Page 105 of Love Overdose: St. Louis

“One cancellation at a time?”

“Yes.”

“Did you call before you disappeared into surgery?”

“Not always.”

Her gaze held mine.

“I don’t need you to choose a dinner over someone’s life, Elijah. I need to know our plans matter to you even when you can’t keep them.”

“They do but I don’t want you accepting whatever time remains after the hospital finishes with me.”

The kitchen grew quiet. Frankie glanced toward the hallway, then lowered her voice.

“There are going to be nights when that’s all you have.”

“I know.”

“And there are going to be days when Malik needs me, and I can’t leave. Or when his father cancels, Mama is busy, and everything we planned has to change.”

“That isn’t the same.”

“It is to the person waiting.”

Her words settled between us without accusation.

“What do you need from me?” I asked.

“What you did tonight. Tell me the truth. Don’t promise a time you can’t give me. And when something matters to me, make an effort to be there.”

“I intended to be here.”

“I know the difference between intention and effort.”

“You changed your clinic rotation last week so you could go to the aquarium with us. You reviewed the accessibility information. You made lunch reservations. That was effort.” Her fingers tightened around mine. “Tonight was an emergency. I’m not going to punish you for being the doctor that family needed.”

I lifted her hand and pressed it against my chest.

“I won’t stop trying to get here.”

“I won’t ask you to.”

The ache behind my eyes sharpened. I closed them and let my head fall back against the chair.

Frankie touched my face.

“When was the last time you ate?”

“Breakfast.”

“Elijah.”

“I had coffee.”

“Eat.”

I picked up my fork. Frankie stayed beside me while I finished everything on the plate. She told me about Journey trying to give a speech without notes and losing track of her point. Amelia cried during the screening, then denied it while wiping her face. Malik watched the videos from beginning to end and clapped every time Frankie appeared. I listened to the evening I missed until I could see it. When I finished, Frankie carried my plate to the sink.