Page 45 of The Doctors Will See You Now

“Oh, thank you so much!” the stranger gushed from behind us. “Did you want us to take one for you too?”

“Got your camera?” I asked Melody.

She shook her head, but the seed of a smile I’d planted on her face with my touch started to grow.

“We’d love a picture,” I told the woman behind us as I noted our location—54th and Broadway. “You better get your phone out. We’re close.”

“Oh! Thank you! You’ve been to New York before?”

Mel made big eyes, but I ignored her. “A couple of times. First time was our honeymoon.”

As Melody’s mouth widened in shock, I waggled my eyebrows.

“Oh, how romantic!”

“It is, isn’t it?” I asked. Melody pinched the inside of my thigh so hard I jumped.

I winked. “Don’t worry, baby. There’ll be plenty of time for that later.”

Rose stained her cheeks, spreading out rapidly like food coloring in water.

The bus slowed to a crawl as we made it to the iconic Midtown location, the flashing lights of each sign swirling and mixing across the red of Melody’s blush and coloring it every other hue.

I grabbed the tourist’s camera and counted down. “Three, two, one.…smile!”

The normally blinding flash of the photo blended in with the show of lights for us, but by the way they blinked, I guessed it didn’t feel quite the same on the other side.

“Sorry,” I apologized. “Night pictures are tough.”

“Oh, that’s okay!” the woman said, waving her temporary blindness away. She apparently did most of the talking for the two of them, and quite frankly, her fellow looked glad of it.

“Here,” she went on, holding out her hand. “Let me get your picture before it’s too late.”

“Oh, that’s—” Mel protested.

But I cut her off with a yank of my arm, pulling her into my side and shoving my face into her neck as I handed off the disposable camera. “Memories, Mel.”

The light of the flash going off made me smile deeper before looking up for one posed picture of the two of us smiling.

As soon as it was done, I reached out for the camera with my left hand and held out my right to shake.

“I’m Will, and this is Mel,” I introduced.

“I’m Susie, and this is Frank.” Frank gave a halfhearted wave.

“Where are you folks from?” Susie asked, carrying the conversation once again.

“California,” I said before Mel could ruin the fun unknowingly.

“Oh, wow!” the woman exclaimed excitedly. “California! We’re from Kansas. Always wanted to see the big city! But, oh my gosh, the West Coast sounds so exciting too! What’s it like?”

I turned to Melody and invited her to speak with an encouraging grin. It wasn’t the most orthodox way to hear about her life on the West Coast, and California wasn’t where she’d actually lived, but it helped me get to know her all the same. And being in on the little fib together gave us something to share right off the bat.

“Well, it’s actually really peaceful. We’re from northern California, not Hollywood like you see on TV. We love to make day-trips up north to the real Pacific Northwest. Seattle and Portland are some of the coolest towns we’ve ever been to. If you want to go to the West Coast, that’d be our suggestion. There’s a real family feel in the air even though they aren’t small towns.”

Funny thing was, as she spoke to Susie, Melody’s eyes never once left mine.

Slow motion.