Say You'll Remember Me(55)

“But, we have the demand,” Tina said. “I mean, the phones ring off the—”

“Doctors are expensive.”

My tone shut down the conversation.

They didn’t leave. They hovered. Apparently they weren’t done with me.

“What?” I said, unwrapping my burrito.

“Soooooo my friend Veronica went to the veterinary conference last weekend,” Tina said. “She said she didn’t see you there.”

“It was a big conference,” I said, dismissively.

“Huh,” Maggie said. “We were kind of thinking maybe you didn’t actually go to the conference at all. That maybe the conference was just a cover story because you’re so into Samantha you had to make an excuse to go see her.”

I raised my eyes to them. They were smiling at me expectantly. I didn’t like telling them about my private life, but I also didn’t want to lie.

“I didn’t go to the conference,” I said. “I went to see her.”

They exchanged a giddy look.

“So you guys are a thing?” Tina said, barely containing her excitement.

I took a bite of my burrito instead of answering. They took my silence for confirmation.

They both squealed.

“I know you don’t like to talk about your personal life, but we are so excited for you!” Maggie said.

“Are you two exclusive?” Tina asked.

“Yes,” I said, taking another bite.

“Did you ask her this or are you just assuming?” Maggie asked.

I chewed and swallowed. “I just know.”

They glanced at each other.

“Um, if you haven’t talked about it, she could be doing anything,” Tina said.

Maggie was nodding.

“Like, how do you know she’s not just ‘seeing you,’” Tina said, putting her fingers in quotes. “Meaning she’s seeing other people too.”

“Are you her boyfriend?” Maggie asked. “Has she called you that?”

I thought back. No. She hadn’t called me that.

“Does she call herself your girlfriend?” Maggie asked.

I couldn’t recall her doing that either.

I stared at them both for a few seconds, then dropped my burrito on the table and went to the office.

Samantha picked up on the second ring. A machine was whirring loudly in the background.

“Hello, Xavier.”

“Hi. What are you doing? What’s that noise?”

“I’m making Mom juice.” The machine shut off.

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Can I… can I ask you a question?”

“Yesss…”

“You’re not seeing anyone else, right? The two of us, we’re exclusive?”

“This is a very weird way to ask me to be your girlfriend.”

I paused. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“I mean, yeah.”

The corner of my mouth twitched up. “Good,” I said. “I’ll call you later.”

“Byeeeee.”

I hung up and stood there for a moment with my hands on my hips. I was smiling. I wiped it off my face and came back out.

The two women were waiting for me. “Everything good?” Maggie asked, eyeballing me.

“Fine.” I sat again. “And, yes, she’s my girlfriend.”

They lost it. Bouncing around and screaming. One of the dogs started howling in a kennel.

Maybe I did need more staff if my boring love life was the highlight of the week.

They finished their celebration and I finished my burrito. Then I went to the office to reply to emails before my next patient came in.

I sat down and stared at the photo of the grand opening for a moment.

I knew where the cut was going to have to come from. I hated it because I knew how much they needed me, but I was going to have to stop doing the volunteer work.

It would free up my Sundays for travel. I could also pick up some shifts at the emergency clinic. The pay was good and they always needed people, especially on the weekends.

I blew a breath out. I just had to work smarter. Not harder—I was already working harder.

My cell phone pinged and I pulled it out. It was Samantha. A picture of her and her mom taking a shot of orange juice.

I smiled.

My girlfriend.

The word. It made me so happy. Everything about her made me happy. Except where she lived.

That was the one thing I wished I could change.





24





SAMANTHA


I STOOD WITH my siblings staring down at the giant wet mark on the sofa. The urine stain spanned almost the entire length of the left cushion. I wondered if I could fit the whole thing in the washing machine.

Grandma already had Mom in the shower. I was sort of glad Dad wasn’t here for this.

“What happened?” I said, shaking my head. “We just took her to the bathroom.”

“The doctors said incontinence would start to become an issue,” Jeneva said.

“She was doing so well though. She’s never had an accident before.”

“Uh, she’s fucking high as a kite?” my brother said. “I’d piss myself too.”

Jeneva bobbed her head. “He’s sort of right about that. Maybe we should take her sedatives down a little?”