Chapter 38
Danny
When I land in Columbus one day earlier than expected, the first thing I do is buy a big container of fries and a ginger ale from Gracie’s favorite diner.
After a month apart, I’m eager to see her in her element.
I know it’s difficult for her to grab snacks or even drink water during a day filled with patients, so I didn’t want to come empty-handed.
After getting the goods, the rideshare drops me off in front of the clinic.
From the outside, her practice is unassuming.
A modestly sized, red brick one-story building with the words “Columbus Metro Animal Clinic” on the front.
The names Dr. Grace Sinclair and Dr. Elle Todak are etched into the glass on the main door, alongside their business hours. They close in about an hour.
As soon as I open the door, I see all the love Gracie injected into this place. The waiting room has vibrant, deep pink walls decorated with photographs of happy animals. The space is filled with an eclectic assortment of small couches and colorful chairs.
“Hi there!” A smiling woman who looks to be about twenty greets me from the reception desk.
I realize by the social media handles sign sitting on the desk next to her that this must be Hannah, the clinic’s “Resident Young Person.” She pushes her purple hair behind her shoulders. “What can I do for you?”
“Are you Hannah?”
“Yes,” she replies slowly. “And you are?”
“Sorry. I’m Danny, Gracie’s boy… Grace’s friend. Dr. Sinclair’s friend.”
Yuck. “Dr. Sinclair’s friend” tastes disgusting coming out of my mouth.
Hannah gives me a curious smile. “Did you want me to page Dr. Sinclair?”
“I know the clinic closes soon, so if you’re okay with it, I’m happy to wait in her office. I don’t want to bother her if she’s in the middle of something with a patient.”
She quirks an eyebrow, looking skeptical. “Yeah, I’m going to page Dr. Sinclair.”
Fair.
Hannah presses some buttons before I hear a responding beeping sound. “Okay then. She’s with a patient but says you can wait in her office. It’s the last room on the left once you get through the door.”
I nod and wait as she buzzes me through. Gracie’s voice travels through the wall in the babyish tone she reserves for animals.
I find her office and settle in the squeaky chair behind her small, high-gloss white desk. Sitting on her desk is a pink laptop and a few pens with flowers on the end. I set down the food I brought and spin in the chair while I wait.
Not even five minutes later, I perk up when I hear her voice traveling down the hall. “You have a good day, Mrs. Baer! Jett is such a cutie. See you at his next check-up!”
I stand as soon as Gracie walks in.
Her eyes widen and a huge smile spreads across her face. She crosses the small distance between us to wrap me in a tight hug. Her body pressed against mine, familiar and warm, just feels right. We make so much sense together. I hope she feels it, too.
“You’re here a day early!”
“I was able to grab an earlier flight as soon as my team meeting ended.”
She pulls back and notices the new items on her desk. “Did you bring me fries? And a pop?”
“I figured you didn’t prioritize eating today. I ate on the way here.”
Gracie groans as she takes a long sip of the ginger ale. “You were correct. Oh my gosh, this is so good.”
I clear my throat and move around the desk so she can sit in her chair. “You look so good.”
“I’m in slobber-covered scrubs, please.” Gracie cringes and sits down, but not before I notice the quiet blush blooming across her cheeks.
“So, how often have you, uh, been back since we broke up?” she asks, swirling her straw.
“I fly home to visit my mom once a year for the Fourth of July weekend. She still loves the firework display at the park. Roger makes these delicious shishkabobs on the grill—you’ll have to eat one this year. It’s a good time, but once a year is about all I’ve been able to handle.”
“Handle?”
I frown. “It wasn’t exactly fun to go back home after we broke up. It felt like your old house was glaring at me through my bedroom window.”
Gracie turns her body to fully face me. “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“I found something in your guest room. Under the bed. I was just looking around and—”
“Snooping.” I grin, knowing this woman through and through. “You were snooping.”
“I wasn’t snooping! Jesus.” She wipes her hands on a napkin, muttering, “You and Ben are so annoying.”
“Ben? Like Ben Fischer? From high school?”
“Yeah, we’re still really close. Me, Ben, and Mia—his wife, now. You remember her from graduation, right? After college, I went to vet school in Indiana to be closer to them. We all did post-grad at the same time, with me doing the vet thing and Mia and Ben going to law school.”
My posture relaxes, relieved that Gracie had a support system when we weren’t speaking. “It’s cool you both stayed friends all these years. What’s he up to now?”
“He’s an environmental lawyer, which means that I’ve been forced to drink out of soggy paper straws in the dark—against my will—whenever I visit them.”
Curiosity gets the better of me as I quirk an eyebrow. “The dark?”
“Yeah, he has solar-powered everything. Anything that can be solar-powered is solar-powered. But, like, Indiana doesn’t get that much sun. You know?”
Loud laughter bursts out of me. So much uncontrollable laughter that I start to wheeze.
“Ha, ha. Go ahead. Laugh it up at my misery.”
I calm down enough to narrow my eyes at her and ask, “So, tell me, Gracie. What does Ben have to do with my guest bed?”
She flushes. “I, um, kind of called him in a panic when I found the scrapbook, and—okay. Fine, I was snooping. It’s in my nature; you know that.
” Then she throws me an accusatory look.
“Actually, you should have hidden it better if you didn’t want me to find it, so you really only have yourself to blame. ”
All I can do is smile at this ridiculous, lovable woman. “I don’t care, Gracie. It’s okay that you went through my stuff. What’s your question?”
“Well, I saw an article in there. A Columbus Dispatch story on my practice. Did you…?” She trails off, all flustered and adorable.
“Ask me what you want to ask me, Gracie girl.”
“Did you look me up while we were apart? How did you find out about the opening?”
“Well, you know I kept in touch with Mae over the years. We had a firm ‘No Talking About Grace’ rule, but one day, I had to know. If you were doing okay. If you’d moved on. If you were still chasing your dreams. I asked Mae during one of our conversations, and do you know what she said?”
“What?” she asks anxiously.
“Mae said, and I quote, ‘look it up yourself.’”
That bell-like laughter I love tumbles out of Gracie as she bends forward and cracks up.
“So,” I go on, “I looked you up. And I saw that you were thriving, Gracie. And for the first time, it felt like we were on parallel paths. Both of us, succeeding professionally, but without each other. I made a decision that day to do whatever I could to become a better version of me, one that you would be proud of. That’s when I started working on myself. ”
She nods shyly, satisfied with my answer, and pops another fry into her mouth.
“So, are you done for the day?” I steal a fry.
“Yep! Elle is closing up today, but she’s with back-to-back patients right now.” She pauses. “Did you want to come check out my apartment?”
“Of course I want to see your place, but there’s no rush. I’m happy to wait for as long as you need. I’m not trying to get in the way of baby turtles returning to the sea.”
“Do you… know what a veterinarian in Ohio does?”
I wink, and she throws a fry at me.
I catch it in my mouth.
“Get your bags, Thompson.”