Page 37 of PSYCHOlogical

“I haven’t eaten since 0500,” he said. “I should probably eat something.”

I stood. “Probably so.”

I fixed him a plate and carried it toward the living room. When he saw that I was on my way he tried to stand, but promptly gave up.

“Just stay there. You can eat on the couch. I doubt you’re going to be able to do much until you get some food in you.” I handed him the plate. “What would you like to drink?”

“Thank you,” he said. “Is that coffee I smell?”

“It is.”

“I’ll take a cup, black. Please.”

I drank my coffee black and couldn’t understand why anyone would want to ruin it by adding cream or sugar. It was rare to find another aficionado who enjoyed it enough to drink it black.

“Do you always drink it black?” I asked.

He situated his plate in his lap and gave a nod. “I prefer it that way.”

By the time I returned with the coffee, he’d nearly finished his meal.

“Holy cow.” I handed him the coffee. “You were hungry.”

“It’s habit,” he said. “I eat fast. We all do.”

“We?”

“Marines.”

“Oh.” I gestured toward his empty plate. “Would you like some more?”

“I’ll be fine, thank you.”

“Hand me your plate, please.” I held out my hand. “I have no idea how much a man eats. I’m guessing two enchiladas isn’t enough.”

He grinned. “I eat a lot.”

I got him three more enchiladas and another helping of rice. When I handed him the plate, he grinned at the sight of it.

“Food’s great, Doc.”

“Thank you.” I turned toward my chair, paused, and faced him. “When we’re here, can you call me by my name? When you call me ‘Doc’ or ‘Ma’am’, I feel like this is an extension of work.”

“What’s your name?”

“Valerie. Val. Most people call me Val.”

He cut off a chunk of enchilada, lifted it from the plate, and hesitated. “I’ve got bad news, Val.”

“Your talk with Director Martin didn’t go well?”

He lowered his fork. “When I told him about the girl, he went off on a long speech about leaders being able to make decisions regarding when to take and when to preserve life. He said I was a leader because I made the right decision in sparing the girl’s life.”

“That’s much better than you expected, right?”

“Not really.”

“What do you mean?”