Page 121 of Falling into Place
That he was unemotional and detached? He wasn’t likely to forget that anytime soon. “I do.”
Her eye twitched, almost like a wince. “I just ... I wanted to say I think I asked the wrong person. Because even though I’ve only been here a month, that’s not what I see at all. I watch people a lot, and I pay attention. And when it comes to you, I see a physician who’s so invested in his patients, he comes in to check on them when he doesn’t have to. Who has slept in the on-call room with the fellows because he knows sometimes laying eyes on the patient can tell you more than a number in the chart. Who triple- and quadruple-checks blood gases and pressordrips to make sure everything is as it should be and maybe ... maybe hoping to see things moving in the right direction. I know it doesn’t matter what I think—or what any fellows think, for that matter. But that’s a physician who cares an awful lot about his patients, and ... I don’t know, I guess I just wanted you to know that.”
Brooks just blinked at her, stunned into silence.
Nikki’s phone chirped, and she glanced at the screen. “Shoot, I’m late. Schwartz Rounds starts in ten, and I hate sitting in the back.” She looked up at him cautiously, almost like she regretted what she’d just said. “I hope I didn’t overstep just now. But I’d better get going. See you around, Dr. Martin.”
It wasn’t until she was almost out of sight that he jolted into action. “Hey, Nikki?”
She stopped in the hallway and turned back. “Yeah?”
“I’ve got something to finish up here real quick, but I think I might head that way, too. Save me a seat?”
Chapter Thirty-Three
October 14
Brooks:hi.
Carly:Hi!
Brooks:i miss you
Carly:I’ve only been gone three days ...
Brooks:i still miss you
Carly:I miss you more.
October 15
Carly:I just passed a cool-looking coffee shop and it made me think of you.
Brooks:weird, pretty much everything makes me think of you
Carly:Stop being so sweet
Brooks:ok
Carly:But not really because that was lovely and I’ll look at that text every hour for the next three days straight.
Brooks:ok
October 17
Carly:My mom says if you want garlic next year, now’s the time to plant it
Brooks:on it
Brooks:does garlic shrink into anything i should know about
Carly:hahahahaha
October 30
Brooks:[image]
Carly:What am I looking at?
