Over the next few weeks, things went well in Mei-Li's life. The family had a wonderful Christmas and Jimmy and Isabella had revealed to the family they were having a girl. Mei-Li couldn't wait to introduce her newest prima to the Disney princesses and do her hardest to make little Carmen Ramirez learn to love ballet and theater as much as she did. Her residency was going well and, oh yeah, she had beautiful girlfriend.
It was turning into a long shift for the doctors on call. Melendez, Morgan, Shaun, and Caroline were all working on a complex case; Melendez and Morgan had both determined it was much too complex to not have at least one higher administrator involved, so he was with the team to discuss the logistics. They were standing in front of the administrative desk in the main lobby when a brunette woman walked into the building. Everyone in the group except Caroline grew quiet, a look of bitterness overtaking Melendez's face. Caroline turned to face the woman, and she was indeed beautiful, but she didn't see why the other surgeons were so silent, "Who is that?" asked Caroline softly.
"That's Jenny Truscott, Mei-Li's ex-girlfriend," announced Shaun boldly.
Caroline's face fell, "As in…as in the one she was with for seven years?"
"She's the one," Shaun confirmed.
Jenny saw the group and started walking towards them, "Dr. Murphy, Dr. Reznick, Dr. Cho, why don't you go tell our patient her updated prognosis?" said Melendez, though everyone except Shaun understood it was command and not a question. Morgan promptly pulled him away with her. Caroline went with them, but she couldn't help but look back at Jenny once more.
Jenny approached Melendez and smiled to ease the tension, "Dr. Melendez," she said.
"Jennifer," answered Melendez, not even bothering to use her nickname or Dr. Truscott, "How's Miami?"
"Fine, sir," said Jenny, "And how have you been?"
"Well, I'm happy to report that my family is doing well, considering the last time we saw you, you and Mei-Li went on a date where you promptly proceeded to break my daughter's heart," Melendez quipped.
"Where's Mei-Li?" asked Jenny, ignoring Melendez's obvious resentment.
"She's in surgery with Dr. Browne-Murphy," said Melendez, turning to walk towards his office.
"Once she's out, can you please tell her I want to talk to her?" asked Jenny.
Melendez sighed, but said, "Fine, she gets off in two hours. I'll tell her you're here; but if she doesn't want to talk with you, then I'm not going to force her."
"Thank you," said Jenny, "I'll be in the cafeteria if she wants to talk to me."
Melendez sighed and began the journey back to his office. He had really felt for Mei-Li when Jenny had ended their relationship. Sure, Lim knew the pain of divorce, but Lim and Kashal hadn't had a great marriage to being with, so it wasn't surprising when it ended. He, however, had thought things were fine with Jessica, so when she said she wanted to break up, he had been completely blindsided. It all worked out for the better in the long run, but he knew what Mei-Li was experiencing when she came home the night of the breakup. He sent Mei-Li a text so she would receive it once she was out of surgery.
It was only an hour later when he heard a knock on his office door, "Come in."
Mei-Li entered and said, "You wanted to see me."
"I did," Mei-Li took a seat and Melendez said, "Don't worry, this is personal, mija."
Mei-Li didn't relax, "About what?"
Melendez took a deep breath. He didn't want to tell Mei-Li about Jenny's arrival, but he was a man of his word and he had promised Jenny he would, "Jenny's here."
Mei-Li's eyes widened, "As in Jenny Truscott. As in the woman whom was my first real love who…"
"Yes, that Jenny, mija," affirmed Melendez, "She's in the cafeteria."
"What is she doing here?" asked Mei-Li through gritted teeth.
"She's here to talk to you. That's all she told me," said Melendez.
"Did you talk to her?"
"Yes, don't worry, I didn't say anything out of line," said Melendez.
It was Mei-Li's turn to sigh in frustration, "Does Mom know she's here?"
"No, I don't think so," said Melendez, "But you might want to know that…Caroline saw Jenny this morning."
Mei-Li's eyes widened yet again, "Does she know who she is and that she's my ex?"
"Unfortunately, thanks to Dr. Murphy, yes," answered Melendez, "I just didn't want you to be surprised if she mentioned anything."
Mei-Li nodded and stood, not quite sure if she was going to go seek Jenny yet. She had to go change first anyhow. As she was about to leave, she turned to face her father and asked, "Dad?" he looked up from his laptop, "You were dumped by someone once. What's the protocol for interacting with women who broke your heart out of nowhere?"
Melendez laughed, as Mei-Li was exactly like him in regards to using sarcasm to hide nervousness, "I don't think I can answer that, mija."
"I was afraid you'd say that," Mei-Li said and left.
Mei-Li changed and went to the cafeteria. Her eyes immediately landed on her: the first person she had ever truly loved, the one who had taken her virginity, the person she had poured her heart and soul towards, only to have it trampled on after seven years together. Mei-Li forced a smile and walked over to Jenny, "Hi Jenny," she said.
Jenny looked up and said, "Hi Mei-Li," the two women awkwardly hugged and Jenny asked, "How are you?"
"Fine," answered Mei-Li, "Dad said you wanted to talk to me about something."
Jenny looked around the cafeteria and said, "Yes, but I don't want to do it here. There are too many people we know. Can you meet me at Starbucks and we can have a more private conversation?" Mei-Li hesitated, "I promise, I won't pay for your drink."
"Alright," Mei-Li said. The two women walked towards the parking garages, Mei-Li hoping no one they knew would see them together. Thankfully, they managed to make it to Starbucks without being spotted, "One Grande Caramel Frappuccino, please," Mei-Li ordered.
They made her drink and she sat down across from Jenny, "So, how are Dr. Melendez, Dr. Lim-Melendez, and Carlos?" asked Jenny.
"Fine," Mei-Li answered and shrugged her shoulders, "Carlos graduates from Berkeley this year. I think he's really happy with the career path he chose since he took a year off after high school to decide. Mom and Dad are still doing what they did when we dated. How's Miami?"
"It's great," responded Jenny, "Great beaches, nice weather, lots of culture, and Jackson Memorial is a wonderful hospital. But one thing is missing."
"What?" asked Mei-Li, taking a sip of her beverage.
"You," said Jenny.
It took all Mei-Li could to keep from choking, "What?"
"You're what's missing, Mei-Li," said Jenny.
"And you flew from Miami to San Jose to tell me that you missed me? And how are you here and not working?" asked Mei-Li.
"We get vacation time, Mei-Li," said Jenny, "And I wanted to tell you something face to face."
Mei-Li nodded, "What's that?"
"Look, someone in my residency program just up and dropped out, decided medicine wasn't for him. Personally, I wouldn't have gone all through med school and gone into debt to discover that, but not important. Anyway, there's an opening at Jackson Memorial."
"Again, you flew all the way from Miami to tell me this?" asked Mei-Li.
"Mei-Li, I want you to consider transferring your residency into that spot," said Jenny. Mei-Li froze, "I know that's probably not what you expected, but I think it would be good for you."
"Why, I like my life here in San Jose," said Mei-Li, "And St. Bonaventure has one of the top surgical residency programs in the country."
"I know, but think about it, Mei-Li. If you transfer your residency to Jackson Memorial, you can be your own person. You won't be the president and Chief of Surgery's daughter. You won't be the girl who grew up at St. Bonaventure. You'll have your own identity."
"What makes you think I don't have my own identity here?" asked Mei-Li.
"I'm not saying you don't. But come on, Mei-Li, there are always going to be people who think you're at St. Bonaventure solely because of your parents…"
"But I don't plan on taking an attending surgeon position there, and even if I did want to, Mom and Dad weren't planning on offering me one," said Mei-Li.
"Which means you won't be staying at St. Bonaventure forever. And if you came to Miami, we could have a life, a family, everything we dreamed about in college and med school. We could have it all."
"Jenny," Mei-Li said, "I know you mean well, but my whole life is here in California. My parents, my brother, my friends…"
"And the rest of your family members are in other states, other countries even," said Jenny.
"Jenny, I'm also seeing someone," said Mei-Li.
"Oh," Jenny's face fell, "What's his or her name, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Her name is Caroline. She's a surgical resident with me at St. Bonaventure. We've only been together for about a month, but she's incredible."
"Mei-Li, you've been with this woman a month. We were together for seven years…"
"Until you up and left for Miami without even letting me know that you were considering Jackson Memorial for your residency," Mei-Li interjected.
"Look Mei-Li, I'm not asking you to immediately uproot your life; I'm just asking you to consider it."
Mei-Li finished her drink. She said, "Fine, I'll think about it."
Jenny scribbled some phone numbers on a piece of paper and slid it across the table, "The first number is mine and the second one is the Chief of Surgery at Jackson Memorial. He can give you more information than I can."
Mei-Li took the numbers, stuck them in her purse, and stood, "Do you need me to drive you back to your hotel?"
"No, I can just take an Uber to where I'm staying," said Jenny.
Mei-Li nodded and said, "Well, have a good night."
When Mei-Li arrived home, Melendez was the only one there, "Where's Mom?" asked Mei-Li.
"She had to call an emergency board meeting. She didn't know how long she was going to be, so I guess it's just you and me tonight, mija," said Melendez.
"Alright," said Mei-Li.
"Hey mija, if you don't mind me asking, what did Jenny want?" asked Melendez.
Mei-Li grabbed a Coke from the refrigerator and sat down next to Melendez, "She said there's an opening for a surgical resident at Jackson Memorial in Miami and asked me to consider it."
"Are you?" asked Melendez in surprise.
"No, of course not. I just took the phone number to be polite," said Mei-Li, "I like it at St. Bonaventure and I love everyone there. Mostly."
Melendez chuckled, "There's a but, isn't there?"
"No," said Mei-Li, "Maybe."
"I know you normally talk about these kinds of things with your mother, but if you want to vent, I'll listen," said Melendez.
Mei-Li buried her face into her hands and said, "I feel guilty that I briefly considered it."
"Why?" asked Melendez.
"Because you're here and Mom's here and Carlos is here and Abuelito and Abuelita are here and so is Tía Gabi, not to mention all of my friends. And Caroline. If I just up and leave, I'll be doing the exact same thing to her that Jenny did to me."
"Well mija," Melendez took a sip of his bourbon he had sitting on the coffee table, "Once Carlos graduates this May, there's no guarantee he won't move to another state."
"Dad, we live fifteen minutes from Silicon Valley," said Mei-Li.
"Fair point, but still," said Melendez, "And in regards to your mother and me, we have friends and co-workers. We'd be fine."
"Mom's lungs have slowly been deteriorating as you both get older," said Mei-Li sadly, "Her last appointment, the fibrosis was straddling the line between moderate and severe. I don't want to be on the other side of the country if and when it hits end-stage. I know you tell me and Carlos not to worry, but it gets just a little worse with every cold and flu season."
"I know, mija," said Melendez. There was no use arguing with his daughter now that she had a med school education.
"And Caroline…I know we've only been together for a month, but she's…so special," Mei-Li smiled to herself.
"Well, I can't tell you what to do, and I know I'm going to sound like a chick flick or a romance novel, but you're basically in a love triangle and you have to decide who you want to be with more: Jenny or Caroline."
"Neil, I'm home. Finally," Lim unlocked the front door. She coughed a little as she set her helmet on the table inside the door and placed her bag next to Melendez's briefcase.
"Well, I'm going to go upstairs. It's been a long day," said Mei-Li, "Good night Mom, good night Dad."
"Good night sweetheart," Mei-Li heard Lim call. But Mei-Li knew, deep down, she wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.