Chapter 31 - Coffee and Boundaries
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Elias Thorne and I fell into a comfortable, unspoken routine. Every Tuesday and Thursday, our shifts overlapped for about thirty minutes, and we inevitably found ourselves in the cafeteria line together. We talked about medical journals, awful hospital bureaucracy, and occasionally, our lives outside the hospital walls.
He was divorced, too. He mentioned it casually one day, without the heavy, dramatic sigh that usually accompanied such admissions.
"We just grew in different directions," Elias said, stirring his coffee. "She wanted to travel the world; I wanted to build a pediatric ward. No villains, just different maps."
I admired that. He didn't bash his ex-wife. He didn't play the victim.
"I definitely had villains in my map," I admitted, surprised by my own candor.
Elias looked at me, his eyes sharp but entirely safe. "I figured as much. You have the posture of someone who spent a long time bracing for an impact."
I paused, slightly taken aback by his emotional intelligence. Andrew hadn't noticed my posture in ten years; Elias had read my body language in ten weeks.
"I'm unlearning it," I told him.
"You're doing a great job," he smiled. He checked his watch. "Listen, I know your sanctuary is very important to you, and I don't want to intrude on it. But if you ever feel like having coffee outside this building, in a place that doesn't smell like bleach, I'd really enjoy taking you out. If not, I will happily keep bumping into you in this exact spot on Tuesdays."
It was the most respectful, pressure-free invitation I had ever received. He gave me a clear exit door, and because of that, I actually didn't want to use it.
May you like
"I know a great bakery a few blocks from here," I said. "Saturday morning?"
His smile widened. "It's a date."
