Page 16 of Family Bonds- Gabriela & Luca

Years. Easily.

Few wanted to be around him in the past two years and he couldn’t blame them.

But coming in as the newbie without his past being known, maybe it was just easier for him to bring out the guy who had been hiding in a grief-filled closet for a couple of years.

“Well, how do you think it went?” Gabriela asked him when the last of the office staff was gone. He’d just walked into their office. Only one that the doctors shared. And since there was only one doctor on at a time, it wasn’t a big deal.

“It was fine. Pretty slow compared to what I’m used to.”

“This was about a normal day. Tomorrow being Friday, you’ll be busier because it’s the rush of all the moms calling if their child has any sniffles for fear of it getting worse over the weekend. No one wants to go to the ER.”

“There isn’t an urgent care on the island?”

She laughed. “No. Maybe it will happen at some point, but it’s so hard to get people for jobs in the hospital that an urgent carewould be one more thing that would struggle to staff. Anyone can get on a ferry to go to urgent care in Boston. There is one really close to the docks there, and another close to the docks in Plymouth.”

He’d have to get used to all of that.

“Do people do that?”

“Sure. For years they had to. The hospital has been here for a long time, but it was much smaller. Most people left the island for childbirth or cancer treatment. Any kind of treatment. Now we’ve got everything here, just on a smaller scale.”

“And a much bigger scale if they take a ferry at either end of the island.”

“Yep,” she said. “It’s not for everyone. I get it. Coming here, I gave up a lot of conveniences, but I can get them easily enough.”

“Like?” he asked.

She pursed her lips, then hid a yawn. “Sorry,” she said, covering her mouth. “These last four hours are normally rough on me, but I’ll get through.” She flexed her arms, bringing her fists down in front of her like a bodybuilder. “I’ll muscle through.”

“Wow.”

“Hey, I didn’t use my dude voice.”

“No, you didn’t. I bet the kids love you.”

At least from what he’d seen today.

Sure, there were a few who were nervous when the two of them walked in. Going to the doctor is scary enough, then add more than one, and any child might burst into tears.

It always killed him when that happened, but he did a lot of what she did.

Made them laugh, tried to find a common interest to talk about, or even bribery.

Funny socks. That was really his go to. Surprising how much kids got a kick out of an adult in hilarious socks.

“I think they do,” she said. “Now if I could get adults to like me as much, I might not have moved here.”

“Huh?”

“Oops,” she said. “Sleep-deprived brain talking. I’ve got friends. I really do. Not just family either. I meant it as the opposite sex. Men. They don’t seem to like me.”

He couldn’t understand why. “Do you scare them off talking like a man?”

“You’re funny, Luca,” she said. “Are you hungry? I’m starving. I’m going to the cafeteria to get something before we finish.”

“I could eat.”

He’d snagged a granola bar this morning between patients, seen Gabriela shoving a banana down her throat in the hallway.