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“Ristras!” Leigh rushes from the kitchen to take the ristras from my hand and bring it to her face. “Smells so good.”
“They’re from Gabe. When he found out I’d be staying with you, he made sure to bring these when he visited me last week.” Dr. Gabe Vasquez is my cousin who owns a medical practice in Taos, New Mexico. His mother and my father are siblings and after Dad was killed during a store robbery when I was ten, the Vasquez family took my family in. We pretty much grew up together, with me following him everywhere he went, much to the chagrin of his best friend Dax Drexel.
Gabe’s also the first person in the Vasquez family to be a doctor and as soon as I pass my board exams, I’ll be the second. Well, as close as a doctor as I’ll ever be on paper. Doctor of Physical Therapy.
“Ah, Dr. Gabe. Still thoughtful as ever.” Leigh unhooks an empty cascading fruit basket from the ceiling in her kitchen and replaces it with the ristra. “So does this mean you can finally teach me how to cook my favorites? Green chile enchiladas, chile Colorado, posole rojo, green chile garlic toast, green chile meat loaf…”
I laugh. “Maybe.”
“Thank Gabe for me when you talk to him,” she says as I set two glasses on the counter and she fills them. “Maybe you can make some kind of dip for the potluck this weekend.”
“What potluck?”
“They hold potlucks every two months or so and this weekend will be my first since I moved in.” She hands me a wine glass and we head to the couch. “We can bring chips and whatever salsa we can make with either the pods or the green chile.”
“Sure.”
“It’ll be a great way to meet the neighbors although you’ve met one of them already.” She winks playfully. “Who knows? Trevor may even be there.”
There’s no denying how the butterflies in my stomach fluttered to life the moment I realized it was him. Or how my mind immediately went back to the night we spent together, the way he made me feel like I was the most beautiful woman in the world, and how I felt so empty when we said goodbye.
I genuinely thought Trevor would ask for my phone number, but he never did. I was crushed, but I was also relieved. It meant I didn’t have to wait for a call that would never come. It meant I could focus on more important things like completing my physical therapy program without having to worry about some guy I met at a bar.
“Here’s a toast to friendship.” Leigh’s voice breaks through my thoughts as she raises her glass. “And to a successful career ahead of you, Claudia Romero, future Doctor of Physical Therapy.”
We clink glasses and I take my first sip, sighing as the wine slides down my throat. “I just need to survive the next three months of internship first.”
“With me as your resident cheerleader, you’ll survive it,” she says, laughing.
Leigh and I have been friends since third grade but as soon as she graduated from high school, she left Taos like a bat out of hell. She studied Art in New York and proceeded to earn her master’s before completing a three-year fellowship in Norfolk. When her position became permanent, she celebrated by moving into a bigger place in time for my internship.
I spend the next hour getting Leigh caught up on what’s been going on with everyone back home. After leaving Taos after high school, her parents split up and left the state and she hasn’t kept in touch with anyone but me.
My phone rings as we finish putting in our pizza order. As I glance at the phone display, I make a face. “Oh, crap, it’s my mom. I was supposed to call her back.”
“Are you at Leigh’s already?” my mother asks as soon as I answer the call. “You had me worried when you didn’t call me back, mija.”
Leigh signals for me to put her on speaker. “She got here an hour ago, Tia Rosa, but I kept her busy with all our talking. She was getting me caught up with what’s going on with you over there.”
“Leigh! It’s so nice to hear your voice,” my mother says. “When are you coming to visit?”
I hand Leigh the phone. For the next few minutes, they talk as I finish the last of my wine. After three years, it feels good to be free of exams and paperwork even if my break is short-lived. In two days, I start my internship at a medical center specializing in orthopedic conditions and prosthetic rehab. Who knew the infamous clinic manager back home would end up treating patients one day?
I can still remember how my decision to go back to school took everyone by surprise. Or almost everyone. Gabe wasn’t surprised. He has always believed in me. To this day, he credits me for helping his practice get off the ground; from the small clinic I managed for him to the multidisciplinary practice it’s going to be very soon. So when I told him I was thinking of becoming a physical therapist, he was there with me all the way.
The apartment phone rings and it’s the pizza delivery guy announcing he’s in the lobby with our order. Leigh says goodbye to my mother and hands me my phone before heading downstairs.
“I’m so happy you made it to Leigh’s safely,” she says as I make my way into my room. “Does she still have short hair? You need to send me pictures of her new place.”
“I will,” I say. “How are you doing?”
“Gabe bought me a plane ticket for your hooding ceremony. In fact, he paid for your cousins’ tickets, too,” she says. “This is a big deal, mija. You’re going to be a doctor.”
“I’ll have a doctorate in Physical Therapy, Ma,” I say. “It’s not exactly like Gabe’s.”
“How different can it be? You’re doing your internship just like he did. And you have board exams, just like he did.”
I chuckle. “When you put it that way, yes, it’s almost the same.”
