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She turned on her heel and marched out the front door, closing it none-too-gently. I peeked out the kitchen window to see Cam plop down on the porch steps and start texting furiously. She swiped the back of her hand across her eyes, probably brushing away hot, angry tears.
While I considered whether I should give her space or go out there and try to talk to her, my phone rang. Reluctantly, I scooped it up. Part of me hoped that the hospital was calling me to cover a shift. It would be good to lose myself in work so I didn’t have to think about Cam or Joel, navigating motherhood to a teenager, or the reappearance of an old flame I never thought I’d see again, let alone still have feelings for him after all this time.
The other part of me didn’t feel like getting caught up in the hospital’s rush. I wanted to stay home and wallow for a while.
The name on my phone screen belonged to Doctor Henry Williams.
That was a sure sign of staff shortage. Feeling torn, I answered the call on the third ring.
“Hey, Doctor Williams. Do you need me to cover for a few hours again?”
“Hi, Abby,” he replied. “Actually, I’m calling for pleasure rather than business. At least, I hope that will be the case.”
My heartbeat faltered. I’d been dodging Doctor Williams’ offers to take me out to dinner for a few months now. I didn’t dislike him—he was a smart, hard-working, respectable man who cared about his patients, which was more than I could say for other doctors I’d worked with—but the desire to accept his invitation never rolled off my tongue.
“It’s been quiet at the hospital today,” he continued. “I’m planning to get off work a few hours earlier than expected and I was wondering if you might like to have dinner with me.”
It would be so simple to say yes. Doctor Williams checked every box I was looking for in a man. But I found my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth instead of answering with an enthusiastic response.
My gaze strayed to the window again, looking out at Cam seated on the porch. Maybe this is exactly what Cam and I needed. If I truly wanted to put Joel behind me, I needed to act like it and going on a date with a handsome, educated, polite man like Doctor Williams would be perfect for that. I knew I couldn’t make Cam stay at home while I was away, so she could hang out with her friends and get the chance to earn my trust back.
“You’re leaving me on pins and needles here, Abby,” Doctor Williams said with a note of amusement in his voice. “There’s no hard feelings if you say no.”
“Sorry, got distracted for a second,” I replied. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”
“Oh, wow, that’s great. I was sure you were about to let me down easy. I can pick you up as early as 6:30 if that works for you.”
“Sounds good, thank you, Doctor Williams.”
“Henry,” he replied. “Please, call me Henry.Doctor Williamsmakes me feel like I need to scrub up for surgery and that’s the last thing I want on my mind when I’m sitting across the table from you at dinner.”
It was the perfect opportunity to flirt right back. Instead, I fell silent, rubbing at a spot on the counter with my thumb. After an insufferably long pause, Doctor Williams—Henry—spoke again.
“Since this is a last minute thing, I’m afraid I don’t have dinner reservations anywhere fancy. How do you feel about the Oasis Cafe? It just opened last week and I haven’t tried it yet.”
“I’d like that,” I replied.
Henry and I talked for a few more minutes before he had to see a patient and I hung up, somewhat relieved to have the pressure of conversation over. Then I headed for the porch to break the news to Cam.
***
As soon as Henry arrived right on time, I told myself firmly that I would leave the past behind on this date. There was no room to think about Joel when Henry offered his arm to me, wearing clean, crisp dark blue slacks, a starched white shirt, and his chestnut hair parted to the side in a neat, tidy wave.
Henry was an attentive gentleman—opening the car door, pulling out my chair at dinner, and when my order came back wrong, he didn’t hesitate to explain the error with a smile to the waiter that smoothed the whole thing over.
He was perfect.
And I felt nothing for him.
Iwantedto. But I couldn’t even envision going on a second date, let alone considering anything more serious with him.
“You’re very quiet,” Henry said, pulling me from my thoughts. “Is everything all right?”
I waved him off.
“It’s been a long week, that’s all.”
He nodded with a noise of understanding.
