The Doctor Who Has No Closure (Soulless 10)

“Sure.” I moved to my seat behind the desk and unwrapped my favorite sandwich, which she had memorized, down to the no onions and extra pickles. I picked up the sandwich and took a bite.

She sat in one of the armchairs with perfect posture, her high ponytail big and trailing down one side because her head was slightly turned. “So, they’re thinking the first two weeks of March. Your schedule is already clear. They want you to return to South Africa and have informed the villages that you’re coming.”

I nodded. “Alright.” I’d been to South Africa many times, and I loved it every single time. It was a completely different way of life, culture shock to most people, but I felt right at home. People warned me it could be dangerous, because their military was weak and there were a lot of criminal organizations that would love the opportunity to steal a rich American for ransom, but since I was a doctor sent to heal people, they seemed to respect that.

“So, I can confirm that you’re coming?”

“You mean we?”

She lifted her chin and looked at me, the confusion in her eyes. “Do you mean we? As in, me?”

“Yeah. Unless you don’t want to come…” She was stuck to me like glue, so I assumed where I went, she went.

“I just… I don’t know what I’d do there.”

“Same thing you do now. They don’t supply a lot of help when I do these things, because they’re doing it as cheaply as possible, so it would be nice to have my own resources. But if you’re uncomfortable or scared or anything—”

“I’m not scared of anything. I just…wasn’t expecting that. I don’t have my vaccinations or anything like that, but I could get them.”

“There’s honestly no pressure. If you want to take a two-week vacation, I’d understand. You work like a million hours a week, so you deserve time off if you want it.” Now that I was used to having her around all the time, I couldn’t imagine functioning without her, feeding myself, organizing myself, nothing. I’d be like a kid who just moved out of his parents’ house for the first time.

“A vacation sounds lovely, but we’re a team. Where you go, I go.” She looked down at her paper and made her notes. “You’ll just have to give me some pointers on how to prepare, and I guess I feel comfortable because I’ll be with a doctor the entire time.”

“I’ll keep you safe, Sic.” I would keep her with me the entire time, made sure she slept with me too, just to make sure no one saw her as a target.

She moved past it. “I have everything ready for the dinner on Saturday. Anything you need me to do at the last minute?”

I shook my head and kept eating.

“I kinda have something planned, if that’s alright.”

I swallowed. “What do you mean?”

“You’re doing a presentation for all the guests, and I have something to piggyback off that, if that’s okay. It’s a surprise, but I also didn’t want to catch you off guard either.”

“Can I ask what it is?”

“If you really want to know, I’ll tell you. But I’d rather keep it as a surprise…if you can trust me.”

I wanted this night to go perfectly and didn’t want anything unexpected to happen, but she had absolutely earned my trust, and I wouldn’t deny her that if that’s what she wanted. “You have my complete confidence, Sic. Just make sure I don’t look like an idiot.”

She smiled. “Never.” She looked down again and made a few more notes.

I went back to my sandwich, watching her all the while, getting a slight whiff of her perfume over the desk.

“I’m going to head over to—”

“How’d your date go?” Like spontaneous combustion, it just happened, erupted in a fiery explosion. I’d just taken a bite of my sandwich, so I spat out the question around a mouthful, abandoning my manners because curiosity had me by the throat. I instantly regretted the question once I asked it, but it came tumbling out…like fucking vomit.

She lifted her chin and couldn’t hide her surprise at the question. She never asked me about the women I spent time with, so she probably assumed I would never ask her something like that. And she was right—I shouldn’t have asked.

I had the opportunity to tell her it was a joke, but I didn’t. I continued to eat.

When she realized I was serious, the question was really on the table, she answered. “It was good. I was an hour and a half late, but he was totally nice about it.” She cleared her throat and looked down at her notebook.

I wanted to press for more information, but that was so goddamn inappropriate, and it was none of my goddamn business. None at all. “Good.” That was all I could bring myself to say. If a woman who looked like Sicily showed up for our date three hours late, I still wouldn’t give a damn, so it was no surprise he didn’t either. She was worth the wait. “Going to see him again?” I tried to sound casual, like two friends talking, but I feared it was coming off as an interrogation instead…because it was.