Epilogue
It’s mid-May, and tonight, the attendings are hosting a celebratory party after all of the first years successfully passed the intern board exams and are officially moving on to our residencies. Forest offered up his rooftop for the party.
But first, it’s work. I’m back in the Emergency Room after several months away doing other rotations. Spring means doing about fifty sutures a day. Scooter wipeouts, bike accidents, and tripping on uneven sidewalks. New York is officially out of hibernation as the weather warms up.
“Dr. Oliver, Dr. Craik, Dr. Worth.” Chief Resident Parse looks at Myles, Raven, and me. “You’ll all be with Dr. Lanson today.”
I had such a nice break from Dr. Lanson, but now I’m back on his rotation of trauma surgery. But only for a short time, as I’m a month away from starting my two-year rotation at Jamaica Hospital in Queens. I find my way to Dr. Lanson who is in with a teenage patient.
He holds the film up for me. “What do you see, Dr. Oliver?”
“The entire side of his skull is fractured.”
The trauma rotation has taught me a couple of things. One, I’ll never get on a motorcycle. And two, I’ll never ride a bike without a helmet.
Dr. Lanson looks at the patient. “Let’s prep him for surgery.”
We head to the operating room, while our patient is prepared.
“You’re almost done being an intern. How do you feel?”
“Excited for what’s next,” I say, falling in step next to him. “It’s been a long year.”
“You’ll be at the rooftop to celebrate tonight?”
“I wouldn’t be anywhere else,” I say.
He lifts an eyebrow in my direction. “And with your boyfriend, I assume?”
“Yes,” I say. “With Keegan.”
Dr. Lanson snickers and shakes his head, and I’m relieved when he goes into the operating room and I follow. Keegan and I are professional at work and haven’t shared that we’re a couple with anyone besides our close inner circle, but word travels fast at the hospital. Ever since we recovered from Forest finding out and me trying to walk away, we’ve been inseparable. We never bothered with the “what are we” conversation, because it felt redundant. Ever since I told him I loved him back, and we sat down and he told me that I’m it for him, I’ve felt confident in where this is heading.
Raven, Myles, Jules, and I have a drink at our apartment before we head to Forest’s rooftop with the other interns and attendings. In one week, we’ll officially be residents. One year done, four to go before I have to think about applying for a fellowship program in trauma and critical care. We’ll also be on a month-to-month lease with our apartment and at a crossroads of what to do next in terms of living arrangements.
Myles and Jules have already found a one-bedroom apartment not far from the hospital. We are all traveling to their wedding in two weeks, and then after that, they come back to the city and move into their new place. Raven and I have been less sure what we want to do, especially with me moving to a hospital in a different borough.
“I wish I looked more New York like you guys,” Jules says with her thick accent. “Why does my hair keep doing this?”
“Well.” Raven attempts to flatten Jules’ hair. “You’ll be living here in no time.”
“Once from Texas, always from Texas,” Myles calls from the next room. “That’s what I love about you, Jules.”
We arrive at Forest’s and head right up to the rooftop. When we step out into the sun, I gasp at how many people are there. The attendings went all out for us. There are so many familiar people from the hospital, and the first person to come up to me is Chief Resident Parse.
“Well, you made it.” He sticks his hand out to shake mine, but instead, I pull him into a hug.
“Yes, and what, only four more years to go,” I say with a laugh.
Dr. Parse steps back from me. “You’ll make a great surgeon, Luna. Jamaica Hospital is going to be a great step to further your education.”
A hand grazes the small of my back, and I turn to see Keegan.
“This is a party,” he says. I look around at the lights, and the servers bringing around drinks and appetizers.
“You’re here,” I say. “I wasn’t sure if you’d get out of your case in time.”
Keegan’s breath is warm against my ear when he speaks. “You made it through your first year, Luna. Congrats.”
He leads me to the bar, and then we stand along the balcony. Keegan is eerily quiet, even for him. I bite my bottom lip and study him, as he looks out at the skyline. The light of the moon glistens off his eyes.
“What’s up?” I finally ask him. “You’re acting all weird and quiet.”
Keegan releases a breath, pulls out a pamphlet from his back pocket, and hands it to me. “I want your thoughts on this.”
I flip through the brochure. It’s a beautiful and expansive condo for rent in a high-rise in the Forest Hills neighborhood in Queens. Three bedrooms, and three baths, with beautiful parquet floors, and a semi-open floor plan.
“It’s beautiful, Keegan. But you have a place. And this condo is farther from the hospital.”
“True,” he says. “But you’re going to be in Queens for the next two years, and this would be so close to your hospital.”
I hand the brochure back to him, and he reluctantly takes it from me. He drags his hand down his face and takes a deep breath.
“What is it?” I put my hand on his arm. “What are you thinking?”
He glances at the brochure and then at me. “All you’ve been talking about for the past couple of months is where to live next.”
“It’s beautiful,” I say. “But I don’t need this much space, and it’s so far from you. I love being able to walk to your place.”
“Luna,” he says, his big blue eyes staring at me, searching. He looks down at the brochure. “I was thinking we’d live there together.”
“What?” I start laughing, realizing I missed all of the signs. We still have moments where Keegan thinks he is being clear with me, but I don’t pick up on what he’s saying. It’s not lost on me that he wants to move somewhere that would make my life easier, instead of suggesting that I make sacrifices for him.
“You want to live together?”
“If this feels too fast, I understand. There’s no pressure.” Keegan leans back against the railing and looks suddenly shy.
“But then you’d have a longer commute,” I say.
“It would be thirty minutes, which is nothing,” Keegan says. “And I’d much rather be taking public transportation than you. Especially at night.”
“You want to live together?” I put my hand over my mouth to cover my smile.
For the past few months, I’ve mostly stayed at his place anyway. He cleared out a couple of drawers for me, and I keep a lot of my bathroom stuff there. He’s made me feel like his place is mine, but the saddest part of my days is when I leave his place to go back to mine.
“More than anything”—Keegan’s lips turn up—“Thor wants more of his mama around too.”
“But I’m a little messy,” I say. “Are you sure you know what you’re signing up for?”
“I don’t mind that you’re a little messy.” Keegan reaches for my hand and runs his thumb along my palm. “You also keep the refrigerator stocked, bring me tea when I’m studying, and keep me warm at night. Your good qualities far outweigh your being a little messy.”
“You’re sure?” I say, not needing to give this any more thought. “Because I’d love to live with you. In Queens. But only if you’re sure.”
“Of course I’m sure.” His eyes light up. “Because they are saving this place for me until noon tomorrow. We should go in the morning, and you could give it a final stamp of approval. But trust me, Luna, it’s beautiful. Close to restaurants and shops, but it also feels residential. And you’ll be so close to the hospital.”
“I’ll pay half the rent,” I say.
Keegan starts laughing and reaches for my hand. “We’ll sit down and talk through all of that.”
I grab his shoulders. “We’re really doing this. We’re moving in together.”
Keegan kisses my forehead and rubs a finger down my arm, somehow igniting all seven million nerve endings in my body. “We are.”
“And you’re moving to Queens,” I say. “For me.”
“At least for the next two years, yes,” Keegan says. “See. I’m very romantic. Not even a little boring.”
“But what happens after my two years there? Then I’ll be back at Presby. I still have two years left of my residency, and then at least two years of a fellowship, and who knows where I’ll end up for that?”
Keegan once again places a soft kiss on my lips, and I relax. “Yes, you still have many years of training in front of you, but that doesn’t mean our lives can’t move forward in the meantime. We spend every day saving lives, Luna. We’re allowed to live the ones we got.”
“You’re right.” I release a breath. “As long as we’re together.”
Keegan takes his pinky and intertwines it with mine. “Okay.”
Keegan wraps me in his arms, and for the first time since arriving, I remember that we aren’t alone, and there’s music playing all around us and a party to enjoy.
“What’s Forest going to think?” I scan the crowd for him.
“He already knows I was going to ask you.” Keegan smiles. “He’s very excited, although not the living-in-Queens part.”
“Wow.” I wrap my arms around his neck. “And he’s good with this?”
“He’s completely on board.” Keegan takes my hand and leads me back to the group but turns to me and says. “Let’s go look at the place in the morning before your shift starts.”
Forest comes into view, and his face lights up as he makes his way towards us. He pulls me into a hug.
“Congrats, kiddo,” he says. “It’s all smooth sailing from here.”
“Yeah.” I hit him on the arm. “Says no one ever.”
Forest laughs as he wraps an arm around Keegan and his other around me.
“How does Wednesday work for family dinner?” Forest glances at me. “There’s a new Indian restaurant around the corner I want to try. Or we could go somewhere else. Whatever you want.”
Keegan glances at me and smiles. “Let’s go to that amazing sandwich shop near your house. Or Chelsea Eats starts next week. We could go there.”
“Yeah, that could work,” Forest says, smiling in my direction.
“I’m off at six that night,” I say. “I’ll be there.”
The End