Page 88 of Rat Park
They went straight to Flor’s house, where his parents were off work and waiting with dinner.
Flor updated them on the stress of his last year in pre-med before asking eagerly after Cat’s campaign.
“It’s going good,” Cat said. “Dominic’s been helping a lot.”
“I haven’t really—”
“Yes, you have, Dominic. You’re one of the main reasons I’m running on this platform, so. You’ve done more than you even realise.”
Dominic blinked at that, stunned. Flor squeezed Dominic’s hand and grinned at him, nodding his head as if he’d known that fact all along.
It was a little strange to be so openly affectionate with Flor in front of his parents, but Dominic relaxed as the meal went on without any of them batting an eyelash. By the end of the evening, Flor and Dominic were pressed close together on the couch, their fingers laced together.
“Flor, honey, you staying here tonight or with Dominic?” Cat asked as the night wound down.
“Dominic’s,” Flor replied, glancing questioningly at Dominic a moment later. Dominic nodded his head a little awkwardly, but Cat and Esteban didn’t comment even if they must have been missing their son too. Flor was twenty-two now, though, so Dominic guessed it made sense.
Cat pulled Dominic into a long hug just as Flor and he were heading out. Dominic hugged her back tightly, feeling warm in her embrace.
It felt like another welcoming in a long line of welcomes this family had given him.
**********
“So,” Flor said, looking down at Dominic from where he was straddling him on the couch. It was a few days since he had arrived, and Dominic had managed to book shorter shifts at the shop to spend more time with Flor. “The long-distance thing. We’ve been doing it for a few months.”
“Yeah,” Dominic said, feeling a thread of anxiety curl inside him. Flor was smiling, though, and Dominic was beginning to learn not to be scared at every turn in the relationship.
“How do you think it’s going?”
“I…” Dominic tried to find the words to match Flor’s need to talk about things instead of waiting for actions to tell him where he stood. “I think it’s going good,” Dominic said truthfully. It was painful at times, but it was infinitely better than not being with Flor at all.
Flor grinned at him. “I agree. Although it’s not like we’ll have to be doing it much longer. Pre-med is almost over, whoop whoop!”
“Don’t you have to do the medical degree after, though?”
“Yeah, but I’m gonna do it here. The university is only like forty minutes away, and they actually have an amazing medical program. The hospital here is also really good, so I could do the residency here too. It has like one of the best oncology departments in, like, the surrounding states, which is really random but whatever. Not that I want to do oncology but, still. It funds the hospital, so, it’s pretty good.”
Dominic stared at Flor. He’d had no idea Flor was seriously planning to come back after he finished his bachelor’s and took the Medical College Admissions Test.
“Don’t you want to go to a larger city, though? You’re so smart. And all your friends…I mean, I guess your family’s here…” Dominic couldn’t help but say. Flor gave him an exasperated look.
“You’re here too, dummy.”
“Yeah, but I’d move, if you wanted me to,” Dominic said easily. He’d never consciously thought about it before, weary of looking so closely at the future, but he knew the words were true as soon as they were out of his mouth.
Flor’s expression softened into fondness. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Well. I. Wow. I kind of wasn’t expecting that but, no. I want to come back. I like it here. I’ll make new friends in the medical program, and it’s not like my current friends are gonna stay there much longer either. Most of them are from out-of-state too.”
Dominic frowned, getting caught up on Flor’s surprise to his statement. “Why wouldn’t you expect me to go with you? I mean, I could probably get a job at another mechanic’s.”
“I don’t know,” Flor shrugged, looking away. “I mean, you’re so much part of the community here. My parents, your friends at the shop, volunteering—just, everything. I just thought…you know, I kind of had to strong-arm you into this relationship, so…”
“That’s ridiculous. No you didn’t.”
“I kinda did, though,” Flor said, looking back at Dominic, his expression a little withdrawn.
