Page 10 of Remember That Time

"Where did you meet him?"

Tony snorted. "You'll never believe me."

Oh, now my interest was piqued. "Tell me."

"The grocery store."

"What?"

"Serious as a heart attack," Tony said. "We both reached for some salmon at the same time. We laughed about it and then got to talking, decided to go for coffee, and the rest is history. We've kind of been seeing each other for a couple of weeks now."

"Nice."

"I want you to meet him." Tony wagged his eyebrows at me. "Do you work tomorrow night? There's another party going on at—"

My stomach instantly rebelled—which really wasn't a good thing—and I held up my hand. "No more parties for me." I grimaced at the very idea. "I need my beauty sleep."

"Are you sure?" Tony asked. "It's supposed to be one of those black tie fundraisers for the children's hospital."

"A fundraiser?"

That was a little different than an afterhour's party put on by a burned out medical student. It was still filled with party animals all dressed up, but these ones usually had money to burn.

They were still party animals.

"Yeah, all sorts of bigwigs are supposed to be there."

This was looking less inviting by the second.

"You should go," Tony encouraged. "Making those connections early can be good for your career."

I was totally aware of what having the right connections meant in society. My family lived and breathed connections. I just didn't want to base my career on who I knew instead of what I knew.

I'd either make it or break it on my own merits.

I glanced at Tony. "Are you going?"

Tony shook his head. "Naw, man, I'm working the night shift that night."

I had to give it to Tony, he worked hard. His parents weren't rich like mine were. He worked a part time job at a convenience store to help pay his way through medical school.

I wished I could help him, but that was a no-no. If I outright handed him cash, I could damage his pride, and he had a lot of it. Instead, I secretly helped by making sure our room was always stocked with food and necessities and took Tony out for a meal on occasion.

We'd lived in the same dorm room for the last three years. We weren't best friends—that spot was reserved for my brothers—but we were pretty good friends.

Tony grinned as he bumped shoulders with me. "If you go, maybe you could drop my name a few times, like to the dean of the medical school."

I squinted at the man. "Who are you?"

"I'll buy you another pickle."

"Done," I replied before I could think it over. I instantly wanted to take it back. My stomach was going to get me into so much trouble.

Tony bumped shoulders with me again, something I wish he'd stop doing. It jarred me every time. "Thanks, man. I'mreally hoping to get into that cancer research trial. Even if I'm changing bedpans it would look good on my resume."

That was probably true, but name dropping also went back to that whole "doing it on your own merits" thing. I could afford to be choosy though. Tony couldn't.

"I'll see what I can do."

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