She snorted.
Of course it’s a biggie.She’s probably the biggest biggie of all.
Look, I didn’t want to say that.
Wise man.
Sometimes.
Trying to be anyway.
Her heart clenched.She appreciated that he was trying to be careful.
Hey, how are you doing?I know this is a lot on top of everything else you’re going through.
Her eyes pricked.
It is a lot.But I’m trying to be mature about it.It’s very hard sometimes.
I hear you.
How are you holding up about the patient who died?
Oh, why did he have to ask about that?
Then her phone started to ring.It was him.She internally braced then answered.“Hello?”
“Gen, I just couldn’t text anymore.I was getting RSI in my thumbs.”
She smiled, grateful he hadn’t wanted to video call.“It’s okay.”
“Is it?”he asked gently.“I’ve been praying for you since Friday about that patient of yours who died.I’m so sorry that happened.I don’t know how you can manage having to deal with such hard things all the time.”
Her throat clamped, she couldn’t speak.How could he be so kind about this, so understanding?
“Gen?”
“I’m here,” she whispered.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you.But I want you to know if you wanna talk then I’m happy to listen.As your friend.”
Her friend.She didn’t have too many of those.Not people who she could just be real with.And even with Kyle’s weird listening to God stuff, he seemed more genuinely interested in her than anybody else.She’d never really opened up with her colleagues, and now, with the peer review and potential inquiry, it felt like there was another wall between them.Even Mom held so much anger that it felt impossible to break through and just relax.
But Kyle had always had that way of helping her be honest.He didn’t want anything from her, and she didn’t need to play games.Especially not now.Not anymore.He knew her better than most, probably better than anyone, apart from Mom.And this insistence on being her friend made her feel safe.
“I… appreciate that.But it’s not really something I can talk about on the phone.”
“Okay.Well, just know that I’m here if you do want to talk.Okay?”
“Okay,” she whispered.
“And I’m still praying for you.”
She swallowed.“Thanks.”
“And I’ll be praying for my folks and your mom so that there’s no hair-pulling or screaming matches.”
“Ugh.Can you imagine?”
