“Thank God. It’s a pitiful thing to be smaller at the end of your first trimester than you were at the start.”
“When I had morning sickness with Kurt, there was this citrus drink I’d make. Fresh lemons and limes—a blend of them, maybe a dozen—with a simple syrup to sweeten it up some. It helped when nothing much did. And without the chemicals in soft drinks.”
“I still get a twinge most mornings, so I’ll try it.” Piper rubbed her baby bump and didn’t move.
Corinne couldn’t imagine why she was sticking around. “Are you helping out with choreography tonight?”
Tucker looked up from where he was pulling food out of the bag. “No, she’s here to help you study.”
Her head snapped around. “What?”
He handed over her grilled chicken sandwich and snatched one of her fries. “I know you’re worried about your licensure exam and feel like you don’t have near enough time to put into it, so I asked Piper to help. We’re going to kill two birds with one stone. Piper’s going to drill you while we dance.” He said it so casually, as if him thinking to do this, trying to lighten her load a bit, alleviate a worry, was par for the course.
The whole thing made her chest tighten. She looked over at Piper. “You’re…really?”
Piper shrugged. “Been there, done that. I’ve got some general advice for how to take the test, in addition to quizzing.”
“That’s really kind of you. I appreciate it.” And she did, no matter what Piper had been saying before she walked in. “But I’m not sure if I can do that and learn choreography.”
“Sure you can. You dance better when you’re thinking about something else.” Tucker scarfed an onion ring and made nomming noises. “This is awesome. Glad you thought of it. I was gonna try to talk you into swinging by the Mudcat when we were done. This is better.”
“If you want, I can get started with the quizzing while you eat,” Piper offered.
Corinne glanced at Tucker. “How strong is your stomach?”
“Cast iron.”
“You lie,” Piper accused. She looked at Corinne a conspiratorial twinkle in her eye. “He can’t stand the smell of blood.”
“It was one time,” Tucker protested. “And the blood was coming out of me at the time.”
“Your own fault for walking old man Whitehead’s fenceline to start.”
“I was eight. And you were right there with me, thank you very much.”
“Good thing, too. Tyler freaked out. I was the one who figured out to use your belt for a tourniquet.” Piper looked at Corinne. “He fell and wound up with a nasty gash to his leg. Just barely nicked the femoral artery. Bled like a stuck pig. I was fascinated. I think that’s when I decided to go into medicine.”
“Your bedside manner has improved some over the years,” Tucker said.
They kept on like that for a few more minutes, poking at each other with the ease of long friends. They went back, Corinne knew. Way, way back. And that made it a little bit easier to accept the side eye and whatever concerns Piper might have about her. Piper was an absolute tigress when it came to protecting her friends. But if she’d agreed to this study session, she had to be giving Corinne the benefit of the doubt. It was more than Corinne had expected.
“Okay, let’s get started. What is the priority nursing action after a subtotal thyroidectomy? A) Airway obstruction, B) Hemorrhage, C) Tetany, D) Edema?”
Corinne unwrapped her sandwich. “Airway obstruction.”
“Good.” They continued drilling for several minutes, until Corinne and Tucker had finished their dinner and her chest had eased.
“Okay, pause for a bit. It’s time for the unveiling of the music.” He punched some buttons on his phone and music blasted out of a bluetooth speaker.
Corinne listened for several moments. A laugh burbled up as she recognized the tune. “Seriously? ‘The Cantina Theme’ from Star Wars?”
“Yeah. We’ll dress you up in a white dress with the bagel bun hair, and I’ll do Han. Or maybe Luke, depending on what Babette can help me come up with for costumes. It’s got a great beat for the Charleston, and I thought Kurt would get a kick out of it. I even got us lightsabers.” Tucker produced a pair of them, switching something on the hilts so the blades glowed green. “He can have them when we’re done.”
Corinne stared at him. He’d knocked her legs right out from under her. She couldn’t quite get her breath. “You did all this for Kurt?”
“Sure. Kid’s got good taste in sci-fi. Which he gets from his mother. Don’t think I don’t remember your love of Star Wars novels back in high school.”
He did? Now Corinne and Piper were both staring at him.