Perfectly Adequate(87)
“What’s your plan B?”
Allowing a tiny smirk to grace my face, I give her side-eye. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out since Dorothy removed herself from the equation.”
“I’m sorry, Eli.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“So where does that leave you and Julie? She seemed pretty happy a few minutes ago.”
“Yes. She crawled into my bed last night and wrapped her arms around me, releasing this content sigh like all is right again in the world. This was after I told her Dorothy left me. I just lay there wondering how my life got so messed up. And I feel like something is wrong with Julie for wanting to be with me when she knows I’m in love with Dorothy. But then …”
I laugh a crazy man’s laugh. “But then it hits me. I’ve been the one for the past year, silently begging her to come back to me, love me, need me, raise Roman with me, while knowing all along that she didn’t want me.”
“Yes. It’s ironic. And painful. And I wish I had a brilliant answer for you, but I don’t. However, if Dorothy is truly out of the picture, then you need to decide where to go from here. You need that plan B.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Goodbye
“Welcome back.” Dr. Warren glances up from the computer in my lab, giving me a faint smile.
“Thanks.” I planned on arriving a little earlier, but Roman woke up and I decided to have breakfast with him and my mom.
Warren’s gaze lands on my leg and my slight limp. “Sure you’re ready to be back?”
“More than you can imagine,” I murmur, swiping through a few charts and lab results on my tablet.
“Must have been hell, you know … being nursed back to health by Dr. Hathaway and sleeping with Dorothy Mayhem.”
I blow a laugh out my nose while glancing up from my tablet. “Alright, I suppose this is as good of time as any. Yes, I was involved with Dorothy. But I’m not now. And I apologize if you truly had real feelings for her that went beyond getting her under you in the on-call room.”
Warren crosses his arms over his chest and nods once. “What happened?”
“An apology. That’s the most I owe you. I’m not telling you what happened between me and Dorothy.”
He shrugs. “She’ll tell me. I’m not sure she can keep a secret.”
“Leave her alone.”
Warren holds up his hands. “Whoa … I’m leaving her alone.” He glances over my shoulder and nods. “Speak of the devil.”
I turn toward the window. Dorothy’s talking to Willa. She grins at something Willa says. It makes me smile. I love seeing Dorothy happy. But her smile falters as her attention gets pulled toward something past Willa. Julie passes them, giving Dorothy a wide grin and a nod before she makes a quick left, coming into my lab.
“Doctors.” She hasn’t lost a bit of her early morning cheeriness. “Keisha Eldridge’s biopsy came back. It’s malignant melanoma.” She shows me the results.
After looking over them, I hand them to Dr. Warren.
Julie smiles and runs her fingertips along my ear, messing with my hair. “You could use a trim, Eli.”
My eyes find Dorothy. She drops her gaze, tucking her hair behind her ears as she brushes past Willa like she can’t get out of here fast enough.
“Let’s take Roman shopping next weekend for a new Halloween costume. He’s already worn out his superhero costume. I knew he would. We should get costumes too. Remember we always talked about doing that?”
Warren glances up from Keisha’s chart, raising a single eyebrow as Julie messes with the collar of my shirt. I used to love her messing with my hair and my clothes—anything to feel her touch. Where did it go? Why does her touch feel so wrong?
Dorothy Mayhem ruined me. Just completely ruined me.
But her words hold me accountable, like I owe it to her to give Roman the life she thinks he deserves. And he does deserve that life.
“Yeah.” I pin the best damn smile on my face that I can muster. “He would love that.”
“Perfect!” Julie lifts onto her toes and kisses the corner of my mouth.
I stiffen, feeling the full weight of Warren’s scrutinizing gaze.
“Bye, Dr. Warren.” Julie tosses him a grin before sashaying out of the lab.
“Don’t say it.”
“She’s the mother of your kid. A successful doctor. Incredibly beautiful. What could I possibly say? Other than … it’s obvious why you’re no longer with Dorothy.”
I take three painful steps toward him, grab his lab coat, and shove him into the wall. His eyes bulge from his head.
“Dorothy Mayhem is the fucking universe. She’s what every other human could only hope to be. She’s better than me, better than you, and better than Dr. Hathaway—added all together and multiplied times infinity. And even then … we don’t come close to Dorothy Mayhem. So if I ever hear you say her name again, it better be in complete respect and reverence. Do I make myself clear?”
Warren blinks slowly before nodding. I release him, go tell Keisha Eldridge’s parents that their daughter has a deadly cancer that’s very rare in children. Then I lay out her treatment options and give them very promising survival statistics while praying with them to a god that may or may not exist.