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“She’s an ER nurse,” I point out. “That’s real stress.”
The flight attendant brings our coffee and when Lori sips hers, she looks at me. “You remembered how I take it.”
“I remember everything about you. Back to your mother.”
“The ER is about saving lives. She lives for that, not the stress of paying bills.”
“You know—”
“Do not finish that sentence, Cole,” she warns. “I’m not letting you pay for anything.”
But I’m going to, I think, though the hard set of her jaw tells me now isn’t the time to press her. “What happened back there at the hotel?”
She looks away and sets her coffee down. “Nothing we can change.”
“The divide of your job and our relationship,” I assume.
“Yes,” she says, looking over at me. “I just—I felt it when we left that hotel room.”
“As did I,” I assure her. “I’m going to talk to the Merrick board and to Stanford about turning your nine-month program into six.”
Her eyes light. “Can you do that? Can they?”
“Let’s pull up your program on the flight, and talk about how to make that happen. If I present them a plan with my intent of hiring you full-time when you graduate, I don’t see why it can’t happen.”
“You want to hire me full-time?”
“Reese and I planned on hiring you full-time before I ever knew who you were. At what level is based on how you perform.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“I know that is just one of the reasons Reese recommended the hire even before our re-introduction.”
“Which you’re telling me because you want me to know I’ve earned this.”
“Exactly. You have, and I have no doubt, you’ll earn the best possible position upon hire. I’ll send you the possible starting positions and pay. That way you can shoot high.” I then give her the only help I know she’ll let me give her right now by adding, “If we get this process approved, your money should be disbursed over six months, not nine.”
She breathes in and her lashes lower, and for just a moment I think she’s fighting tears. She blinks and focuses on me, composed now again. “That would be incredible.”
“You’re going to need to get started on the classroom curriculum now, in between cases.”
“I’m ready,” she says. “Can we look at the outline now?” She reaches for her MacBook.
“Now is how I like to work.” I say, reaching for my MacBook as well.
We start dissecting her requirements and since the flight attendant doesn’t force us to store our MacBooks, an interesting thing happens. Lori forgets about take-off. She’s that absorbed in the conversation about graduating early. And that tells me that control is what she’s missing. She needs to feel in control of her own destiny. I’m back to the dilemma that hasn’t changed. I can’t just save her and not lose her, which is going to kill me.
Lori
“You’re coming home with me,” is the first thing Cole says when the plane’s wheels touch ground.
I don’t argue. I want to go home with Cole. “I need to go home and check on things there, and grab a few extra items,” I say.
“We’ll swing by there on the way to my place.”
“No,” I say, turning to look at him. “I’ll go on my own.”
He cups my face and kisses me. “I’m taking you by your place.”
