Lily's Playlist

Track 15: Friend Like Me

Friend Like Me by Robin Williams

All next week, I was swamped at work. I had been putting in 200% effort ever since my talk with Derek. Especially since I had requested days off to go back to California. Derek hadn't said anything negative nor positive about my work, but I figured no news is good news.

On Thursday, Jordan caught me coming into work.

"Hey. Let's do lunch today!" She said.

"I can't. Derek has a meeting with Dr. Samuels about a new patient that I'm going to be working with. I should be there." I declined.

"Oh. Do you normally go to those?" She asked.

"No, but I figured I better show I'm focused and dedicated and shit." I smiled at her.

She shook her head.

When lunch time rolled around, I went to meet Derek in his office.

"I'm ready for the meeting with Dr. Samuels whenever you are." I said.

"I don't need you to be there. It's a classic ankle repair." Derek answered.

"Nonetheless, I would like to go. I've been reading up on some new techniques. I would love to implement them." I said, firmly.

How was that for dedication?

"Dr. Samuels is old school. He's not going to want to hear anything new." Derek replied. "I would like to hear them. Take the rest of the day and come up with a rehab plan. We can go over it tomorrow." He finished.

"Of course. Thanks Derek."

"Thank you. Your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed." He said. I smiled and left. I grabbed my purse and headed for the nurses station.

"Guess who got a compliment, and the rest of the day off?!?" I said to Jordan.

"It's not me, so I'm going to take a wild guess and say you!" Jordan grinned.

"Still wanna do lunch?" I asked.

"Love to. Give me 10 minutes." Jordan answered.

I used that 10 minutes to freshen up and think of some questions to ask Jordan about her boyfriend. Not gonna lie, Sammy's warning was still a thought in my head. I know, it was stupid and super conceited of me, but I can't help the feeling that something wasn't adding up.

When she was ready, we went to a sushi place. After ordering and receiving our food, we ate and chatted.

"So, tell me more about Corey?" I said, as we dug into our food.

"Oh, he's awesome. We went to high school together. He's 24, a pharmacy tech. Really laidback. Great sense of humor. I really think y'all are going to get along great." She talked him up.

"Cool..." I said, taking a sip of my water. "So... does he get along with your boyfriend?"

"Sure. My boyfriend's always busy so we don't hang out all together a lot, but when we do, it's fun." She said quickly, before going back to her food. I couldn't tell if she was really hungry, or if she was avoiding the question. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and decided she was just hungry.

"What does your boyfriend do?" I asked her, when she paused.

"He's a doctor." She answered.

"What's his specialty?" I asked.

"Oh, he works at a clinic. So y'all all went out to the bar after the run?" Jordan asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. It was so much fun. I wish you would have came. Your boyfriend's a doctor but wouldn't come out for a cancer charity event?" I questioned.