Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 48187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 241(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
“Are you a dinosaur?” I tease.
The boy nods. “Rawwwr.”
“Dinosaurs usually get extra hungry and sometimes need two suckers. Don’t you think?”
He beams at me. “They do!”
When I stand and hand him another, I nod at Anna. “Be careful out there. It’s slick.”
“Thanks, Dr. Venable,” Ollie says, waving his two suckers at me.
They head out of the store and I find Lauren still in her chair. She’s no longer engrossed in a book, but her attention is fully on me. I love the look on her face so much that I can’t even wait another moment to make this perfect or thought through. I simply stalk over to her and sit on my knees in front of her. Her smile is serene as I take her hand.
“Lauren,” I murmur, admiring her pretty face that can’t be hidden away by fatigue and depression and disease. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” she says with a grin.
“So much that I want you to be my wife. Life’s too precious to let moments slip by us. Will you marry me and grab all the moments with me?”
Her eyes fill with tears. “Really? You want to marry me?”
“Hell yeah I want to marry you.”
“Do you even have a ring?” she challenges, her brown eyes shiny with tears but dancing with mischief.
“What do you think?”
“Holy shit, you do.”
I smirk as I fish around in my pocket full of suckers. When I find the one I want, I pull it out and slide the ring over the stick before offering it to her much like I would one of my pediatric patients.
“Root beer,” she croons. “You sure know the way to a girl’s heart.”
“To be clear, you only get the sucker if you say yes,” I tease.
She slides the ring off the stick and her eyes widen. “It’s so beautiful.”
I pluck it out of her hand and slide it onto her ring finger. It’s a little loose, but the lady assured me we could resize it if necessary.
“Will you be mine?”
“I already am.”
“Is that a yes?” I confirm, smirking.
“Well, I want the sucker,” she sasses. “Yes, Dr. Dan. I’ll marry your handsome grandpa ass because I love you more than you’ll ever know.”
I slide my hands into her messy hair and pull her in for a kiss. Our kiss is a sealing of two souls. The inked stitching on my ribs seems to burn. Ripping and pulling apart. Not to get out and search for purpose or peace. No, to open up and pull her in too. She’s a part of me and I’ll never let her go.
Lauren
Four months later…
I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.
Taylor: Are you crying?
Hastily, I swipe away the tear on my cheek as I stare at the message window on the new game Taylor and I are playing. I can feel his wide green eyes on me. Forcing a smile, I shake my head.
“Nope,” I say aloud. “Just cleaning my cheeks.”
He laughs. “That’s a new one. I’ll have to remember to use that one on Vera.”
“Vera still being good to you?” I ask, no longer amused. When I’d seen a bruise on his arm last week, I nearly lost my shit in the dialysis room.
“She’s fine,” he says, a scowl forming. “They’re always fine.”
His answer digs at me. It’s not fair. Not only does he have kidney disease, but he’s also been forced into the system. I have a loving, supportive network of people. He has no one.
The tears fall harder this time, nothing to do with the pain I’m feeling.
“Your move,” I croak, nodding at his device.
While he frowns down at the screen to focus, I stare at him. Getting adopted out of the system is already hard enough for an older child, but what about one with medical issues? That seems like it’s even more impossible.
I tap out a message on our game.
Me: You think Vera will let you come to my wedding Saturday? I could see if Enzo could arrange it if you wanted to come.
He smiles broadly at me. “Really?”
“I know Enzo’s not your caseworker, but he has pull. Only if you want to come, of course,” I say, grinning back at him.
“I want to, Lauren!”
“Good, it’s a done deal then.”
“I’m glad you’re marrying Dr. Dum-Dum,” he says, looking back down at his game. “He always has suckers and he’s nice.”
“Yeah, I love Dr. Dum-Dum.” I smirk because Daniel is going to love his new nickname. He had it coming always handing out Dum-Dum suckers. Joy chases away the hurt inside my body, even if only momentarily.
My eyes skim over Taylor once more. The ache inside me lives in my chest this time. Coming in here three days a week for months and months has allowed me to get to know the quiet, yet quirky kid. A yearning burns inside me unlike anything I’ve ever felt.