She immediately disappeared out into the hallway, calling back, “Go,” she said. “Have fun.”
He wasn’t sure iffunwas the right word for it, but, by the time he finished going through the lab tests that had been taken a few weeks earlier and talking to the doctor about his pain meds, et cetera, Ryatt was more impatient than ever to find a window of opportunity to talk to her. When he went to find out if she was ready to go for lunch today, she was on the computer, in some kind of online meeting.
She shook her head and frowned, then whispered, “I’ll be tied up.”
He nodded and just left. And the frustrations just seemed to continue. As long as he had plans to try and talk to her, it seemed like the world had conspired against him. By the time the end of the day rolled around, he realized he still hadn’t had a chance to talk to her. He sat on the side of his bed and wondered at his options. And realized that she was likely already gone for the day.
Plus, he didn’t want to return to her office to talk to her for the third time today. Tired and depressed, he stayed alone in his room, wondering at the events hindering him, now that he had made this particular decision to speak to Lana.
Ryatt woke upthe next morning to a knock on his door. “Come in.”
Lana burst into his room. “We need to talk. I don’t know what’s going on, but, every time I try to talk to you, it seems like I just can’t get a moment free.”
He slowly pushed himself up in the bed. “Well, I would say the same thing to you,” he agreed, with a half smile. He brushed his hair from his eyes and tried to wake up. “What time is it?”
She winced. “Early. I came in a half hour earlier to work, hoping that maybe we could talk.”
“And that’s possible. It just depends on the time limits we have for talking. However, could I at least get up, go to the bathroom, and maybe brush my teeth?”
She winced. “Look. You do that. I’ll go grab us some coffee, and I’ll bring it back.” And, with that, she rushed out.
He was happy that she was here and possibly in a position where they could talk, but her timing was definitely a little on the early side. He’d had a horrible night and even now wasn’t quite feeling himself. But, as he had a short window here to spend with her, he got up, made his way to the bathroom, gave his face a good scrub, and then stepped out after using the facilities. Back at his bed, he sat down and pulled on a pair of comfortable sports pants and a muscle shirt. At least he was somewhat dressed. By the time she returned, he was sitting on the bed, pushed up against the headboard and relaxing, wondering what she would talk about.
When she burst in, she took one look and smiled. “Good, at least you’re up and moving.”
“Yep, I am.” He accepted the coffee, faced her, and asked, “Now what’s going on?”
She frowned. “It just seems like every time we try to talk, we get interrupted. I was getting so frustrated.”
“I was too,” he murmured. “I just wasn’t expecting you to show up this early.”
She shrugged. “As I said, I got frustrated.”
He burst out laughing. “Well, that’s good to know. If it happens again, I’ll know how to handle it.”
She smiled. “I’m sorry. I probably should have waited and given you a chance to wake up on your own.” She winced. “Are you mad at me?”
“No, of course not. When a beautiful woman wants to talk to me, why would I be mad?”
She smiled even bigger at those words. “I’m glad.” She sat down on the single chair in the room and asked, “What are we doing with our lives?”
“I think we’re moving forward,” he said cautiously, not sure what she was trying to say.
She didn’t say anything for a moment, just nodded and sipped her coffee.
“Unless you’re trying to say that you want to go in a different direction.” He frowned, trying to figure out just what was bothering her.
“The only direction I want to move is forward.”
“Good,” he said, with a note of relief. “That’s exactly what I want.”
She looked at him, smiled, and asked, “Do you think we want the same thing?”
“I don’t know, but I sure hope so,” he replied. “I’m not exactly sure what the problem is though.”
“It isn’t a problem, but I felt this urgency to discuss it with you,” she noted. “I’m working on all this lovely fear stuff.”
“You and me both,” he winced. “And it just seems to be no end of it.”