, so instead I took a deep breath and smiled, that one single smile I reserved for my patients. “Well, at first glance it looks like it might be Fifth disease, which is totally viral and should clear up on its own. Just make sure you manage symptoms. But again, I’m going into the office now if you want to bring her over, and we can check her out later today.” I smiled.

“Oh, no need, right?” she chirped, tucking her phone back into her large purse. “Thankssomuch. You saved me a trip to the doctor.”

And as quickly as she showed up, she was gone with a small chuckle on her lips, and I was left standing in the middle of the street, the birds chirping around me and the summer sun burning my back.

“Damn it,” I mumbled. People were so weird sometimes. Everyone knew I was a doctor, and I had many of these interactions on the daily. Some people even went as far as asking me point blank about their ailments. At least this woman pretended to be interested in me and my family. I didn’t have a single second to respond. Could have been worse.

When I finally made it into the office, Francisco was standing outside, one hand inside his jeans pocketand the other holding a to-go cup from the hotel’s restaurant. He smiled when he saw me approach, then immediately followed it with a frown. I looked behind me to try and figure out what he was looking at but didn’t find anything that could have warranted the displeasure on his face.

“Hey,” I said with a big smile on my face, my heart hammering inside my chest. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, um…” He shifted on his feet, weight going from one leg to the other. “I took this by accident,” he said, taking a tongue depressor from his pocket and shoving it towards me.

I stood there for a second while my brain computed what was happening. And then I barked out a giant laugh, something I hadn’t done in a long time, not even when teasing my oldest brother for being a weirdo. “What?” I squeaked.

He smiled, then shrugged his shoulders. “What?” he asked with a glint in his gaze.

“Where did you get this from?” His eyes were shining with levity, and those damn corners crinkled with his smile. “These are disposable,” I said. “I have no use for them.” I giggled a little more at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“I think I took it by accident the other night when I got rained out.” One of the sides of his mouth lifted, giving me the most adorable, crooked grin ever. “Oh, and here,” he said, handing me the to-go cup. “Someone at the little café by the square told me how you take your coffee. So I brought some.”

My eyes narrowed, and the corners of his crinkled in response. “What for?” Now I was curious. Because just minutes ago, I was standing outside my brother’s house, hoping to sneak a peek at him. And now, he was standing in front of me with a lame excuse and coffee.

“For dinner last night,” he mumbled, tucking both of his hands in his pockets once I took the cup. He was wearing a loose button-down shirt and jeans despite the heat. His feet were covered inalpargatas, and his hair was wild on the top of his head, like he’d slept with it wet and tossed and turned all night. “And for taking me in like a stray puppy.”

“You’re more like a cat.” I shrugged but then scrunched my nose at my awkwardness.

“I already told you, I’m not a cat person,” he said, his smile growing bigger the more he looked at me.

I laughed again and turned to unlock the gate outside of the small house that was home to the clinic. It still belonged to Dr. Martín, but he and I had worked out an agreement for me to slowly pay for it so that I could own it eventually. Francisco stood behind me, waiting for me to unlock the door, then pushed it and held it for me. He walked in and closed it behind him.

“Wow,” he said, then chuckled lightly.

“Hey,” I scolded, turning around and swatting at his arm. He deepened his laugh, then squeezed one of my biceps. I froze but quickly recovered. Because he didn’t remember me, but he did it nonetheless. It was the third time. Ourthing.The squeeze. Like a signal but in not asmany words. In no words, as a matter of fact.“No laughing.”

He lifted his hands up, palms facing out. “You said it last night,” he said with a smile and stared at the mural. “It’s something, alright.”

I grinned, then moved towards the reception desk to drop my things. Valentina had left it pristine, all her paperwork put away for the year. She would be back at the end of February after an extended summer break visiting her family. I would make do without her for a few months, and Martina promised to help around a little, so I was confident I could manage.

“Does that happen often?” he asked. My brows furrowed, and I angled my head in question. “People stopping you on the street and harassing you for a diagnosis for their kid?”

“Oh.” I pursed my lips.

“Yeah, oh,” he said, walking towards me and taking a seat at the chair by Valentina’s desk. He crossed his leg, setting his ankle over the opposite knee, then relaxed his forearms on the arms of the chair. He cracked his neck, then looked at me again, waiting for a response.

“Sometimes.” I shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”

“Luli,” he deadpanned. “Sheliterallysaid that you were saving her a trip. Just a little too convenient, don’t you think?”

I sighed.

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