AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Because nothing else mattered.
“Thank you for coming,” I said. Francisco tipped his head towards one side, then walked into the office, his hand curling around the edge of the door and leaning there. Stopping himself. He rocked slightly on his feet and tucked his free hand in his pocket.
“Sure,” he replied, his gaze studying my face for a moment, then darting to the pager on the desk. “You need to get that?” he asked, scrunching his nose at the interruption.
“No, that’s fine.” It was probably the lab letting us know results were back and we could call them to confirm our diagnosis. “It’s not urgent.”
“Okay.” He nodded, moving his head up and down a hundred times, it seemed, an endless stream of acknowledgement.
“I forg?—”
“How have?—”
We spoke at the same time, interrupting each other in a clumsy dance of words. I couldn’t help but chuckle, breaking the tension that lingered in the room. Francisco’s eyes lit up at the sound, and I saw a glimmer of the familiar warmth that we used to share. Before the storm.
“You go first,” he said, a playful smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Okay.” I took a deep breath and tucked my right handinside my coat pocket, rummaging to get out what I needed. “I forgot to give you something.”
His face crinkled up in a smile so big that it blinded me in the dimly lit room. He rolled his lips, trying to contain his laughter. I took out the tongue depressor from my pocket and handed it to him. His hand stretched out towards me, and I placed it in the center of his palm.
He erupted in laughter, filling the room with a warmth that transcended the years we’d spent apart. It was such a simple moment, something that belonged uniquely to us, and it cracked my heart into a million pieces.
“Lucía,” he finally said, the remainder of a smile still in his eyes. The weight of unspoken words hung in the air. My name on his lips punched a hole straight through my heart, and my first instinct was to reach for him. To pull him into my chest. To keep him there, tight against my body in a silent dance. “You are enough.”
Francisco’s words lingered in the room, and for a moment, time seemed to pause. No beeping machines, no buzzing pager, no murmuring staff. We stood there, facing each other, the silence saying everything that needed to be said. My words repeated back to me, cracking me wide open.
“You are more than enough,” he continued. “You might be way too good for me,” he said with a sad smile, his lids pinching tight at the confession.
“Three years,” I said. “I need you to wait for me for three years.”
“No.” For a single second, I thought this conversationmight not go the way I needed it to go. But then he opened his eyes and looked at me, a storm raging on his face. “I’m not waiting.”
“Okay.”
He threw his body at me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and using one of his hands to untuck my long ponytail from his hold. “I’m not waiting. Do you understand?”We’ve lost enough time already, I wanted his words to say.
And the tears started. My brain wasn’t moving fast enough. It wasn’t computing what he was saying. But the tears were real, streaming down my face in a mix of joy, relief, and a lingering sadness that this conversation had been three years in the making.
“Lucía,” he whispered against my hair. “I love you.” His fingers gently traced the lines of my back, and for a moment, the weight of the past lifted, leaving room for a future that was ours to shape. “Linda.”The edges of his voice were covered in desperation. “Say something.”
“I love you too,” I managed to choke out. A heart-wrenching sob wracked my chest and echoed around us in the small room. “I’m a mess.”
“You’re a mess that I want.” He chuckled, but his amusement died quickly once he looked into my eyes. And at that moment, I wanted to kiss him. So badly, to make up for the lost time, for the moments I’d replayed in my head, for the what-ifs.
A second later, his mouth was on mine, splitting me atthe seams. My heart picked up its pace, thrashing around my chest wildly. Highly inappropriate for my workplace. And it was more than just a kiss; it was a promise.
“Why three years?” he asked against my mouth, a smile forming on my lips in response. He moved back, giving me soft, fleeting kisses on my cheeks, on my jaw, down my throat. His hold was still tight around my body, like if either of us let go for even a fraction of a second, we would evaporate into thin air.
The moment gone.
“I’m going to apply for the pediatric oncology fellowship,” I said, a little bit of pride in my words. I had spent the past few weeks trying to play catch-up to the unique flow of the hospital and working with a team instead of by myself. But I was rusty and not confident enough. Therapy was helping, and even after a few sessions, I already felt like I had a better handle on everything. I felt lighter. “And it’s a three-year program.”
“You’re not going back to Tres Fuegos?” He looked confused, his eyebrows scrunched and a wrinkle between them, smack dab in the middle of his forehead.
“No.” I laughed. “That town was drowning me. This is a better fit.”
He took me in for a moment, then rested his forehead on mine, taking a deep breath. “I’m so fucking proud of you,” he added. Francisco’s exhale was heavy, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders too.
