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She straightened up abruptly, as if an electric current rushed through her. I was very close, but she wasn't making any attempt to move away or put distance between us. Her perfume was damn intoxicating.
"I always wondered why you left like that," I said softly. "Why you kept me out of your life."
She turned her head to look straight at me. Her breath was shaky. "Sam, it wasn't like that. I didn't want to cut you out. I didn't even want to leave. I just had to." She swallowed hard. "And I didn't want you to get bogged down with everything. Let’s not sour the mood, okay?”
She handed me a glass.
"Want to go out on the balcony?" I suggested.
"Sure. But I’m going to need a cozy blanket. It’s cold."
"What's with the coffee cup?" I pointed to the empty cup next to the bottle of Jack.
"I used it to measure the alcohol. I'm not sure if I got the ratio right, but we'll see, I guess."
I took the “cozy blankets,” as she called them, from the couch, and we went on the balcony, where there were two chairs overlooking the crowded street. The building in front of us was full of colorful murals. Jazz music played from a corner down the street. We sat in the chairs, clinked glasses, and started sipping. She seemed utterly relaxed, wrapping herself up in the blankets, eyes closed, smiling contentedly.
We both drank our cocktails in silence—maybe a bit too fast. I’d emptied my glass before I knew it, and so had she.
"This is so blissful."
"It really is. I haven't had this feeling in years," I said.
She blinked her eyes open. "What do you mean?"
"Just being home and relaxing.”
“I imagine the pace is different in Doctors Without Borders."
"Yes. Especially because at first I was in areas with lots of conflicts."
She tensed. "Were you ever hurt?"
I shook my head. "Nothing really bad. I once got a stray bullet in my left leg."
She gasped. "Oh my God."
"I took it out myself pretty quickly. I wasn't left with any permanent nerve damage or anything."
She looked at my left leg, and I cocked a brow. "Want to see proof?"
"Maybe."
"What a creative way to tell me to take off my clothes."
She laughed softly. "I know it's noble and everything, but wow, going to an unstable area is something. When did you move to Honduras?"
"When I started having a relationship with another doctor here in Chicago. I moved to Honduras so I could fly home more often. There are more direct flights to Chicago from there."
She nodded and asked, "Did she visit you?"
"No. Wouldn’t even meet me halfway for a vacation. That should've been a clue, but it didn't sink in. I just assumed she was busy. To be fair, she was. Her schedule looked pretty much the way mine is now."
Avery nodded. "Is she working with you now?"
"No, she's at a different hospital."
"Okay."
