Page 64 of Wish I Were Here
She nods and picks up the phone in front of her. “We have an emergency coming back. Dr. Jankowski will need to see him right away.”
Hearing that, Luca heaves himself off the couch, and though I know he’s trying to look weak and sickly, I can’t help admiring his grace. We follow the nurse back to the exam room, and I grab Luca’s arm as if to help him hobble through the pain. But, if I’m honest, I’m the one who needs the extra support as I take the long walk down the hall, about to come face-to-face with my mother.
As if sensing my apprehension, Luca puts his hand over mine as he shuffles with an exaggerated limp. The nurse waves us into an exam room, and Luca and I go inside. Luca falls face-first onto the bed, and it squeaks under his weight.
“The doctor,” he moans. “I need the doctor.”
The nurse looks at me sideways. “What did he eat today? We see a lot of cases of food poisoning. In addition to these types of terrible stomach cramps, people often throw up.”
My gaze swings from Luca, who hasn’t moved from his face-plant position, and then back to the nurse. “Yes, it’s definitely something he ate. He had some gas station sushi for dinner. I told him not to, I said this would happen, but he loves a spicy tuna roll.”
The nurse glances at Luca and then rolls her eyes, like,Men. “My boyfriend eats that stuff, too. I keep telling him he’ll regret it, but he won’t listen. I mean, it is literally my job to know this stuff.”
“I hope he never ends up puking in your car the way Luca puked in mine on the way over here. You should see the front seat. I might need to set fire to it.” I throw up my hands. “There’s no coming back from that.”
The nurse gives me a sympathetic glance.
I hear Luca gasp, and I look over to find his shoulders shaking. I’m pretty sure he’s laughing. I cough and move my body between him and the nurse, hoping she won’t notice. “Is there any way we could get a doctor in here?”
“Of course. Let me check his vitals, and then the doctor will be in.” She approaches the side of the bed. “Come on, let’s get you flipped over.”
Luca rolls onto his back, keeping an arm thrown across his face to hide his smile. The nurse takes his blood pressure and temperature, then checks his oxygen saturation.
“His vitals are all normal. It does sound like just a bad case of food poisoning, especially given the sushi situation. But I’ll send in the doctor to confirm it.”
“Thank you so much.”
As soon as the nurse is out the door, Luca sits up against the back of the bed. “You ready for this?”
I have the urge to chew on my thumbnail, something I haven’t done since I was an anxious kid. “What if they don’t send in my mom? What if it’s a different doctor?”
“I saw a board on the nurses’ station when we came in. It looks like it’s only your mom and a resident on duty tonight. Remember she said something to Victoria about being short-staffed.”
I bite my lip. “What if we’re keeping her from real emergencies?”
“The nurse thinks it was just some bad sushi and that I’m an idiot. So I doubt they’re going to prioritize me over anything important.”
I rub my sweaty hands on my dress. “I can’t believe this is happening. What if she doesn’t want to see me?”
“Catherine,” Luca says, his voice soothing. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”
From behind me, I hear the swish of a curtain moving aside and then a male voice say, “Luca Morelli?”
Luca slinks down in the bed, clutching his stomach, and I turn around and come face-to-face with…
Oh no.
Oh, this really can’t be happening.
I quickly turn my body toward the wall.
It’s the handsome blond doctor I met in the elevator last night.The one who told me he works in the emergency room. The one I have a date with tonight.
I stare up at the laminated sign about handwashing like it’s modern art.
What was I thinking? I was so concerned with seeing my mom, I forgot he could be here.
The doctor moves to the sink to wash his hands, and my gaze swings to Luca’s. I do my best to get his attention by moving my eyes back and forth and giving subtle nods in the doctor’s direction. A moment later, I see it dawn on him, and he makes an exaggerated cringe face.
