High Flyght – Chapter 10

With a spring in my step, I walk into the café a block from the hospital and spot Gus in a corner booth near the window. Before I even get close to the booth, I can tell he’s not in a good place.

The difference between our two moods couldn’t be more striking. His beard is wild and a little lopsided, like he slept on it and worked a ten-hour shift. He changed out of his hospital scrub shirt and into a university sweatshirt from a school on Rio, but left his scrub pants on. I have heard from other doctors before that none of them wear scrubs outside of the hospital if they can avoid it. Too dirty.

“Hey,” Gus says, trying to jump up from his seat to greet me. His knee hits the side of the table, his coffee cup flies forward and spills everywhere, including in the seat I was just about to sit in. And to make things even more embarrassing for Gus, the cup rolls off the table and smashes into a million pieces on the floor.

Every head in the place turns to look.

“Well, I was going to ask you how you’re doing, but I think I get the picture now,” I whisper, pulling him away from the table.

“Son of a bitch,” he mutters, staring at the mess he made.

I hold back a small smile and remember the story about Aunt Fusako and Juan. There is something charming about clumsy men, especially when they don’t take themselves too seriously.

“I can’t believe I just did that,” he says with a sigh.

“Ah, well, it’s just coffee. Don’t worry about it,” I say, reassuring him.

He swats away the coffee from his scrub pants. “It’s a good thing I wear navy blue scrubs. It hides all the blood, sweat, puke, and coffee too.”

Two waiters rush forward from the back kitchen. “It’s all right. We’ll get it cleaned up right away.”

“Sorry,” Gus says, moving to the side. “I’m afraid I’m a mess once I leave the hospital.”

My happy thoughts melt away and leave room for concern over Gus. We’ve only just met, but I can already see the pattern of overwork here. Even with advanced medical facilities and modern medicine, the medical profession still relies on people to give care. And there are never enough qualified people.

I jerk my head at an empty table across the café, and Gus follows me there.

“More coffee?” I ask as I direct him to his booth seat.

“I was thinking suicide would be more appropriate now that I’ve embarrassed myself to high heavens. How about a gun?” He plops onto the seat cushion and stares out the window while I slide into the seat opposite him.

“Hmm, no. Don’t have one of those. In fact, I think they’re pretty illegal in both systems.” I push my bag onto the seat and lean over to meet Gus’s eyes.

He blinks. “Sorry. Sorry. How are you? You looked happy when you walked in.”

He seems to need a distraction, and I’m curious about how open I can be with him.

“Well…” I draw out the word as I choose our drinks from the table menu system and pay. “I had a lovely evening with my ex, who is not so much an ex anymore. We went out to dinner, ate ice cream cones while walking around the indoor arboretum on the south side of town, and spent the whole night catching up on the last three years we were apart. It was stellar.”

Gus blinks a few more times. “How many consorts do you have so far?”

“Just the two. I wasn’t dating anyone not too long ago. But I’ve got, oh, five hours before our departure from Ossun. You could take me out on a date, if you like, though you look likelier to fall asleep than anything.”

He inhales a deep breath and shakes his head. It’s a desperate attempt to wake himself up, but I can tell it won’t work. “You’re full of jokes. I don’t remember your brother being funny.”

“He’s not.” My dead voice makes him smirk. “You look exhausted. I’m sorry I dragged you out today for this.” I reach across the table and lay my hand over his. His whole body stiffens for a moment. Have I crossed a line with him? He squeezes my hand briefly before pulling his fingers away as our coffees arrive at the table.

Once the waiter is gone, he takes a sip and sighs.

“One of my favorite patients came in today. She’s senile, dementia, and has heart problems.”

I sit back and prepare myself in my usual role of listener.

“I’ve seen her at least twenty times over the last two years. Her heart races or flutters and she panics, but she can’t always remember why.”

His pained eyes connect with mine, and my heart aches for him.

“She only remembers me every now and then. I hear all the stories about her children who she talks about as if they’re five or six years old, but they’re grown now. Her husbands come every single time. They sit by her side. They take shifts keeping her talking and lucid. If she didn’t have them, she’d probably be dead by now. One of the other nurses looked at me today and said, ‘I hope I have half the support network she has when I’m past a hundred.’”

He stops to sip his coffee, so I sip mine too.

“And that’s when I quit my job.”

The coffee gets caught in my windpipe, and I half choke on it as it scalds my throat all the way down.

What is with me and choking on coffee?

At least this time I’m able to cough a few times into a napkin and not get any on myself.

“You okay?” Gus asks. He sits forward and pulls a few more napkins from the dispenser on the table.

“I’m fine.” I clear my throat. “Are you okay? You quit your job?”

“Well, I thought about your offer, and I decided that even if you were just joking about the medic position, I would rather do something else. Hospital life isn’t for me.”

“I wasn’t joking,” I blurt out.

Yay, yay, yay! I cheer inside and do a little dance. We need a medic on board, someone to help me determine what the seeds all do and how they affect humans once ingested. Someone who knows how to patch people up because I recently learned how hazardous this mission is.

“You looked me up on the duonet and you’re still here? I just want to make sure you know what I’m currently up against.”

He nods. “I watched all the videos. Read all the news.”

I swallow and wonder what they’re saying about me. It can’t be that bad if he’s here, right? “Okay, then. Jinzo went out and bought everything on that list of yours. We’re totally stocked and ready for a medic. Um, I can’t pay you much —”

He holds up his hand. “Don’t worry about it. The hospital wasn’t paying much either. I live off of a trust fund for now. But if you can feed me and keep me from going insane, that’s payment enough.”

No mention of wanting to date? Or becoming part of my network? I’m not offended, but I am surprised, especially after our last conversation.

But maybe he’s not ready. And perhaps he’s not the right kind of guy for me either.

Don’t move too fast, Vivian.

I press my hands to the table as I rein in my emotions.

When Mom looked at me and told me our future was in my hands, I believed, at that moment, I would never meet anyone I cared about. I would fail at this job so miserably that I’d need to crawl into a hole and stay there forever. That awful experience with Sean almost sealed the deal. And this drama with both Jinzo and Ken? I figured it was a sign I was screwed.

Things are looking up! I’m taking care of business. I’m making the hard decisions. And I’m finding new men to add to my network. Maybe. I guess we’ll see what happens with Gus.

I’m willing to take the chance.

“Food and adventure. I have both.” I smile at him, and his weary face smiles back.

“You know, I saw those old bruises on your leg when I was taking care of the cut you sustained.” He sits back in his seat and sinks in, relief relaxing his shoulders. “And then I saw that rescue video after my shift, the one of you and Jinzo on Rio. If that’s the kind of adventure you’re offering, I might be a little ill-prepared.”

“What? You don’t like wrestling giant squid in your spare time?”

He barks a short laugh. “I’ve honestly never had the opportunity.”

I stand up and chug down the last of my coffee. “Well, pack your bag and get to the spaceport pronto because a life of adventure awaits you on the Amagi.”

His eyes brighten, losing the lost and sullen expression he’s had since I arrived. I think he just realized it’s really happening. He really quit his job. He’s really joining my crew.

“See you in two hours?” I ask, grabbing my bag. I have lots to do to prepare for him. I have a crew to warn, a bedroom to prep, and more food to buy. Another mouth to feed, but I can afford it with a new Gai Reis contract and income from Jinzo and Ken.

“I’ll be there… Captain.”

That title has never sounded so sweet.

As I leave, I glance over my shoulder and see him staring out the window again, this time with a smile on his face.