Noah didn’t break any records getting to Ava’s house. He’d finished up with the surgical schedule and then rounded on his four private patients, including one scheduled to have surgery the following morning. By the time he climbed the steps in front of Ava’s house and rang her bell, it was almost 6:15.
The door buzzed open, and Noah entered the inner foyer. Ava was nowhere to be seen, but several minutes later she appeared at the top of the main stairs. She came down quickly. “Hey!” she called out, bubbly. She was in her black yoga pants and tank top. Without a second’s hesitation, she gave him a double-cheek kiss as if everything was entirely normal and nothing had happened. “Sorry! I was on the computer.”
“No need to apologize.”
“I’m glad you made it before I got on the exercise bike. Do you want to work out with me? My trainer isn’t here.”
“I think I’ll pass,” Noah said. He had exercise clothes there at her house, but he was in no mood to exercise.
“Do you want to come down to the exercise room with me or wait up in the study?”
“I’ll come down,” Noah said. “If you don’t mind.”
“Mind?” Ava questioned. She looked at him askance. “Why would I mind?”
“I don’t know,” Noah said, being truthful. He didn’t know why he had said it. Ava already had him off guard. He hadn’t known what to expect from her, but certainly he didn’t expect her to act so normal.
Still looking at him sideways, she asked: “Are you okay? You’re acting a little . . . strangely.”
“I’m feeling a little strange,” Noah said.
“Why? What’s happened?”
Noah let out a sigh. “Ava, you disappeared without a word for three or four days. I think it is entirely reasonable for me to act a bit strangely.”
“That’s not true!” Ava said with emphasis. “What on earth are you talking about? I texted you I was going.”
“You texted me, but it wasn’t much of a text,” Noah said.
“I was in a hurry. I got a call from Washington that they needed me immediately. As soon as I got it, I texted you to let you know I had to leave.”
“But you never followed up,” Noah said.
“Yeah, well, you never texted me back,” Ava said defensively. “I thought I’d get something like ‘fly safely’ or ‘good luck with your meetings.’ But I got nothing. It crossed my mind that maybe you needed a little break. To tell you the truth, as hot and heavy as we’d become, I thought I was doing you a favor leaving you alone to get some work done. I’d been selfishly monopolizing all your free time.”
Noah stared at Ava with disbelief. Had he manufactured all this emotional turmoil he’d been suffering? Was he that socially inept or was it the ease of current messaging technology that was at fault? Was it that instant connection raised expectations with more chance of misunderstanding? He tried to remember why he hadn’t responded to her first text but could only recall it had something to do with childish, hurt pride.
“You knew that I had to go to Washington sometime soon,” Ava continued with irritation. “It was just a week ago that I got the call about the damning article coming out in The Annals of Internal Medicine. You remember: the hugely unflattering one about a new nutritional supplement study. Don’t tell me you forgot!”
“I remember,” Noah admitted.
“So you knew I had to go to Washington in the near future, and I texted you I had to leave on a business trip. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to put two and two together.”
“Well, maybe I overreacted,” Noah said.
“Why didn’t you text me or call me to tell me you were upset?” Ava demanded.
“I suppose I should have,” Noah said.
“Of course you should have, you ass,” Ava said.
“I missed you,” Noah said.
A smile appeared on Ava’s face. “That’s the first nice thing you’ve said to me.”
“It is true,” Noah said. “I missed you.”
Ava put her arms around Noah’s neck and drew herself in close to him. “I’ll tell you what I think. I think you work way too hard. You have to give yourself a break. And I think you are stressed out and should work out with me. It will do you a world of good.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Noah said.
A half-hour later they were on tandem exercise bikes, riding through a program projected on a large screen that was supposed to match a portion of one of the stages of the Tour de France. Ava was riding with considerably more resistance than Noah, but that was a given. Both knew she was in far better shape.
“What’s the story with Dr. Mason since I’ve been gone?” Ava said between breaths.
“I only spoke with him once,” Noah managed. Hoping that Ava couldn’t see, he reduced the resistance of his bike by several digits. “It was right after the M&M. He came down into the pit and was fit to be tied.”
“Not at all surprising,” Ava said. “By the way, you handled the M&M superbly, just like you did the previous one. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Noah said. He was pleased to hear her gratitude but wished she had texted it while she was away. “But the real credit on your behalf was Dr. Kumar. He couldn’t have been more supportive than he was.”
“I was humbled,” Ava said.
“It was sincere and deserved,” Noah said.
“When Dr. Mason came down into the pit after the conference, did he say anything about me specifically?”
“He did,” Noah said. “He more or less admitted that he couldn’t do anything about you since you were in a different department.”
“Really?” Ava questioned with obvious appreciation. “That’s terrific! What a load off my mind to get him off my case. We’ll have to celebrate.”
“I wish I could say the same,” Noah said. “If anything, I’m afraid he’s even more motivated to get me fired. Obviously, he at least partially blames me for getting you off the hook.”
“Oh, come on!” Ava said. “There’s no way he could get you fired. Everyone knows what a narcissistic blowhard he is, particularly after his performance at the last M&M. Everyone thinks you’re the best resident the BMH surgical department has ever seen. I’ve heard the rumor myself.”
“Rumors are rumors,” Noah said. “That’s all well and good, but reality can be much different. Dr. Mason is a powerful fixture of the Department of Surgery. Even Dr. Hernandez felt obligated to remind me of that inconvenient fact and advised me to get along with him, as if that was something easy to do. I’m going to be on thin ice until Dr. Mason finds another target. Right now, I’m the man.”
Without any warning, Noah stopped riding his tandem and let his feet plop loudly to the floor. He was sweating profusely and his thigh muscles burned.
“What’s the matter?” Ava asked. In sharp contrast, she didn’t even alter her rapid pedaling cadence.
“I’m done,” Noah said. “I’m the first to confess I’m not in shape. That’s a future goal, maybe next year. Right now, I’m bushed. But this little mini-workout has been good. Thanks for suggesting it. I’m a lot calmer than when I first arrived. I’ll shower and go get us some food so when you get out of your shower we can eat.”
“Okay,” Ava said agreeably. “But remember, I’ve got to do some floor exercises after I finish with the bike.”
“No problem,” Noah said. He walked on wobbly legs into the nearby shower.
25
SUNDAY, JULY 30, 8:34 P.M.