In Her Eyes by Wesley Banks Page B

sounds like an intelligent lady.”
    “She is…I think,” Casey said, laughing.
    “And yet you still look confused.”
    “I just don’t know what to do,” Casey said.
    The door opened behind her and one of fourth-year residents walked outside, eyes glued to the phone in his hands.
    “I’m starting to think this whole doctor school thing didn’t really teach you all that much,” Candy said.
    “So, I should call him back? What if he knows I’ve been ignoring his calls? What do I even say?”
    “You hand Miss Candy the phone and I’ll take care of all that,” Candy said, with a smile.
    I wish I had her confidence, Casey thought. “What if I’m not ready? I haven’t even gone on a real date since I left California.”
    “Were you ready for him to kiss you?”
    “Well, no.”
    “But you liked it?”
    Casey blushed lightly, “Yes.”
    Candy pursed her bright pink lips. “Okay, okay, I get it. But there’s something else.”
    Candy was pointing at Casey and bouncing her hand up and down like she was ringing up someone on a cash register. “Oh, no. I know that look. This is where you explain some crazy white girl stuff you into. Like you own a baby alligator or something.”
    Casey hadn’t laughed this hard in a long time. Wait no, that’s not true. This is about how hard she laughed last week at lunch when she caught Candy teaching a room full of residents how to twerk. And it wasn’t just the female residents.
    Casey ran her fingers over the rough surface of the railing where several paint chips were peeling off. She thought about Emma and her expression changed to a more serious one. Casey took a deep breath. “I have a daughter.”
    All of her classmates at UC Berkeley had known about Emma. They were surprisingly supportive, especially after the surgery. But when Casey got to Shands last summer, everything just felt different. She didn’t have the comfort of her tight-knit group of med students. So, other than Nikki, her attending, and the chief resident, Candy was the first person she’d told.
    “Wait, you a baby momma?” Candy looked Casey up and down. “With that body?” She took a sip of her peach tea. “I need to start that Weight Watchers again. Mhmm.”
    Casey laughed again. She was so glad she had met Candy in the past couple months. It was so easy talking to her.
    “What’s her name?” Candy asked.
    “Emma Mae,” Casey said. “She just turned five.”
    “Now that is a precious name.”
    Casey pulled the small black neck wallet from under her scrubs. The pocket was large enough for a little bit of cash, a credit card, her hospital ID, and a picture of Emma. “This is her,” she said, handing the picture to Candy.
    In the picture Emma was leaning against their new house in Gainesville. Her long brown hair had a slightly auburn tint and was half pulled back with lightly twisted bangs. Her lips were pouty and the color of fresh cranberries.
    Candy held the picture arm’s length away from her so she could see Casey next to Emma. “She’s got her momma’s look. But those eyes…” Candy’s voice trailed off. Casey knew exactly what she was seeing because she had seen it so many times herself since the surgery. Unlike her Cerulean blue eyes, Emma’s were a rare mixture of stark blue and subtle green aquamarine, like the color of the ocean along the coast.
    Candy handed the picture back to Casey. “She is just beautiful.”
    “She is. But, you understand now?”
    “Understand what?”
    “Why I don’t think I can go out with him.”
    “The only reason you can’t go out with him is because you left it up to Siri to call him back instead of doing it yourself.”
    Casey shook her head. “You don’t understand, it’s just not that easy.”
    “Girl, don’t you be givin’ me this single mama stuff now. I got two little girls of my own with no daddy, and while I am very protective of who is around them, I don’t let that stop me from finding my soulmate.”
    “I just