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“And may no more of darken your door,” I said, clinking our glasses together.
“Amen,” she agreed, tipping her drink back and almost emptying it in one go.
“So other than all that, how have you been? Do you still live in Murdock?” I asked, eager to move away from the subject.
“Yeah,” she said. “I’m a lawyer now. Mostly deal with family law and real estate, that sort of thing. All the boring stuff.”
“That’s cool,” I said.
“No, it’s not,” she laughed. “There’s nothing sexy about family law, trust me. It’s not like Matlock where I passionately argue cases in front of a jury.”
“I can’t believe you just equated speeches by Matlock to being sexy,” I laughed.
Finally, a real smile seemed to cross her face.
“Yeah, well, maybe it was the seersucker suit,” she said.
“Maybe,” I said. “I’m just shocked you remember that show.”
“Dad loved it,” she said. “Watched it all the time before wrestling. I always caught the tail end of it because I’d watch the matches with him.”
“I see,” I said.
“Are you going to see Camden while you’re here?” she asked. “I’m sure he’d love to see you.”
“I’m planning on it actually,” I said. “Every time I swing into town, I go by the ranch.”
“Weird that I didn’t run into you then,” she said.
“Yeah. A couple of the other guys in our little crew moved back already. Ryan’s here, and Graham too. Apparently, he coaches at the high school.”
“The famous ballplayer?” she asked. “He came by the ranch just the other day, actually.”
“We have a little group text chat,” I said. “I think Graham is the only one who ever says anything in it other than Camden. I’m more of a lurker, so anytime I pop up they ask when I’m coming to visit. Now I’m here.”
“Well, I know Camden will be glad to see you,” she said.
“I’ll be glad to see him,” I agreed. “And I’m glad I got to see you too.”
The faintest hint of a blush went up the side of her face as she took another sip of her drink. We stayed there, chatting, and polishing off a few more drinks as we talked. As we spoke, she seemed to loosen up, and some of that girl I remembered from being fifteen and hanging around the house was showing up again.
“Do you see the guys often?” she asked. “I know Camden talks about seeing one of you boys every couple of weeks.”
“It’s tough,” I said. “The guys have gotten together in different places, but I should have gotten back here more often. It would have made Camden happy for sure. And my dad.”
“You didn’t tell me what you did,” she said. “As a job. Why did you leave Murdock, other than it being… well, Murdock?”
“College,” I said. “Then medical school.”
“Oh,” she said. “You’re a doctor? Like your dad?”
“A doctor,” I agreed. “Not much like Dad, though.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, stirring her drink. She had long since stopped stabbing the cherries, content to pull the stem up enough to pull one out and bite it.
“I mean he’s this wildly loved and respected doctor in a small town, and I’m some schmuck living in a big city who patients only ever see when there’s an emergency.”
“Ahh,” she said. “Where did you go?”
“Austin,” I said. “Then Dallas, then Austin again. I love the big city lifestyle. When I finished my residency, I just stuck around and kept building my career. I worked in some city hospitals doing emergency room stuff for a while and then started aiming more toward my specialties. I moved to Dallas for an opportunity, then back to Austin when they offered me a better position.”
“So, like your Dad, just in a high population place,” she said. “Got it.”
“I guess,” I said. “I see a few dozen more people in a day than he sees in a week, and no one knows my name, but sure.”
“I know your name,” she said. “Mark Murphy.”
I nodded. “That’s me. Just a weird Irish kid from Texas, struggling with being too tall in elementary school and too nerdy in middle.”
“You seemed to be looking fine in high school,” she said casually, then turned beet red. She turned her face toward me, her lips partially around a straw. “I mean doing fine. Doing fine in high school.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Nice recovery,” I said. “At any rate, it’s nice to come back home once in a while, you know?”
“I live here,” she said. “I don’t get to come back home because I can’t ever seem to leave this damn place.”
“Then I should get the hell out as fast as I can, shouldn’t I?”
“As fast as you can,” she repeated, serious for a moment.
“Well, I enjoy coming here to visit,” I said. “It’s always nice to run into someone you haven’t seen in a long time and get a chance to catch up.”
