Chapter Ten
ten
Ridley
Ridley didn’t see Lanie when he got off the plane. That wasn’t a surprise, as he was one of the first people off— other perks of business class —and a driver sent by the university was waiting for him on the arrivals concourse. Standing with a placard featuring his name, the driver didn’t see him until they were standing face-to-face.
“D-Dr. Aronsen?” He was clearly not what the driver had expected. Typical .
Ridley nodded anyway.
He was never what people expected to see when they were meeting with a “Dr. Ridley Aronsen.” He blamed his mom’s affinity for horror movies for some of that. But he knew what the main reason was—because he looked more likely to be a point guard for the Celtics, or even the guy driving the car as opposed to the man being picked up by it. Most often when people saw Ridley, they didn’t see the principal medical investigator of an important clinical trial, or a doctor who was a member of the Royal College of Physicians, or even a good father or son, just an intimidatingly big Black man.
“Oh, okay.” The older driver bent to grab his suitcase.
Ridley slipped it behind him on its smooth wheels. “It’s okay, I can handle it.”
The driver snapped back in surprise.
Ridley got his back up far too easily. He eased a little. He was projecting. “Why don’t you lead the way.”
The man shrugged and led him toward the revolving doors of the exit.
Inside the car, Ridley fished his phone out of his coat pocket. It was incredibly soon to expect to hear from Lanie but she’d said she’d call and that could literally be at any time. Best to be prepared. He didn’t know why he wanted her to call. There was more than one moment sitting in that terminal with her when he’d wondered why he was bothering at all. He didn’t owe her anything and she certainly hadn’t made any effort to be pleasant.
“No hard feelings about that thing earlier?” the driver asked, breaking into Ridley’s thoughts.
“Sorry?” Ridley had no idea what the guy was talking about but wished he would stop turning his way as they flew down the expressway.
“Not realizing you were the doctor.”
“Oh. Don’t worry about it.” Ridley shook his head.
Ridley’s mind pulled back to thoughts of Lanie and he ran a finger over the business cards tucked into the pocket of his phone case. Maybe he liked that she was smart and snarky, and clearly unafraid to be unpleasant or prickly. And he was... intrigued? Some of his colleagues saw him that way too. But he had this soft underbelly that few got to see, that he was constantly protecting. He suspected she did also. So, maybe Lanie was a kindred spirit and perhaps that was why he wasn’t put off by it or her?
Is that why?
“So, what kinda doc are you?” The driver spoke again after long minutes of welcome silence.
“Hmm?”
“Your specialty?”
“Oh, I’m a nephrologist, by training. But I’m a physician-scientist in actuality.”
Through the rearview mirror, Ridley could read the blankness in the driver’s eyes. “Is that like, a special type of doctor?”
“Uh, it only means I’m not in direct clinical practice. I don’t see patients generally, I do research.”
“No, I meant nef-rolist? What kind of specialty is that?”
“It’s kidneys,” Ridley explained simply. “I specialize in kidney function.”
“Oh.” The driver nodded. His eyes, draining of interest, returned to the road as they crossed the suspension bridge from Queens over the East River into Manhattan.
Ridley looked from the city streets whipping past his window down to his phone again. He did hope she would call. Maybe they could have a drink. He didn’t know New York that well and considering he was set to be here frequently, it wouldn’t hurt to know someone in the city. To get out of his rut. A little practice before his interpersonal skills got too rusty. And getting to know someone like her— like him —might be exactly what he needed right now.