him down?"
"Stella's mom died of cancer, so Stell fixated on that. Max, on the other hand, chose for aesthetic reasons."
"Gynecology is aesthetic?"
Alex broke open the package and took a cookie. Fred moaned a little and leaned on his leg, so Alex gave the cookie to him and took another for himself. Fred spit the cookie out, looked at it, licked it, nudged it with his nose, licked it again and then picked it up with his teeth and trotted off to the living room.
Alex watched him and then turned back to Nina. "Gourmet dog. Where was I? Oh, yeah, aesthetic gynecology. Well, as Max pointed out to me just an hour ago, why spend your life looking into the chest cavities of eighty-year-olds when you can look into—"
Nina shut her eyes and leaned back against the cupboard. "I don't want to hear this."
"—the eyes of women who are listening to your every word?"
Nina laughed and then tried to glare at him. "You set me up."
Alex grinned at her and nodded. "Just like Max set me up. I laughed, too. You'd like Max. He's old, almost thirty-six."
"Up yours," Nina said politely.
"And Stell is a little older than you. Forty-two, I think. You'd like Stell, too." Alex's eyes met hers, and she felt her heart thump funny for a moment. Stop that, she told her heart.
"Next time they do this," he told her, "you come along to protect me.''
I'm not going anywhere with you, sonny, she told him silently, but she wanted to know more, so she said, "And then there's your stepmother. Max's mother, right? What does she want you to be? A dermatologist?"
"No, that would be my cousin Tom." Alex crunched the last of another Oreo. "They'd disinherit me if I did that. I'm supposed to do something invasive not topical. Max's mom is a thoracic surgeon, but she doesn't care what I do as long as I pick a specialty."
"What's wrong with the ER?"
"No status, no fame, no glory." Alex picked up his third Oreo. "Do you have any milk?"
"Skim," Nina said and went to the refrigerator, shoving back the Crock-Pot on the top of the fridge that had inched its way forward as she opened the door.
"Why do you do that?" Alex asked.
Nina slammed the refrigerator door and turned. "Push the Crock-Pot? The top of the fridge is the only place I have to keep it, but the vibration from the motor makes it move forward." She squinted back at it. "I should find a better place, but the cupboards are full."
"It's going to fall on you," Alex said. "Move it."
Nina scowled at him. Just what she needed: an infant doctor giving her orders. "It's fine. Do you want this milk or not?"
Fred had returned by now and sat down with a thump by Alex, his butt hitting the ground like a sack of lumpy lead. He wiped his nose on Alex's pants.
Alex didn't seem to mind.
"Don't beg, Fred," Nina said. "Alex will think you've had no upbringing."
Alex fed him another cookie, and Fred went through the drop, lick, nudge routine again before he picked it up and trotted back to the couch. Alex turned to Nina. "Skim milk. How healthy of you." He got up and rinsed out his coffee mug before he held it out to her. "Thank you very much, I'll take some."
Nina poured his milk. "So what are you going to do?"
Alex collapsed into his chair. "I'm going to stay in the ER and just wait them out. They're busy people.
Eventually they'll go back to their own lives. Except for Max, but he doesn't give a damn what I do.
He's just trying to make sure I don't go for something so high-pressured that I become Dad."
Nina put the milk down on the table. "And that would be bad."
"That would be terrible. My father is a great doctor but a mediocre human being. The only way I'll ever have a real discussion with him is if I develop a heart murmur.'' Alex runched into another cookie.
"Do you know who raised me? Max's mom, Melanie. My mom left for a residency in Denver, and Dad was too busy, so Melanie just absorbed me into the family with Max and Stella. And Stella wasn't hers, either."
Nina conjured up a motherly thoracic
"Stella's mom died of cancer, so Stell fixated on that. Max, on the other hand, chose for aesthetic reasons."
"Gynecology is aesthetic?"
Alex broke open the package and took a cookie. Fred moaned a little and leaned on his leg, so Alex gave the cookie to him and took another for himself. Fred spit the cookie out, looked at it, licked it, nudged it with his nose, licked it again and then picked it up with his teeth and trotted off to the living room.
Alex watched him and then turned back to Nina. "Gourmet dog. Where was I? Oh, yeah, aesthetic gynecology. Well, as Max pointed out to me just an hour ago, why spend your life looking into the chest cavities of eighty-year-olds when you can look into—"
Nina shut her eyes and leaned back against the cupboard. "I don't want to hear this."
"—the eyes of women who are listening to your every word?"
Nina laughed and then tried to glare at him. "You set me up."
Alex grinned at her and nodded. "Just like Max set me up. I laughed, too. You'd like Max. He's old, almost thirty-six."
"Up yours," Nina said politely.
"And Stell is a little older than you. Forty-two, I think. You'd like Stell, too." Alex's eyes met hers, and she felt her heart thump funny for a moment. Stop that, she told her heart.
"Next time they do this," he told her, "you come along to protect me.''
I'm not going anywhere with you, sonny, she told him silently, but she wanted to know more, so she said, "And then there's your stepmother. Max's mother, right? What does she want you to be? A dermatologist?"
"No, that would be my cousin Tom." Alex crunched the last of another Oreo. "They'd disinherit me if I did that. I'm supposed to do something invasive not topical. Max's mom is a thoracic surgeon, but she doesn't care what I do as long as I pick a specialty."
"What's wrong with the ER?"
"No status, no fame, no glory." Alex picked up his third Oreo. "Do you have any milk?"
"Skim," Nina said and went to the refrigerator, shoving back the Crock-Pot on the top of the fridge that had inched its way forward as she opened the door.
"Why do you do that?" Alex asked.
Nina slammed the refrigerator door and turned. "Push the Crock-Pot? The top of the fridge is the only place I have to keep it, but the vibration from the motor makes it move forward." She squinted back at it. "I should find a better place, but the cupboards are full."
"It's going to fall on you," Alex said. "Move it."
Nina scowled at him. Just what she needed: an infant doctor giving her orders. "It's fine. Do you want this milk or not?"
Fred had returned by now and sat down with a thump by Alex, his butt hitting the ground like a sack of lumpy lead. He wiped his nose on Alex's pants.
Alex didn't seem to mind.
"Don't beg, Fred," Nina said. "Alex will think you've had no upbringing."
Alex fed him another cookie, and Fred went through the drop, lick, nudge routine again before he picked it up and trotted back to the couch. Alex turned to Nina. "Skim milk. How healthy of you." He got up and rinsed out his coffee mug before he held it out to her. "Thank you very much, I'll take some."
Nina poured his milk. "So what are you going to do?"
Alex collapsed into his chair. "I'm going to stay in the ER and just wait them out. They're busy people.
Eventually they'll go back to their own lives. Except for Max, but he doesn't give a damn what I do.
He's just trying to make sure I don't go for something so high-pressured that I become Dad."
Nina put the milk down on the table. "And that would be bad."
"That would be terrible. My father is a great doctor but a mediocre human being. The only way I'll ever have a real discussion with him is if I develop a heart murmur.'' Alex runched into another cookie.
"Do you know who raised me? Max's mom, Melanie. My mom left for a residency in Denver, and Dad was too busy, so Melanie just absorbed me into the family with Max and Stella. And Stella wasn't hers, either."
Nina conjured up a motherly thoracic
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