Once his heartbeat slowed a little, he turned and looked at the shards of glass on the floor next to him. He could hear his friends whispering back and forth. Probably trying to figure out how long he was going to be under their table. The first wash of shame settled in the pit of his stomach.
“I’m going to ask everybody to take a step back and give Matt some space.”
Elliott’s deep voice cut through the chaos until everyone fell silent. All Matt could hear was the steady whoosh of his own breath sawing in and out of his chest. There was a soft crunch and he flinched. Eli knelt next to him but didn’t touch him.
“You want to take a minute outside, buddy?”
Matt nodded quickly, hating the desperate relief that flowed through him when he realized that Eli wasn’t asking any questions. He climbed from beneath the table and stood slowly. There were pieces of broken crockery near his foot.
Eli nudged it aside. “Don’t worry about that. You just go on out and get some fresh air. No one will bother you.” His words held both comfort and a promise. Matt looked up, stunned to see no pity reflected in Eli’s gaze.
He walked to the back door, not meeting anyone’s eyes. As soon as the cold, fresh air hit his face, he gasped, taking in a lungful of freezing air.
Breathe. Just breathe.
* * * * *
“YOUR LAST APPOINTMENT is here. Also, you might want to check your messages.” It was Friday evening, and Georgia handed her the file for her next patient.
Penny groaned when she saw the name. She was not in the mood to deal with Mr. Grabby-hands Eisenberg today.
“You might need this.” Georgia held out her hand. Penny’s cell phone sat on her palm.
“You found it! I’ve been looking for that all day.” Penny snatched up her phone and let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t sure how people had survived before technology. Her entire life was in her phone. She hadn’t been looking forward to having to buy another one.
“It was in the garbage can next to your desk. You must have knocked it off when you were eating lunch.”
Penny pulled up the call log on her phone, shocked to see two missed calls. Scott wouldn’t call her during the work day unless it was important. He was an assistant district attorney, so he understood her crazy schedule. Plus, he’d already told her he’d be too busy catching up with work to see her tonight.
“Okay, I need to listen to my voicemail. Can you go check in with Mr. Eisenberg? I’ll be right there.”
Georgia grimaced. “Do I have to?” At Penny’s pleading look, she crossed her arms. “If he tries to cop a feel again, I’m holding you personally responsible.”
“I’ll owe you one. Thank you, Georgia.” She laughed as her assistant shot her a withering look before turning the corner toward the waiting room.
Penny walked into her office and dropped down wearily into her desk chair as she pressed the button to listen to her first message.
--Hey Penny. I guess you’re with a patient. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow and I hope you are, too. I’ll pick you up at eight o’clock sharp. I bet you’re wondering where we’re going, but I’m not going to tell you. I have the perfect surprise planned for you. It’s going to be a night to remember. See you tomorrow, babe.
She looked out the window aimlessly as Scott’s voice rumbled over her phone’s speaker. He sounded as harried as she felt. She rewound the message and listened again, noting the time he’d said he was picking her up.
Georgia stuck her head in. “Mr. Eisenberg’s all set. Anna is getting him started.”
Penny stowed her phone in her desk drawer and grabbed the patient file on her desk. Georgia followed her into the hall.
“Scott was calling to remind me about dinner. He keeps saying it’s going to be a night to remember.” They walked down the hallway toward the treatment rooms. “You remember the last time he tried to plan a romantic evening? We spent three hours listening to opera in some language that I couldn’t even identify. And then—”
“You got stuck talking to that anti-women’s-rights senator.” Georgia erupted into giggles. “I remember. God, you were pissed. I’m sure he was just as pained trying to talk to you. Imagine his horror at being forced into conversation with a professional woman. One who’s happily single at that. I’m surprised he didn’t keel over dead from the shock. I’m more surprised you didn’t say something outrageous just to get a rise out of that old fart.”
“Well, I was surprised he didn’t ask me to make him a sandwich. I was tempted to say something outrageous, believe me. The problem is that Scott’s idea of a good time is cocktails with the Washingtonian in-crowd, whereas I just want a dinner that isn’t so fancy I can’t pronounce it. Who knows what he’ll plan this time? Especially since it’s our anniversary.”
“It’s your anniversary? That’s so nice. How long have you guys been dating?”
“Three years. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long.”
They reached the door to treatment room 5. Penny peeked in through the glass square on the door. Mr. Eisenberg saw her and wiggled his thick, bushy eyebrows and leered back. Penny sighed. It was going to be a long hour of trying to avoid him pinching her on the bottom. She knew he wasn’t really aware of what he was doing half the time, but it made for an extremely uncomfortable session.