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“I’ll go see if Doctor Raji is ready for you to go upstairs.” I pressed my hands against my thighs while I stood, thrown by the dizziness in my head and needing all the help with balance I could get. Approaching the door, I smiled warmly at Avery in departure.
I jogged through the wing, catching the eye of nurses and patients as I nearly ran to find Doctor Raji. She stood at the nurse’s station, folding the cover of a medical file over the top when I approached. She turned, smiling at me, and I wasn’t sure where to start.
“You have a kind heart, Mr. Rossi,” she said first. “I’m glad you’re going beyond your duties and helping my patient.”
“Yeah,” I stumbled, trying to connect thoughts and words. Lizzie’s big, lonely blue eyes flashed in my mind, and I wasn’t sure what to say. She traced my tattoos like her hand belonged there, and it was disarming how therapeutic that felt. “Her boyfriend? Paramedic to doctor.” I tried to smile at Doctor Raji, hoping our professional relationship would mean a little more in that moment.
“I spoke with his oncologist, and right now I’m actually finishing up with another patient’s paperwork, but if you give me just a minute, I can walk back to Miss Blake with you and we can discuss escorting her upstairs to see her partner.”
“His name is Sean,” I mumbled, gritting my jaw. I didn’t know him, I’d only seen him dying on the stretcher when Ben and Nina took him that morning, but he had a name. Dead or alive, we all have names.
“I know,” Doctor Raji smiled at me, “but we can’t discuss his name without breaking confidentiality. To Miss Blake, I only refer to her partner by name. Everyone has a name, Mr. Rossi.”
I bit my tongue, trying to subdue the memories of being in shoes similar to Avery’s when Jade died, and waited for Doctor Raji’s lead before following her into Avery’s room.
I stood in the doorway, letting Doctor Raji review her notes and thoughts with Avery, knowing this part was personal and private. When Avery’s sobs stifled the soundtrack of her room, I turned from the doorway and leaned against the wall. I wanted to leave, and I didn’t want to go home except for Muffin, but…a pretty lady wanted to marry me, and I didn’t have her number.
