Chapter 32 EVE
Chapter thirty-two
EVE
After my half-day at the clinic, I head back to the B I can see it. Plus, your face does this thing when you talk about him—” Claire’s expression softens into what I assume is a distressingly accurate imitation of my own lovestruck look.
“Very clinical observation,” I mutter, mentally noting my own symptoms: elevated heart rate, facial warming, and the ridiculous urge to smile whenever I think about that blue-eyed veterinarian walking our dogs. What would Nurse Foster diagnose? Amazing case of falling-for-your-second-chance-itis?
After promising updates and refreshing the application a couple of times, rereading it, I find myself reaching for my phone again, this time dialing a different number. It rings twice before he answers.
“Evie girl!” Papet’s voice immediately settles something restless inside me. “Calling in during the afternoon? What a treat.”
“Papet,” I say, finding comfort in the familiar nickname. “I’m not interrupting your afternoon nap, am I?”
He laughs, the sound bringing back memories of afternoons in his workshop, sawdust catching the sunlight. “At eighty-three, I’ve earned the right to nap whenever I please, but no. I’m out on the dock, watching the boats come in.”
I can picture him there, weathered hands around a mug of tea, watching the bay with his lifelong patience. “How’s the water today?” I ask, our familiar ritual.
“Choppy near the point, smooth in the harbor. Just the way we like it.” He pauses. “What’s got you calling? Everything alright?
LoverBoy shifts, head tilting like he’s waiting for my answer.
I take a deep breath. “I’m applying for a job, Papet. In Sandwich Bay.”
The silence that follows is the thoughtful pause I’ve known all my life, the one that means he’s giving my words the weight they deserve.
“The elementary school,” he says finally, his voice gentle.
I blink in surprise. “How did you know?”
“Mary Walker’s granddaughter is on the school board. Mentioned at the senior center that they were looking for someone with ‘medical experience and a gift for explaining complicated things to children.’ Sounded like you written all over it.”
“You knew they were hiring? You didn’t say anything.”
“Wasn’t my place,” he says simply. “You’ve had enough people trying to steer your life, sweetheart. Thought you deserved to find your own way back when you were ready. And if you want to.”
My eyes burn unexpectedly. “I think I am. Ready, I mean. And I want to.”
“Tell me why,” he says, and it’s not a challenge; it’s an invitation.
I look at LoverBoy, at my waiting application.
“I’m tired,” I admit. “Not just physically, but... soul tired. Emergency medicine is important and is all crisis, no continuity. I’ve compartmentalized my entire life.
And I never see what happens after…if what I did actually helped beyond that moment. ..”