Chapter 10 - Aiden
I t had been almost a week since Aiden had seen Olivia, but the image of her swimming in the pond was burned into his memory. Strands of red hair floating on the water, the fair skin on her clavicle glowing in the moonlight. His desire to see her again was becoming an itch he was desperate to scratch.
When could he get back to Gresham? The last thing he needed was their moms talking. His new fellowship program was extremely demanding, and he was still relying on his more experienced peers to help him with complex cases. Plus, he was also studying for his medical licensing exam in the fall. With all of that on his plate, he should have been strictly focused on establishing himself as a competent pediatrician.
And yet, Olivia Olsen was a welcome distraction. After three years of intense residency where medicine had been the only thing he’d had the time and energy to focus on, he wanted a life again. As it turned out, he did have more hours to fill. The first few weeks as a fellow in the Saint Paul Children’s Emergency Department had been intense emotionally but less so physically. He no longer had to contend with a night shift rotation, and most days, he worked eight to ten hours per day as opposed to the twenty-four-hour shifts he’d become accustomed to during residency.
In truth, he didn’t know how to fill all of his downtime. He studied. A lot. And as much as he loved eating out, he didn’t love doing it solo. He got most meals to-go and ended up eating them in front of ESPN or The History Channel.
On the rare nights when their schedules lined up and his best friends Isaac and June were able to get a babysitter, they gathered with a few other friends from undergrad for dinner and drinks. Those were easily his favorite evenings. He loved that, regardless of how much time had passed since they’d struggled through pre-med together at the University of Minnesota, he and his friends, especially his best friend Isaac, could pick up right where they left off. However, those nights were much harder to come by now in their early thirties than in their early twenties.
As for Olivia, he kept checking his phone for texts. Every time he looked at his phone hopefully, he asked himself the same thing. Why would she be texting you, doofus? Get over yourself.
He’d then spend the next few minutes reminding himself why texting her was a dumb idea before throwing himself back into work or studying for a few more hours before repeating the cycle.
He was grabbing lunch in the hospital cafeteria, arguing once again with his phone about the pros and cons of texting Olivia, when his new colleague and fellowship advisor, Dr. Joanna Chan, asked if she could join him.
He’d enjoyed getting to know Joanna on a personal level over the past week or so. She was around twenty years Aiden’ s senior and had two teenagers at home. When she was nine years old, she immigrated to the U.S. with her parents as refugees from Cambodia.
After making his way through medical school and residency with all of the advantages he’d grown up with, not to mention his own father being a doctor, Aiden was truly in awe of non-native English speakers who made it through medical programs successfully.
“So, Aiden, how are things going? You settling in okay?” Joanna sat down on the chair across from him. She spoke louder than usual to be heard over the busy cafeteria, which was filled with a steady hum of voices and the clatter of plastic flatware moving food from plates to mouths.
“Yeah, I’m doing okay. Thanks. How are things going with you? How are your girls?”
“Oh, you know, they’re…” She paused. “A lot.”
He laughed. “I can imagine.”
“How are you managing your patient load?” she asked.
“Good. It’s definitely intense, but the senior physicians have all been really supportive.”
“That’s good to hear. And I’m here if you ever need second or third opinions. I know they teach you this during your residency, and the same is true here at Saint Paul Children’s: we are a team, and our goal is to provide excellent care to our patients.”
Joanna had been a great advisor so far, showing him around and introducing him to the nurses and other hospital staff without being overly directive. It was easy to see why she was so respected and liked, a balance some doctors weren’t able to achieve because they took themselves too seriously.
“I appreciate that,” he said. And he did .
He was perpetually impressed by more senior colleagues who managed to retain and increase their medical knowledge on a day-to-day basis. His first year of residency had knocked him on his ass, and he was forever indebted to the doctors who had come before him and passed along their knowledge from one intern to the next.
“It’s good to hear you’re managing well. How do you like being back in Minnesota? Do you have family nearby?”
“It’s great. And yeah, not too far. Most of my immediate family lives a couple of hours north, in Gresham, but I have a few friends from undergrad who live in Minneapolis. Though most of them have gotten married and have kids, so they’re harder to pin down these days.”
Joanna nodded knowingly. “Yup, I remember that feeling. Though, having kids completely puts you back in time debt, so let me know if you’d like to do any babysitting,” she joked. “Seriously though, if you’re looking to meet people and make friends, I do have one idea, but please tell me if I’m overstepping.”
“Okay,” he said, his voice encouraging her to continue.
“Do you remember the niece I told you about?”
Aiden nodded, sensing where Joanna was headed.
“If you’re at all interested, I could ask her if she would be comfortable with me giving you her number.”
It wasn’t like he hadn’t been asked out or set up at work before, but the offer didn’t sit completely right with him because he had a nagging feeling, like maybe he wasn’t single? But he was. He was one hundred percent single and should be dating women in the Twin Cities, so why not?
Hoping he hadn’t paused too long, he said, “Yeah, sure. It would be great to meet more people in the area.”
“Wonderful.” Joanna smiled. “I’ll text her and let you know. Anyway, I better get going. Thanks for letting me join you.”
“Sure thing.”
He picked up his phone and saw two missed calls from his mom. Worried something was wrong with his dad, he immediately called her back.
“Aiden, sweetie.”
“Hey, Mom. What’s up? Is Dad okay?”
“Yes, sorry, this isn’t about Dad.”
“Oh good.” Aiden let out a breath as his body relaxed. “What’s up?”
“Well, I have a tiny favor to ask.”
Arriving back at his empty apartment, Aiden changed into workout clothes but made himself sit at his desk to cram in a study session first. He shook his head at himself. He’d agreed to drive two hours one way for an hour volunteering with his mom’s campers for their ‘Healthy Kids Day’ on Thursday. When she’d mentioned Olivia would be there, he tried to play it cool, but he wondered if his mom suspected he was actually going so he could volunteer alongside Olivia.
At the very least, his mom had given him an opening to text her.
Aiden : Looks like we’ll be volunteering together on Thursday .
He forced himself to refocus on the material and ignore her silence. It was a full hour and a half before Olivia responded. The notification brought him to his feet.
Olivia : Oh, I guess that makes sense. Healthy Kids Day and all
Aiden : I guess so. But who is Mrs. Darcy? My mom said something about you two doing an agility demonstration. Are you secretly a gymnast or something?
Olivia : Lol. Ms. Darcy is my dog. I did a bunch of agility training with her when she was little so she’d stop eating my couch.
Aiden remembered the dog who had dripped water all over his legs while Olivia was trying to swim off. He laughed afresh at the memory.
Aiden : I thought her name was Missy?
Olivia : Yeah, it's short for Ms. Darcy
Aiden : Well that sounds pretty badass. You are full of surprises, Ms. Olsen. Looking forward to this demo.
Olivia : (winky face, dancing lady emoji)
A jolt of delight shot through him, and he caught himself bouncing on his toes. He shoved his phone back in his pocket and put on his running shoes. He needed to burn off some adrenaline before he’d be able to fall asleep.