Chapter 14 #2
We fall into silence again, both watching the crackling fire, letting it warm us as the evening temperature continues to drop.
I sink into my chair, my muscles relaxing further. I’m awash in a sense of safety. Being out here, with Joey, feels good. It feels right.
“My sister’s boyfriend is holding an open mic night at his coffee shop tomorrow,” she says. “It’ll be two hours of secondhand embarrassment, I’m sure. So I need you to come with me. I don’t want to witness it alone.”
“Hold on.” My heart trips over itself. “You want me to be your emotional support human?”
“I need all the emotional support I can get every day, but the invite isn’t about emotional support.
It would be nice to have a friend there with me.
So I can text my thoughts to you under the table.
” She tips her head to the side. “Think of it as a twisted bonding experience with the. . .interesting residents of Hemlock.”
“I see these. . .unique residents almost daily at my job.” A flashback from earlier this week hits me, a unique scene involving a recent patient. A man came into the emergency department solely for a Viagra prescription. He went into vivid detail about why he requires such medication.
“On a complete side note, you really need to share some ER stories. I bet you have some good ones.”
I close my eyes, silently chuckling. “That’s a HIPAA violation waiting to happen.”
“Mrs. Jones already told me that a ‘hot tattooed nurse’ gave her a ‘thorough’ exam for her poison ivy rash.”
Chin dropped to my chest, I heave a sigh. “That makes me sound wildly inappropriate and unprofessional.” The way people love to embellish their medical stories always astound me. “Mrs. Jones had an unfortunate gardening accident which caused a bad rash on her arm.”
A silent beat passes before Joey replies. “So. . .like. . .how thorough is ‘thorough’? Like are we talking about under her—”
I whip around and narrow my eyes at her. “Josephine.”
She holds up both hands, wincing. “Sorry, sorry. Too far. Bad joke.”
Right on time, anxiety floods me. Did she only ask to hang out this weekend because she didn’t want to be alone at open mic night?
Sweat breaks out on the back of my neck, trepidation steadily coursing through my veins. “Was that your original plan for this weekend? The open mic night?”
She chuckles. “God no. I wanted to kick your ass at mini golf, then go out for ice cream after. Sadly, my sister texted me this morning saying she’d write me out of her will if I didn’t attend this small-town cringe fest in solidarity with her.
” She pulls out her phone, scrolls through her messages and opens up the conversation with her sister.
Charlie
You’re coming Saturday.
Joey
I already have plans.
Charlie
Not anymore. You’re coming to Dark Side Brews.
Or else I’m writing you out of my will and you don’t get my expertly curated blanket collection if I die before you.
Joey
That’s harsh.
Can I bring a friend?
Charlie
If it’s the hot nurse, then obviously. Don’t deprive the town of him. We need to see more of those slutty tattooed biteable biceps you keep mentioning.
Sorry. Marnie stole my phone. Ignore the above message. You can bring whoever you want. See you on Saturday at 7pm.
“Oh, whoops! I scrolled too far. Ignore those last two messages.” Joey yanks her phone away and fumbles with it, sending it falling to the ground with a soft thud. She snatches it up, and as she straightens, her cheeks are glowing bright red, and not because of the fire.
I can’t help but laugh. This flustered side of this usually cool and confident woman may be one of my favorite versions.
“That wasn’t embarrassing at all,” she deadpans, looking anywhere but at me.
“Slutty. Tattooed. Biteable. Biceps,” I punctuate each word, pondering the phrase. “That’s a new one.”
She lets out a resigned sigh. “Can we please pretend that didn’t happen?”
“No.” I bark out a laugh. “Absolutely not.”
In response, the corners of her mouth curve up into an exquisite smile that renders me wordless.
Before us, the fire is slowly dying, the embers pulsing with a deep red glow amid the ash. A sign that a significant amount of time has passed since I came out here.
It’s gone by far quicker than I’d like. That seems to be how time works when I’m in Joey’s presence.
My chest tightens at the thought of the night ending. Being outside by the fire with her brings me a sense of peace. The type of comfort that’s been unfamiliar to me for far too long.
“I better get inside,” she murmurs, pulling her blanket tighter again. “It’s been another long day.”
“Norma?”
Joey groans. “Fucking Norma indeed.”
“Go inside and get some sleep. I’ll put out the fire.”
Smiling, she stands and squeezes my shoulder with one delicate hand. “Thank you. For sitting out here and talking with me. It was nice.”
It really was nice. Joey and I have a connection that I’m sure neither she nor I can comprehend. I place my hand on top of hers on my shoulder. The contrast of her warm hand and my cool fingertips is startling.
Much to my surprise, she doesn’t pull away.
“You’re great company, Joey.”
She lets out a nervous laugh. “I can say with confidence that you’re the first person to ever tell me that.”
Chest aching for her, I squeeze her hand. “If that’s the case, then you’re surrounding yourself with the wrong people. They don’t see you for who you truly are, and that’s a shame.”
The delicate column of her throat works as she swallows, and her eyes go misty.
The tears threatening to fall send a shock of panic through me. Shit. “God. I-I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you—”
“No. Don’t apologize,” she whispers, her voice trembling. “I really needed to hear that.”
With a sheepish smile, she gives my shoulder another squeeze. Then she quietly makes her way inside the cottage.
The crunching of leaves beneath her feet fades, then disappears completely with the faint click of the door.
I take in a deep, calming breath and focus on the red-orange embers as they slowly die, my mind replaying every interaction we’ve had so far like my favorite movie.
Every conversation, every innocent touch, and every warm smile we share builds me up further. And they’ll only make it more difficult to leave her when my assignment is over.