“She shows me the empty bottle,” Doc said.
Claire leaned forward, Yuki getting this great feeling that Claire was glad to have another doctor to talk to. She asked Doc what the pills were.
“Dramamine.”
“For seasickness?” Claire said. “Those can’t kill her.”
Doc grinned, said, “She wanted to have her stomach pumped, but I just told her it wasn’t necessary. I said, ‘Helen, you’re all set. Book a cruise!’ ”
Claire started laughing, and the baby reached out, knocked a bottle of beer into Cindy’s lap, and Lindsay broke up, laughing until tears came out of her eyes.
“I’m sorry for laughing,” Lindsay said to Cindy. “No, I mean it. It’s not funny.”
Claire handed the baby to Doc so she could wipe Cindy down, and the baby pulled on Doc’s nose and called him “Boog-ah.” And he laughed at her, and she gave him a gummy chortle.
And the evening just kept coming on that way, one laugh leading to another even bigger one, Yuki feeling like it was her birthday, maybe the best birthday she’d ever had.
She told her friends about the Stacey Glenn case being over, and Lindsay launched into the story of the “snake who would not die,” Claire expanding her arms to show how long the animal was, coming dangerously close to knocking a beer into Cindy’s lap again.
Doc had said, “But seriously, folks, it’s good to know what kind of snake it was. There’s an antivenin, you know.”
“Antivenom?” Cindy asked.
“Same thing, but ‘antivenin’ is the actual term,” Claire said. “Anyway, it’s not that easy to get, though my patients are past needing it, Doc. Came in handy that Sergeant Boxer can swing an ax.”
The beer kept coming for all but Doc, who inevitably had to go to the hospital. Then came the best part of all. As Yuki stood to say good-bye, he put his arms around her and kissed her, dipping her down until she cracked up and everyone cheered, everyone, even people who weren’t at their table.
“See you this weekend?” he said.
She nodded, thinking about what lingerie she would wear. And then he was gone.
Right after that, Cindy said she had a date and had to go home and change, and Claire left, too: “Got to get this baby girl into bed.” And Lindsay said, “Yuki, you’re not just the designated driver, you’re the only driver.”
Yuki didn’t want the night to end.
“What if I drive you to my place? Why don’t you spend the night?”
“Done,” said Lindsay, knocking back her beer.
Yuki grinned. Having Lindsay all to herself, getting a chance to relive the evening and talk about Doc — well, that just put the icing on the cake.
Chapter 78
I STARTED YAPPING as soon as I got in the car with Yuki.
“Doc is fantastic.”
“You really think so? I mean, thanks, and yeah, isn’t he great?”
“Amazingly great. And he really likes you.”
“How can you tell?”
“You just can. And then there was the Hollywood kiss in front of God and everyone.”
Yuki laughed. It’s one of Yuki’s most priceless gifts, a laugh that can make the sun come out at night. Meanwhile, my mind was on fast-forward, and I couldn’t wait any longer. Had Yuki known? Had everyone known but me?
As soon as the car was in gear and we were moving, I blurted, “Yuki, did you know about Rich and Cindy dating?”