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“He was running out the clock,” I said.
“It’s all speculation on my part, but I have a feeling that version of events is pretty close to the truth. The only other thing I could come up with was that his relationship with the Keaches was deeper and more twisted than we knew. He clearly wanted to sabotage your chances.”
“He sabotaged more than just my chances,” I said dryly.
“I’m sure it must have been tough. Carolina, what happened after I left?”
I cupped the mug between my hands, seeking warmth, and narrowed my eyes at him. Here went nothing. “You took my reputation with you,” I said. “It took me a long time to gain back the trust of my colleagues, and it was two years before I could get a doctor to sign on to a grant proposal of mine again.”
“I’m so sorry. I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am.”
“I’m not sure I believe you,” I said.
“You are smart. You shouldn’t believe me. I wouldn’t take my word for it if the situation were reversed.”
He let a long silence pass before he spoke again. “Despite all the damage I did, your second trial was another success. I have to admit, I was surprised by the numbers. It’s rare to see two back-to-back trials both so highly successful.”
“Yeah, well, I had something to prove at that point. You know what the shittiest part of it all is?” I asked him.
“What’s that?”
“You remember that supplemental grant proposal we submitted, to keep following up on the patients from the first trial?”
“Yeah, vaguely.”
“The grant got funded.”
“It did? That’s great! Why is that the shittiest part?”
“Because to the world, it wasyourtrial, but in reality, I had to deal with all the work involved.”
Hector chuckled. “I’m sorry about that. Maybe you’ll let me make it up to you one day.”
I found myself smiling despite myself. That supplemental grant had actually been a lifesaver—a flotation device in a vast and empty ocean. It had kept me occupied, and I got to stay in touch with my patients. The money awarded with the grant kept my foot inside the door at Heartland when all signs pointed to my termination.
“Can you give me time, Carolina?” he asked.
“Time for what?”
“To show you that I’m telling you the truth. That I’ve never lied to you, and I never would.”
I nodded, without permission from my brain.
“You look the same,” he said, changing the subject.
It was a lot to digest, so I didn’t halt the change in the conversation’s direction.
“Wish I could say the same. You look older,” I clipped.
Hector chuckled. “Yeah. I’m an old man. You must forgive me. We old men are stuck in our ways.”
I knew he was eleven years my senior. It was a gap that hadn’t bothered me back when I was hoping for more from him. Dad had been nine years older than my mother when they met, and they were the happiest couple I’d ever known.
“I’m not sure what you are expecting from me, exactly.”
“I expect nothing,” he said. “I only hope for time.”
I was still suspicious, but my walls began to crumble the more he spoke. Everything he said made sense. I’d come into the café ready to tell him off, and yet here I was, doubting everything I believed I knew about him, and what had happened all those years ago.
