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“Yep.”
His phone rang, startling her. She checked the time and backed out of his office. “That’s probably your conference call. Talk to you later?”
He watched her as she went and she closed the door behind her. She returned to her desk, and gingerly rubbed a soft, pink flower petal between her fingers.
As she leaned forward to inhale the pleasant scent, she hoped this whole thing got easier as time went on. Feeling awkward around Noah wasn’t something she was used to, and she didn’t like it one bit.
Thursday was Mia’s favorite day of the week. It was probably weird to look forward to an appointment at an infusion center, but she got to relax in a comfortable chair, have snacks brought to her, and visit with interesting people. And she always,alwaysstopped for chicken wings afterward.
She was scheduled in Natasha’s section, and sat in her usual recliner. The office had a few secluded chairs along the wall with curtains patients could pull together for privacy, and they were always occupied. Even if they weren’t, Mia would have stuck with this one. She preferred the middle section where the chairs were a little closer together, and she could chat with the other patients.
She supposed she’d earned Noah’s title as “the most social person he’d ever met.”
The downside was there was only one television in this area, and they usually kept it on the Travel Channel. Natasha once explained that the manager thought it was soothing for the patients to see beaches and beautiful landscapes while they got their treatment.
Probably true for most people, but for Mia, those ocean scenes brought waves of guilt. Today was no different as the screen displayed an hour-long special on New Zealand, one of the many destinations her parents had talked about when she was a kid. They’d had a huge map hanging on the wall in the living room with little pushpins marking each place they wanted to visit someday.
Ireland. Japan. Greece.
Brazil. Fiji. Switzerland.
Would they have hit all of them even if she hadn’t gotten sick? Probably not. They’d have tried for as many as possible, though. But now? The financial burden of those first few years of her illness had sent those dreams down the drain.
Mia tried to keep her attention elsewhere, and ten minutes into her infusion, the medical assistant brought an older woman to the chair on Mia’s left side. After taking her vital signs the assistant left, and Mia smiled at the newcomer. Her gray hair was in a long braid down to her waist, and she wore bright red glasses. She looked nervous.
Mia reached into her bag and pulled out a wrapped brownie. She held it out. “Brownie?”
The woman gingerly took the offering. “Oh. Thank you.”
“They’re gluten-free, but you’d never know it,” Mia said with a smile.
“Are you my chair mate for the day?” the woman asked.
“Yep. Best seat in the house. Best nurse, too.”
“I heard that!” Natasha called from her computer, a grin on her face.
Mia leaned over. “Flattery gets you everywhere with Natasha.”
“Noted,” the woman said with a smile. She held out her hand. “I’m Barbara.”
“Mia. Nice to meet you.”
“What are you in for?”
She said it like they were in prison, and Mia laughed. “Kinrovi.”
“Never heard of it. What’s it for?”
“I have a rare kidney disease. I’ll need a transplant at some point, but until they find a match, this keeps things under control.”
“A kidney transplant, huh? My cousin had one of those. Got it from his dad, if I remember right.”
Mia looked down at her hands. “Yeah, family members are usually the easiest way to go.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’m adopted, so it’s not an option for me.”
Mia looked up to see the slight wince on the other woman’s face, probably from the way Mia had said it. “Ah.”
“What about you?” Mia asked, changing the subject. “I haven’t seen you here before.”
