AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Gone is the dyed black hair. The lip ring. The skintight pants and eyeliner.
He wears a lab coat now. A lab coat. The boy has left, and a professional, well-groomed man stands in front of me now.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asks. Even his voice is deeper now. It has grit. It’s hard not to get lost in his startlingly intense dark eyes.
“Uh—Donovan, this is Otto. My son.” I step to the side to introduce Otto, slipping my hand to my boy’s back.
I try to discern Donovan’s reaction. To his credit, he doesn’t bat an eye. Instead, he smiles at Otto. When he smiles…oh boy. He has dimples in his cheeks and crinkles lining the edges of his eyes. There’s something about that—signs of a life well lived, maybe—that makes my heart beat a little faster.
“Nice to meet you, Otto,” he says. “I’m Dr. Donovan, an old friend of your mom’s.”
A bit more than friends. One night, thirteen summers ago, Donovan, Jason, and I tangled limbs and lips in the belly of an abandoned boat. With so much time and distance, that part of my life has felt like a distant fantasy.
Until now. With Donovan standing beside me, it suddenly feels very, very real.
“Hi,” Otto says, though I can tell he’s gone shy.
“I like your helmet,” Donovan says, breaking the ice.
“Kevin won’t leave me alone,” Otto replies by way of explanation.
Donovan knits his eyebrows. “Kevin, huh?”
“That’s what we call his sickness,” I break in, translating. “Started as a therapeutic technique…give it a name and it’s not as scary, right? But no one seems to be able to diagnose him, so. We might as well call it something.”
“I’ve never met a Kevin I liked,” Donovan says.
“Kevin McCallister,” Otto prompts.
“A brat,” Donovan argues.
“Kevin Bacon,” I add.
“Overrated.”
“Kevin…um…and Hobbs.”
“That’s Calvin,” Donovan says. “Now, a Calvin I can get behind. But I tell you what.” Donovan crouches down so he’s level with Otto, arms hanging loosely on his thighs. “If you’ve got a Kevin problem…you’ve come to the right place. Because we know how to take care of Kevins here.”
Otto smiles and leans against my legs. “Cool,” he says.
“So you’re a doctor now?” I prompt.
Donovan stands. “Yep. I’ve been working at Lighthouse Medical since med school.”
“Congratulations. That’s huge.”
He scratches the side of his neck, as though the compliment is rash-inducing. “It’s what I love. One of the best hospitals in the state. I wouldn’t work anywhere else.”
I have so much I want to ask him. So many questions. But everything gets balled up in my throat when I look into his eyes.
“I’ve got to tell Jason you’re here,” Donovan says. “He’s going to lose it.”
“Jason?” My anxiety spikes. “Jason King?”
He snorts a laugh. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
