Page 21 of The Art of Dying

“Nine-Eleven,” I said.

“Oh. Right. That makes sense. But my point is… he’s different. He grew up, knows what he wants, and he’s going for it.”

“Yeah, but they always do in the beginning.”

She shook her head. “Not Kitsch. He’s a ladies’ man, sure, but I can tell you I’ve never seen him take a girl to breakfast and drop her off at work with the promise to pick her up. He’s not… he’s never been the type to do boyfriend shit like that, but apparently with you…” she shrugged, “he is.”

“Really?” I asked, fully aware of how ridiculous I sounded. I was downright giddy. “You’d tell me if I’m headed straight into a broken heart, right? Because experience tells me to pump the breaks.”

“Just do what feels right, Mack. He’s not Mason. He clearly likes you. It’s okay to let yourself be happy. He’s leaving soon, anyway. If it’s not what you want, you have an easy out.”

I thought about her words and nodded, putting my hand on the doorknob. “We’re going to supper tonight. Oh, God. What if he changes his mind between now and then? What if he thinks I’m a total whore for dragging him into my bedroom by the collar and straddling him after knowing him less than a week?”

She laughed. “Look at you. You’re a mess. And you said not twenty-four hours ago that you wouldn’t even consider him.”

“Alecia!” I said, opening the door for her and following her out.

“Stop. You just described every man’s fantasy, Mack. He’s not changing his mind. This is the fun part! Enjoy it!”

“You’re dating Kitsch?” Patricia said as she made her way to her chair.

Alecia made a face. “What were you doing, holding your ear to the door, you psychopath?”

Patricia would tell Nita, and Nita would tell Mason, and he was the last person I wanted to know my business.

“I thought I heard you say you were going to supper tonight with Kitsch.” She sat, the chair beneath her squealing in protest.

“We’re just friends.”

“Yeah, didn’t sound like it.”

“Mind your business, Patricia,” Alecia said. “We all know you report to Nita.”

Patricia snarled. “Nita wouldn’t tell Mason. He’d run right back here. She doesn’t want her son back with his ex.”

Alecia scoffed. “You think Mack would take him back after what he did?”

“I’m not going to argue,” Patricia said. “There’s two sides to every story. And Mason’s always been nice to me.”

“Oh!” Alecia said, too loud for the small space. “So, because a guy is nice to other people, he can’t be an abusive fuck stick to his girlfriend, right? That never happens!”

“Al…” I said, trying to defuse her temper. “We should get the films back to Dr. Vanhooser.”

“I will in a minute,” Alecia said, holding her hand up to me. She glared at Patricia. “Mack was in the ER right down the hall. Everyone knows what he did.”

“It’s okay, Alecia,” I said. “Take the films. I need your help setting up for the eight o’clock dysphagiagram, anyway.”

She went back into the film room and then took them down the hall. I ignored Patricia while passing her to enter the fluoro room and gathered supplies while I waited for Alecia to return.

By the time she got back, she’d calmed down and kept her voice low, but she still needed to blow off steam.

“We just have to be more careful. I don’t want Mason knowing anything about my life, and up until now there’s been nothing to talk about.”

“Fuck her. Fuck Nita. And Mason can fuckallthe way off. You have Kitsch now. He would obliterate Mason in two seconds.”

“I don’t want to scare him off with drama.”

“Kitsch is a Marine. Not much scares him. And, he’s happy, too. He knows how Mason is, and he knows it’s Mason’s bullshit, not yours. You didn’t ask for any of it. If Mason comes back causing trouble, Kitsch will stomp it out and you can all go about your day. Mason might have a slight limp for the rest of his life, but only if he’s stupid enough to mess with Kitsch’s girl.”

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