Still, for every loss there were many success stories. Children who left the hospital with long, healthy futures ahead of them, thanks to rapidly developing advances in modern medicine. Teenagers who would attend their proms, attain their driver’s licenses, fall in love and have children of their own.
He wanted to be a part of that field. And yet he still had to get through more rotations, more shelf exams, the two-part, second step of the national licensure exam, residency applications and interviews, the uncertain wait to be accepted into one of those exclusive residency programs. So many pitfalls ahead of him, any of which could derail his dreams.
He knew how Haley would respond if he said something along that line to her. She’d go directly into cheerleader mode, assuring him that he could succeed at anything, bolstering his ego with pithy pep talks and cheery platitudes. She’d mean every word of it, of course; optimism was as much a part of Haley’s true nature as cynicism was of his. If she had any doubts about his suitability for that specialty—and he suspected she would—she would keep them well hidden.
As if he’d subconsciously called her to him by thinking of her, she walked into the coffee shop, pausing only a moment when she saw him sitting alone at a tiny table for two. She ordered a coffee and a fruit-and-yogurt cup, then carried them over to join him.
Because she was on the pulmonology ward while he worked hem-onc, they had seen each other only in passing during the ten days that had passed since the tailgate party. Even those few days apart had made him miss her. He savored the sight of her in her blue top and dark pants beneath the white coat she kept so snowy white and immaculately pressed. A navy band held her tidy bob in place, keeping her hair out of her lightly made-up face. Haley didn’t fuss with her appearance the way Margo and some of the others did, but she always looked fresh and pretty. Ron much preferred that particular look.
Automatically, he smoothed a hand over his own clean but slightly rumpled white coat and wrinkled khaki slacks when she walked toward him.
“How’s it going?” she asked as she slipped into the tiny, round-seated metal chair on the other side of the table.
“Not bad. You?”
She smiled. “Same. I missed lunch today. I needed a snack to get me through the rest of the afternoon.”
“I had a quick lunch, but I’m killing half an hour while I wait for a meeting with my resident.”
Dipping a plastic spoon into her yogurt, Haley laughed softly. “We always seem to be eating something when we’re together.”
He leaned back in his chair and grinned. “That’s the med student’s life. Long hours, little sleep and grab-food-when-you-get-the-chance.”
“I guess that’s true. At least this year’s not nearly as bad as last year. Though Anne warned me the surgery rotation is exhausting.”
“James said the same about ob-gyn. He’s definitely not going into that field.”
“Has he decided yet what he does want to do?”
“Not as far as he’s mentioned. You’re still set on psychiatry?”
“At the moment. Still liking peds now that you’re actually seeing it first hand?”
“Very much.” He wouldn’t mention just then that he was flirting with the idea of a hem-onc specialty. She probably figured he was considering general pediatrics.
/>
She nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. You’re so good with kids. You’ll be a wonderful pediatrician, if that’s what you decide to pursue.”
Two minutes into their conversation, he thought with a smothered smile. It never took her long to work in a pep talk. Though there had been a time when he’d been irked by her relentless encouragement—when he’d been at his lowest in self-confidence—he found it rather endearing now. But he could say that about most of Haley’s little quirks.
He was gradually arriving at the realization that the ailing Ms. McMillan had been a very wise woman.
“I’ve barely seen you since the tailgate party,” he commented.
“I know. With the hours we put in here and being on call occasionally and studying for each day’s lecture, there just hasn’t been much free time.”
“The tailgate party was a big success. Everyone’s talked about how much fun they had. You did a great job.”
She beamed in pleasure at the compliment. “Thanks. I thought it went well. We’re working on planning the Halloween party now. I hope that goes as well.”
The annual Halloween party was always a success. A joint venture between the schools of medicine and law, it involved lots of wild costumes and free-flowing beverages. Ron had skipped out his freshman year in favor of studying with all the group except Connor, who’d taken Alexis trick-or-treating that night, but Ron had attended last year’s bash. Dressed as a jar of cotton swabs—which had involved many cotton balls stuck in his hair and an aluminum “lid” for a topping—he’d had a good time. The only downside had been watching Haley attend with a date.
It hadn’t been Kris; that had been a few months before she’d started dating him. She’d attended the party with a law student who lived in the same apartment complex as her. Though it was obvious that there was nothing serious going on between them, Ron still hadn’t been particularly pleased to watch her dancing with the other man, and that had been before he’d acknowledged even to himself that he had special feelings for Haley. She’d looked so darned pretty in a Cleopatra costume that had revealed intriguing slices of creamy skin—not too much, but enough to get his imagination going. Her companion had been decked out as Julius Caesar. Ron hadn’t cared for the guy, though he hadn’t disliked him as much as he had Kris.
Because he didn’t want to go through that again, he said on impulse, “Maybe you and I could go to the Halloween bash together? I know it’s almost six weeks away, but we could use the time to come up with some fun costume ideas.”
Her long lashes swept downward, hiding her eyes as she toyed with her snack. “Like you said, it’s six weeks away. It sort of depends on what our schedules are like then. One or both of us could end up on call.”