The Scientist

Chapter 6

“S o, who is this Lex fellow I keep hearing about?” my mom asked as we sat in the back seat of the taxi on the way to her doctor’s appointment. She hadn’t been cleared to drive yet with the medication she was taking, and since I was officially car-less, we would have to resort to getting around this way for now.

I could see her studying me from the side while I deliberated on how to answer her. I sometimes hated how well she knew me. Even though I barely mentioned his name in the stories I’d told her from the past few days, she had somehow zeroed in on the fact that there were mixed feelings there.

“Remember, I told you he’s the one who gave me a ride yesterday.” I decided to keep it simple. “He’s the same guy who gave the commencement speech at faculty night.”

“And how do we feel about Lex?” she asked oh-so-casually.

“I don’t really know,” I answered honestly. “By all accounts, he’s a great guy, doing amazing work, but I don’t think he likes me too much.”

“That’s impossible. Everyone likes you.”

She said it so seriously, I had to laugh. “You might be a bit biased.”

“Maybe. But he doesn’t even know you.”

“It’s okay. Not everyone has to like me.”

“You’re right,” she agreed. “But I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t like you. Something’s clearly not right with him.”

I smiled because she meant that wholeheartedly and not as a joke at all.

“I feel like we might have gotten off on the wrong foot,” I said. “We’re neighbors, so hopefully if we get to know each other better, it won’t be so awkward. His roommate seems to like me well enough.”

“Well, I’m glad you at least have Sarah. I remember the two of you were pretty close when you lived together.”

“Yeah, we kind of fell back into it like no time had passed. And I’ve met some of her friends. They all seem great.”

“Oh, that’s good. I want you to have people here,” she said before growing quiet. “You know I still want you to live your life, Hadley. You’re only twenty-eight years old. No matter what’s going on with me, you still have to keep living.”

I knew what she was getting at. I couldn’t bring myself to have this conversation. She’d been trying to go there with me over the past few weeks, but I wasn’t ready.

“We’re here,” I announced as we pulled up to Dr. Gremillion’s office, not acknowledging her words.

We didn’t have to wait long to see him.

“Ms. Olivier, I heard your surgery went really well,” Dr. Gremillion said as he entered the exam room.

She smiled. “Yes, both doctors were great.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear it. Now as you know, the cancer had already spread to the lymph nodes and surrounding tissue by the time we found it. The reports from the surgeon show that they got most of it when they removed your breasts and a large portion of the lymph nodes, but there are still cancer cells that remain. The next step is going to be chemotherapy. I’d like for you to begin next week. The sooner the better, now that you’ve recovered from surgery. The treatments will be twice a week for the next few months, at least. We’ll monitor you throughout the treatments to see how well your body is responding to them.”

My heart beat nervously. “There’s still a pretty good chance for remission, isn’t there?”

“Yes, absolutely,” he answered. “You’re in good health, so I’m optimistic that this course of treatment will be successful.”

Every muscle in my body felt tense. “And if it isn’t?”

“We’ll cross that bridge if we get there. Let’s take it one step at a time for now.”

I sighed. “Fair enough.”

He was right. I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself. One step at a time . That would be my new mantra.

◆◆◆

It was Friday night, and I found myself home alone with nothing but profound boredom to keep me company. My mom had found a canasta group to join, and they happened to play on Friday nights. While I applauded her newfound social life out on the West Coast, I was disappointed at being left to my own devices for the evening. Didn’t an ejection from the womb grant me automatic dibs?

I decided to bake some of my kitchen sink cookies, which were made up of chocolate chips, pretzels, potato chips, toffee bits, and M&M’s. I chose it because it was a really time-consuming recipe, and I needed a way to occupy both my mind and palate.

It was times like these that I wished my almost-roommate would have worked out. I would have taken being housed with a violent criminal if it meant I wouldn’t be spending Friday night alone, daydreaming about joining the all-ladies Canasta Clique. Alas, I’d been dealt a different hand (pun intended). Even though Sarah told me to call her anytime, I didn’t want to always bother her just because she was the only other person I knew here.

As I prepped the ingredients, I realized I hadn’t heard from Garrett again besides a few texts asking how my mom was doing. I had rarely even thought of him since we got here, which was just further confirmation that I did the right thing by breaking things off. Now that things had slowed down a bit, and I was spending a lot more time alone, my mind started drifting back to him.

I didn’t think it was even him that I was missing, but more the companionship. There wasn’t any part of me that wanted to be romantically involved with him any longer, but I sometimes missed the way he could make me laugh. I remember the last time he made me laugh so hard, I cried. We were hanging out at his apartment, and I was watching random videos on my phone and there was one of a colorblind kid who received those glasses that allowed him to see in color. I showed Garrett the video and said, “Isn’t that sweet? He’s so happy,” because the kid was so overcome with emotion, and he said, “I would be too, if I could finally play Twister.” I think I laughed for a full five minutes straight. When I thought about moments like that, it made me want to pick up the phone and call him just so we could talk, but I didn’t think that was fair. I didn’t want to send the wrong message so I sucked it up, realizing I couldn’t reach out just because I was feeling lonely.

I meticulously assembled my circles of sweetness with the precision of a brain surgeon. But even after all was said and done, it was barely past the time for early bird dinner at the Golden Corral when they finally emerged from the oven. I figured I could take some over to Professor Dunbar’s since he had liked my brownies so much. I packaged a few of them up and walked them over to his house, knocking on the door.

“Well, hello again, Hadley,” he greeted me warmly when he opened the door. He had the same kind of gentle disposition that you’d imagine any grandparent would. It automatically made you feel comforted.

“Hey, Professor Dunbar. I just wanted to bring you some of my kitchen sink cookies.” I held up the bag. “Do you guys have any allergies? They have nuts in them.”

“That is so kind of you. And no, we don’t,” he said, taking the bag from me. “Mira is going to be so thrilled. She still raves about those brownies you made. Did you want to come in?”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t want to interrupt your evening. I just wanted to come say hello and drop them off.”

“Well, thank you so much. You’ve definitely found your target audience.”

I smiled and said, “Enjoy!” before walking down the steps of his porch.

“I see you’ve been keeping up with therhododendrons,” he called out to me as I was passing the garden he’d helped me plant.

“I’m trying. None of it looks as good as yours, though.”

“That’s a good thing. People would start to think I’d lost my touch if yours looked better,” he said, winking. I laughed, and we waved goodbye. Just as I was about to head inside, I heard a familiar voice calling my name.

I turned to see Stuart and Lex coming up the walkway, both holding armfuls of takeout.

“What are you guys up to?” I asked, chuckling.

“Just getting off work. We picked up some Thai food,” Stuart said.

“You guys leave any for the rest of Stanford’s population?”

“I’m starving and everything they have there is amazing,” he replied. “I couldn’t decide so I got one of everything.”

“I see that. Very practical.”

“Come join us.”

Lex, who had remained his normal reticent self up to this point, was looking at Stuart like he wanted to wrap one of the bags he was holding around his head.

“Oh no, that’s okay.”

“Why not? You have plans?”

“No, but I don’t want to bother you guys.” I declined even though I was pretty hungry.

“Come on, Betty. As you can see, we have plenty.” He lifted the bags, shaking them.

I looked back and forth between Lex and Stuart. If it was just Stuart, I would have accepted the invitation without hesitation, but the look of horror on Lex’s face made me think twice. Then again, maybe this was my chance to show him I did actually have manners, and he could stop looking like he wanted to crawl out of his skin when I was around.

“Okay, I’ll come over in a bit.”

Lex’s face turned to disappointment, which almost made me tell them I changed my mind, but I figured with Stuart there as a buffer, it would be fine.

I went back inside and packaged up the rest of my cookies to bring to the guys’ house before heading their way.

When I arrived, it was Stuart who let me in. I didn’t see Lex anywhere in sight, and the suspicion kicked in that he was avoiding me.The setup of their home was identical to mine, save for the decorations, which they had kept to a minimum.

I noticed they had unboxed the food and had it spread across the table. They had gotten so much that it took up nearly every square inch of the table.

“Wow, it does look amazing,” I said, taking a seat. “How much do I owe you for my share?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Stuart waved me off. “It’s on the house.”

“Well, in that case, dessert’s on me,” I said, setting the bag on the table.“Fresh baked cookies, right out of the oven.”

“Great. I was worried we weren’t going to have enough food,” he teased.

He handed me a plate, and I started pulling a little from each container. Lex joined us after a few minutes. He spared me a glance that lasted about as long as a sneeze, and then ignored me completely as he started fixing his plate.

Must have left all my appeal in my other pants .

“So, how was your first day of classes?” I asked Stuart, remembering he had told me he was starting yesterday.

“Bunch of spoiled prima donnas who wouldn’t know the difference between optical isomers and enantiomersif it slapped them in the face.”

“That’s crazy!” I said with a look of indignation. “It couldn’t be more obvious. I don’t know how they expect you to work like this.”

“I KNOW!” he agreed emphatically.

“Maybe you could petition the Department Head. Request a whole new group of students,” I suggested.

“You really think I could do that?” he asked sincerely.

“No,” Lex answered, giving me a chastising look. I tried hiding my smile while sipping my drink.

Stuart huffed. “Probably would just give me another batch of morons anyway.”

“Yeah probably,” I said in mock agreement before digging into my food. It was absolute bliss.

I kept sneaking glances over at Lex, who kept the perfect mask of indifference on for the entirety of our dinner. I wondered if he ever got tired of being perpetually aloof. I didn’t think Scooby Doo and the mystery gang could even rip the mask off that one.

“So how are you liking California so far?” Stuart asked. “Big change from New York.”

“That’s an understatement,” I said between bites.

“What brought you here in the first place? Sudden urge to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger?”

“My mom,” I said, deciding to give them the truth. “We found out she has a rare type of breast cancer and there’s a doctor here that specializes in it. He’s supposed to be the best there is.”

“Are you talking about Dr. Gremillion?” Lex asked.

My eyebrows furrowed. “You know him?” Lex speaking to me at all was shocking enough, but him knowing the name of my mom’s doctor nearly had me on the floor next to my jaw.

“Yes,” he answered, looking just as surprised. “We did cancer research together many years ago. His specialty was breast cancer. He left to start his own practice. I thought I remembered him saying he was coming to this area.”

“I’m sorry, Hadley,” Stuart said. “I didn’t mean to be flippant.” It was odd to see him looking at me so sincerely. I was used to his playful nature.

“I know that. It’s okay,” I reassured him. “She had her surgery about a month ago. She starts chemo next Tuesday.”

Stuart gave me a tight smile. “I hope everything goes well.”

I nodded. “Me, too. What do you know about Dr. Gremillion, Lex?”

“He earned his reputation,” he answered. “He knows what he’s doing. Your mom’s in good hands.”

“Thank you. That’s good to hear.” Coming from him, it really meant a lot. If a man as accomplished as Lex thought he was good, then he must be.

I got caught up looking at him from across the table. It felt completely disarming to see that he was actually making eye contact since he usually avoided it. His face didn’t hold the same frustrated expression it normally did as he looked back at me. If anything, his eyes seemed almost warm as they swept across my face. The tiniest bit of hope started to bloom in my chest that he might not despise me after all. A loud knock at the door made me jump.

That annoyed expression returned to his face almost immediately as he got up to answer the door.

As he opened it, I saw a woman about my age standing there. She smiled at Lex in a way that could only be described as intimate.

“Hey, I think I left my glasses here the other night,” she said, still looking only at Lex.

Her hair was a dark shade of pink, and she was sporting a sleeve of tattoos down her right arm and a septum piercing. Despite her somewhat unconventional appearance, it was clear she was a very beautiful woman.

Stuart groaned loudly, drawing her attention to the two of us. She narrowed her eyes at me, looking like she had suddenly smelled something sour.

“Where do you think you left them?” Lex asked impatiently.

Her expression changed back to friendly almost instantly. “Maybe in the guest bathroom.”

“I’ll go look,” he said.

“Who’s this?” she asked as soon as Lex was out of earshot.

“This is Hadley. She’s our new neighbor,” Stuart answered. “Hadley, this is the pizza burn on the roof of everyone’s mouth, a.k.a. Nicky.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Either roll a condom over your head, Stuart, or stop acting like a dick.”

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you,” I said, trying to diffuse the spat. “Do you work on Lex’s team as well?”

“Something like that,” she said dismissively.

Lex re-entered the room, holding the glasses. “Here, I found them.”

“Thanks,” she responded sweetly. The personality changes were truly impressive. “Can I talk to you outside for a minute?”

He remained silent as he followed her outside.

I turned to Stuart. “Who was that?”

“Nicky Balderas.” He said her name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. “She’s Lex’s ex and the bane of my existence.”

“You don’t like her, I take it?”

“Nope. Never have. Never will,” he said. “And she does work with us, unfortunately.”

“Why’d she say ‘something like that’ then?”

“Who knows? Probably wanted to seem more important than she actually is. They broke up a year ago, but she still always seems to be hanging around. Always ‘forgetting things’ at our apartment.”

“Why’d they break up?” I couldn’t resist asking, even though it was none of my business. I just couldn’t imagine someone like Lex in a relationship, but maybe this Nicky was fond of silence.

“I don’t really know. When he told me they broke up, I didn’t ask questions. Just took him out to celebrate.”

“Why don’t you like her?” I asked, though I could definitely pick out a few reasons on my own.

“I don’t trust her,” he said. “I’ve seen her do and say some pretty nasty things when she thinks Lex isn’t looking.”

“It must be hard for them to work together,” I mused. “Having to see your ex all day, every day… Sounds more than a little complicated.”

It definitely gave new meaning to the term “close working relationship.” I don’t think I could pull that off with any of my exes. Well, maybe I could if I came prepared with a muzzle and an oversized stress ball featuring their face.

“He seems fine. But like we told you, he’s a workaholic with one train of thought. Not much will distract him in the lab.”

Since Stuart was clearly in the mood to gossip, I figured now was as good a time as any to ask the question that had been plaguing my mind for days. “Stuart, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot,” he said, shoveling pad Thai in his mouth.

“Does Lex not like me?”

His brows furrowed. “Why would you say that?”

I shrugged. “Just a vibe I get sometimes. Like he really doesn’t want me around.”

He smiled to himself and continued eating more of his dinner. “That’s not it. Trust me,” he finally said.

“How do you know?”

“I just do,” he replied matter-of-factly. “I promise your presence doesn’t bother him.”

I really had my doubts about that, despite how confident Stuart seemed to be.

Lex came back inside a few minutes later looking extremely irritated as he sat down, not looking up at either one of us as he began eating.

“This food is delicious,” I said, testing out the waters and trying to gauge Lex’s mood. “Probably the best Thai I’ve ever had. How’d you guys find this place?”

“Well, once we heard we were getting the grant, we asked to move into the housing units early. They agreed, so we’ve been here a couple of months already. We’ve scoped out pretty much all the great food spots,” Stuart said. “Actually, if you’re free this weekend, we could show you around town so you could get acquainted as well.”

That was a really nice offer. “I’d love to, but I really need to find a car before next week. I was going to go look tomorrow.”

“Well, we can take you. Right, Lex?”

“I need to go into the lab this weekend.” He still hadn’t looked up from his plate.

I made eyes at Stuart as if to say,“See? I told you so.” He motioned at me with his free hand, making a face like“I got this.”

“Yeah, no problem. Peter has a car, Hadley. We can ask him to take us. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”

“No,” Lex said, finally looking up. “I’ll take you.”

Stuart grinned. “Schedule suddenly clear up there, buddy?”

“No, I just realized I can finish the work next week,” he said, getting up from the table and bringing his dishes into the kitchen.

Stuart folded his arms across his chest and gave me a smug“what’d I tell you”look. I shrugged, not convinced that this guy didn’t hate my guts.

“It’s settled then. Ten a.m. tomorrow?”

“Sure,” I agreed, wondering if this was going to be as awkward as it sounded.