attitude. It seemed like little got past her. “You’re right, I do. It’s something I made after my parents died. I realized how unpredictable life is and how there’s still so much I haven’t experienced. But the way my life is right now is all right with me. Getting to do the things on that list would only add to it.”
“So you’ve got donating blood as number ten. Trying authentic Chinese food as twenty-one. What else do you have on there?”
“Hug a koala, learn a new language, shake the hand of Stanford’s mascot…”
“You want to shake a tree’s hand?”
“What can I say, I’m a proud alumni. I tried my senior year to get onto the field to see the tree, but some students from Cal got to it first. It wasn’t a pretty sight when they were done with it.”
“I heard about that Big Game. My roommates tried to get me to go, but I think I was too busy studying.”
“You went to Stanford, too?”
“I went to Cal for undergrad and Stanford for med school. My friends still haven’t forgiven me for joining the enemy,” she said with an eye-roll. “But I liked the medical program they offer.”
“I have a friend who went there as well who recommends it. I wonder if you know him. His name’s Melvin, Melvin Lai?”
Melanie’s jaw dropped. You must be joking. “I do know Melvin. I met him in med school, and we’re in the same residency program now.” And we’re technically engaged to each other, too, in some strange alternate reality.
“No kidding. He and I were roommates freshman year. We ended up in the same fellowship and even led a Bible study group together. He’s a great guy. Loyal to the end.”
“Sounds like you guys are close. I’m surprised he’s never mentioned you. But all I remember talking about before was our classwork; he was always focused on getting the highest scores. These days, it’s all about work.”
“That sounds like the Melvin I know and love. It took everything in me to drag him out to a party our senior year. Four years of college and he still hadn’t gone on a date or even tried to ask a girl out. He was so pale from staying indoors to study that I nicknamed him Snow White.”
“I can assure you he hasn’t changed much. My mom-our families know each other from church,” she explained, “says his face looks like silken tofu, soft and creamy.”
“Isn’t that a great imagery. I’ll have to remember that so I can make fun of him the next time I see him. Well, if he’s still so pale, then he must be going out at night. I got an email from him last week and was shocked to hear he’s getting married. Imagine that!”
The onion ring Melanie was in the middle of swallowing lodged itself in her throat. She took a large swig of water to wash it down. Uh-oh. If this conversation was a moving vehicle, it was on the verge of heading off a cliff. She had a sinking feeling it was too late to make a U-turn. “He did?”
“I didn’t even know he was dating, but I couldn’t be happier for the guy. I can’t wait to meet this girl. She must be something to have caught his attention. It sounds like he’s eager to marry her.”
Wasn’t that the truth? Eager was a mild choice of words though, driven was more like it. Melanie nodded, busily working on keeping her mouth too full to speak.
“Wait until I tell him we met. He’s going to get a kick out of that. Maybe we could do a double date sometime with him and his fiancée.”
Melanie placed her half eaten burger on the plate, her stomach suddenly weighed down by dread. If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that Melvin would not be pleased to discover she and Ben knew each other. He would more than likely be squinting in confusion at the mere sight of them together. Kind of like the man who had just entered the restaurant and was approaching their table.
On second thought, make that exactly like that man.
“Ben? Melanie? What are you two doing here?” Melvin’s head jerked back and forth
“So you’ve got donating blood as number ten. Trying authentic Chinese food as twenty-one. What else do you have on there?”
“Hug a koala, learn a new language, shake the hand of Stanford’s mascot…”
“You want to shake a tree’s hand?”
“What can I say, I’m a proud alumni. I tried my senior year to get onto the field to see the tree, but some students from Cal got to it first. It wasn’t a pretty sight when they were done with it.”
“I heard about that Big Game. My roommates tried to get me to go, but I think I was too busy studying.”
“You went to Stanford, too?”
“I went to Cal for undergrad and Stanford for med school. My friends still haven’t forgiven me for joining the enemy,” she said with an eye-roll. “But I liked the medical program they offer.”
“I have a friend who went there as well who recommends it. I wonder if you know him. His name’s Melvin, Melvin Lai?”
Melanie’s jaw dropped. You must be joking. “I do know Melvin. I met him in med school, and we’re in the same residency program now.” And we’re technically engaged to each other, too, in some strange alternate reality.
“No kidding. He and I were roommates freshman year. We ended up in the same fellowship and even led a Bible study group together. He’s a great guy. Loyal to the end.”
“Sounds like you guys are close. I’m surprised he’s never mentioned you. But all I remember talking about before was our classwork; he was always focused on getting the highest scores. These days, it’s all about work.”
“That sounds like the Melvin I know and love. It took everything in me to drag him out to a party our senior year. Four years of college and he still hadn’t gone on a date or even tried to ask a girl out. He was so pale from staying indoors to study that I nicknamed him Snow White.”
“I can assure you he hasn’t changed much. My mom-our families know each other from church,” she explained, “says his face looks like silken tofu, soft and creamy.”
“Isn’t that a great imagery. I’ll have to remember that so I can make fun of him the next time I see him. Well, if he’s still so pale, then he must be going out at night. I got an email from him last week and was shocked to hear he’s getting married. Imagine that!”
The onion ring Melanie was in the middle of swallowing lodged itself in her throat. She took a large swig of water to wash it down. Uh-oh. If this conversation was a moving vehicle, it was on the verge of heading off a cliff. She had a sinking feeling it was too late to make a U-turn. “He did?”
“I didn’t even know he was dating, but I couldn’t be happier for the guy. I can’t wait to meet this girl. She must be something to have caught his attention. It sounds like he’s eager to marry her.”
Wasn’t that the truth? Eager was a mild choice of words though, driven was more like it. Melanie nodded, busily working on keeping her mouth too full to speak.
“Wait until I tell him we met. He’s going to get a kick out of that. Maybe we could do a double date sometime with him and his fiancée.”
Melanie placed her half eaten burger on the plate, her stomach suddenly weighed down by dread. If there was one thing she was certain of, it was that Melvin would not be pleased to discover she and Ben knew each other. He would more than likely be squinting in confusion at the mere sight of them together. Kind of like the man who had just entered the restaurant and was approaching their table.
On second thought, make that exactly like that man.
“Ben? Melanie? What are you two doing here?” Melvin’s head jerked back and forth
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