Page 122 of Toxic Salvation
“Hi, Mama! Hi, Papa! I just wanted to say I miss you both so much. Waylen is taking me to the park now, and then we’re getting ice cream—the kind with the rainbow sprinkles I like. And later, Charity is coming over for our movie marathon. I already picked out five movies. Waylen says that’s too many, but I think he’s wrong. Anyway, I’m so excited! Have fun at Mama’s conference thingy. I love you! Bye!”
Vesper’s entire face transforms. She gets this expression whenever Luka’s involved, proud and glowing and smiley and soft. It’s a good look on her.
“That kid,” she says, pressing her hand to her chest. “He gets me every single time.”
“Does it feel weird? Him calling you Mama?”
She considers this, absently tracing the constellation tattoo on my forearm. “Not as weird as it should. Sometimes, I forget I didn’t give birth to him myself.”
Blyat’. The way she says it, so matter-of-fact, makes me shudder. This woman took my broken nephew and made him whole again. Made us both whole.
She slides off me and reaches for her clothes, suddenly all business. “I should get dressed. Don’t want to show up to this conference looking like I’ve been thoroughly corrupted at altitude.”
“But youhavebeen thoroughly corrupted at altitude.”
“Yes, well, the medical community doesn’t need to know that.”
I watch her struggle into her pants. Her pregnant belly makes the process more complicated than it used to be. Five months along now, and she’s starting to show enough that we’ve had to get creative with her wardrobe.
“You’re nervous,” I observe.
She pauses, one leg in her pants, one leg out. “Maybe a little.”
“Just a little?”
“Okay, a lot.” She finally gets both legs in and starts working on the zipper. “It’s been over a year since I’ve been to one of these things. And this time, they want me to speak.”
“Speak? You didn’t mention that.”
“Because up until yesterday, I was trying to get out of it.” She finds her bra and starts wrestling it on. “But it’s important. What I learned during that surgery… other doctors need to know about it.”
“The conjoined twins from Arkansas?”
She nods. I love how her face lights up when she talks about her work. “It made headlines for a few days, but we managed to keep the kids’ identities protected. Within medical circles, though? Those twins are famous.”
I lean back and watch her transform from the woman who just rode me senseless into Dr. Vesper Fairfax, pediatric surgeon extraordinaire. It’s a magic trick. I love getting to see both sides of it.
“You know what you are?” I tell her.
“What?”
“A fucking rockstar.”
She laughs. “I’m a doctor, Kovan. Just a doctor.”
“‘Just a doctor’ who pulled off one of the most complex surgeries in modern medicine. ‘Just a doctor’ who saved two kids’ lives when everyone else said it was impossible.”
Her cheeks flush pink. “Well, when you put it like that…”
“I’m proud of you,” I say, and mean it completely. “Incredibly fucking proud.”
She stops fussing with her clothes and looks at me. Really looks at me, like she’s trying to memorize this moment.
“Thank you,” she says quietly. “For coming with me. For supporting this.”
“Are you kidding? I get to watch my woman command a room full of brilliant people. I wouldn't miss it for the world.”
She finishes getting dressed while I pull my own clothes back on. The pilot announces our descent into Seattle over the intercom,his voice professional and discreet. Good thing, considering what he probably studiously ignored for the last two hours.
