Page 3 of Lily In The Valley
Kelly sighed. “It’s my mom and dad,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. “They’re always arguing. I hate it.”
I frowned, hating anything that made the girl before me sad. I thought for a moment, then reached into my backpack hanging on the back of my chair. I pulled out a bag of Hot Cheetos. “Want to know something about these chips?” I asked, hoping to distract her.
She looked at me, her eyes lighting up for the first time since she walked in the door. “What’s that?”
“They’re magic,” I said, nodding as seriously as I could. “When you eat them, they make you feel better. Don’t believe me, try it for yourself.” I opened the bag, holding it out to her with a hopeful smile.
The giggles that left her mouth made my heart feel funny, like when I eat all my Halloween candy and need to get the zoomies out. She took a chip and popped it into her mouth, her eyes closing at the spicy taste.
“You feel it working?” I asked eagerly.
“I think so.” She laughed again, music to my ears. “I think I need to get some more to be sure.”
I placed the bag on the table, and we each took turns grabbing chip after chip. We continued watching the show, munching away as Jamie Foxx’s antics washed over us. After a few more laughs, I felt brave enough to scoot my chair closer to Kelly. I grabbed the lily Ms. Sonya had given me back at the flower shop.
“Here,” I said, offering Kelly the flower. “For extra magic.”
She took the lily, her smile genuine this time. “Thank you, Khalil. For this and the chips. It made me smile.”
I beamed, proud of myself for cheering her up. “Anytime I can I will, Lily-girl.” Kelly gave me a double take then shook her head, letting the accidental nickname I let slip roll off her shoulders.
We turned our attention back to the show, except this time we were sitting a little closer, our shoulders brushing each other each time we laughed. The kitchen was filled with a quiet comfort of a shared friendship. I looked over at Kelly, her snaggle-toothed smile now reaching her eyes. Secretly, I hoped that maybe, just maybe, I could always be the one to make her smile, no matter how big the arguments at her home might be.
Part One
“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”
Roberta Flack
Chapter 1
Kelly
You learna lot about people when they were vulnerable–hooked up to IVs, tucked into hospital beds, trying not to let fear show on their little faces. You learned a lot about yourself, too. Like how, despite everything I thought I wanted when I was younger, whether it was cheer captain, top of my class, or a whole wall of trophies, I didn’t really feel like I was doing anything important until I made this tiny six-year-old with a custom Bratz bonnet laugh in the middle of her chemo treatment.
“I’m serious, Lavender,” I said, perched on the edge of her bed, pulling a silly face. “If you want your stuffed unicorn to qualify for a medical license, she will have to pass the board exam.”
Lavender giggled, her little hand clutching her IV pole like it was a favorite doll. “She already knows everything! She watches Grey’s Anatomy with my mom.”
I gasped. “Well, that explains it. She’s obviously overqualified.” It was the smallest exchange, but in this job the small ones mattered most.
“Dr. Reid!” one of the nurses called from the nurses’ station, lifting a clipboard in my direction. I smiled and gave Lavender’s hand a gentle squeeze before I stood.
“I’ll come back and check on Unicorn’s progress after lunch, okay?”
“Okay!” she chirped. “Tell her she better not fail,” she added with a fierce look.
“Message received.”
Back at the nurses’ station, I signed off on a few patient charts, waved at Dr. Benavidez, and ignored the way one of the new residents did a double-take as I walked by. I didn’t mean to walk like I owned the hospital. But when you’re confident, you didn’t exactly shrink yourself for the comfort of others.
Besides, the white coat just hit differently when you earned it.
“Kelly, you staying late for the grand rounds?” one of my co-residents, Janelle, asked as she flipped through a chart beside me.
“I was thinking about it, but I promised my mom I’d stop by her place.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Everything okay?”
