Page 50 of Back in the Saddle

‘Yes, come in!’ Caroline quickly pretended to busy herself with the printed-out forms scattered around the desk.

Amira came in, smiling sympathetically. She was wearing a burnt-orange hijab and dark red lipstick today. Over the last month, Caroline thought she must’ve seen her dressed in an iteration of every colour of the rainbow. The bright clothes made her look younger than she was. The other day, they were talking, and Amira had told her she was thirty-three years old. When Caroline just blinked at her, unable to hide surprise from her face – she had been convinced Amira was in her early to mid-twenties – Amira had just laughed and said,‘The importance of using a sunscreen!’

‘How’s your day going so far?’ Amira asked, settling herself on a leather chair opposite Caroline.

‘Fine, yeah. I’ve screened—’ Caroline consulted the computer screen ‘—fifteen potential participants so far.’

‘Fifteen? Wow. You must be ready to call it a day.’

Caroline let out a short, bitter laugh. ‘Oh, I really am. But that’s not important. You said you wanted to speak about the upcoming congresses?’ She decided that as much as she enjoyed Amira’s company, what she wanted even more than a friendly chat today was clocking out on time, going home and preferably relaxing in a long bubble bath. As much as her mind had enjoyed riding again, her body was less pleased. The ache in her thighs was a painful reminder of how out of practice she was.

Amira gave a short nod and pulled out a sheet of paper from a manila envelope. ‘There’s ESMO, of course, at the end of October and that’s in Madrid this year. We usually send at least two people from the centre to that. Jake was hoping to go, and Dr Russell, but if you were interested, I’m sure we could figure something out?’

Caroline scrunched her nose, digging in her memory for the acronym. ‘ESMO is the European Society for Medical Oncology, right?’

‘Correct. The most important oncology congress in Europe, and one of the most prestigious ones in the world.’

Caroline considered that for a moment but then shook her head decisively. ‘Thanks, Amira, but I think I’ll pass. I came all this way here and I’m not staying in the US for too long. I can go to ESMO next year when I’m back in the UK, if I decide to pursue oncology in the end.’

‘Fair enough! If you don’t want to go, I might see if I can swing it. It’d be nice to spend some time with Jake—’ Amira suddenly blushed furiously and quickly averted her eyes to stare at her red Converse.

‘Oh.’ Realisation dawned on Caroline, and she grinned. Jake was their coworker – sweet and kind of gangly, always ready with a joke and, she suddenly thought, always with a cup of coffee and an extra snack for Amira. ‘So, you and Jake?’

‘No!’ Amira almost leaped out of her seat. ‘I mean …’ She lowered herself against the cushion, growing even more red. ‘I like him, and I think he’s great, but he probably doesn’t feel the same way.’

‘You never know. I say go for it.’

Amira nodded nervously, looking like she was very eager to change the topic.

‘Thanks, I guess … Anyway! Congresses. There’s also APHA in November and that’s in Atlanta.’

‘APHA? I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m familiar with this one.’

‘American Public Health Association. It isn’t strictly an oncology-focused congress like, for example, ESMO or ASCO, but it’s interesting and we got funding to send someone over this year. Dr Kennedy thought it might be of interest to you, given your background.’

‘And the fact that I can’t seem to decide what I want to do with my life?’ Caroline asked half-heartedly.

Amira chose to ignore her and cleared her throat uncomfortably.

So, she’s still bitter I got the job, Caroline thought.

‘Moving on, there’s also ASH in the second week of December, it’s in San Diego this year. Then I don’t think there’s much more on the calendar until ASCO next year.’

Caroline pondered that for a moment. ASH, American Society of Hematology, wasn’t an oncology congress. She’d overheard that name in the cafeteria last week, where a group of doctors were discussing the paper one of them was due to present. She wasn’t eavesdropping but the sound carried when it was busy. There were never enough tables in that place either, it seemed. She could count the number of times she had managed to sit by herself on the fingers of one hand.

She bit back a smile, remembering her shock when she’d found out oncologists didn’t treat blood cancers; it was the forte of haematologists.

ASCO was the biggest oncology congress. It was organised by the American Society of Clinical Oncology, but she had heard about it even at medical school.

Her lungs squeezed with indecision. If only she knew what she wanted to do speciality-wise, the choice would be simpler. But she was already getting a good exposure to oncology here at the centre. Maybe this was another opportunity to explore what else was out there. Especially as haematology was one of her favourite blocks back in medical school.

Her mind made up, she looked to Amira. ‘OK. If possible, I’d like to go to ASH. Not too keen on California’s climate, but I’ve always been interested in haematological cancers. Think I’m going to skip APHA. I’d love to go to ASCO, should I still be here when it happens – but we can talk about that closer to the time, right?’

Amira nodded and signed Caroline’s name under ASH’s heading. ‘Yep. Great, I’ll pass it on to our coordinator and he’ll be in touch to schedule your travel and make all the other arrangements.’ She stood up, stifling a yawn with her left hand. ‘Thanks for this, and, Caroline … please don’t tell Jake what I said.’

‘I’d never do that! It’s up to you to tell him if you ever want to. But for what it’s worth, I say go for it.’

Amira gave her a small smile as they said their goodbyes.

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