FULL CIRCLE
Chapter 61
After leaving the cemetery, Miles drove around for awhile while he decided where he wanted to go next. He didn't have neither the time nor inclination to look up any classmates. Not that he'd been close friends with anyone; he was always considered the outsider. Fourteen-year-olds don't attend the senior prom. In the end he just decided to go back up to the hotel and get changed and cleaned up before he met Natalie for lunch. He felt exhausted, both physically and emotionally. This had quite possibly been the worst week he'd spent since joining the N.I.H. or even before that.
He finally shut off the shower and stepped out, drying himself off and hurriedly getting dressed. Since he had several hours to kill before meeting Natalie for lunch, he set up his laptop on the
desk and started to work on his report of the patients' treatment for the file on their case. After a few minutes he sighed and rubbed his temples before reaching for the bottle of pain meds. His
headache was starting to make its presence more strongly felt and he just wished it would leave him the Hell alone.
Natalie was sitting in the dining room, studying the menu while she waited for Miles to arrive. Seeing him approach, she looked up and smiled. "Hey."
"Hi, Nat," Miles said, slipping into the seat across from her. He tapped the menu. "Find anything good in there?"
"I'm still trying to decide," she answered.
Miles opened his menu and flipped through it, looking for the salad selections. "So, how did you spend your morning?" he asked after a moment.
"Watching Eva pack. She's spending her 'vaction' time with a friend. I have the feeling we won't see her now until we board the plane on Sunday."
"Probably not," Miles agreed.
"I'm sorry I called you so early," Natalie began.
He cut her off. "It's okay. I'd already been awakened by the pest."
Their conversation was interrupted by the waitress arriving to get their drink orders. "What will you have?" she asked.
Miles thought about coffee for a moment but changed his mind. "I'llhave a glass of iced tea with lemon," he told her.
"And I'll have the same," Natalie added.
The waitress quickly wrote down their orders and said, "I'll be back in a few minutes."
Once they were alone, Natalie asked, "How did the visit go with your father?"
Miles closed the menu and looked at her. "It went okay I guess. We talked and I think I understand a few things now." he replied and smiled slightly. "I realize why I never minded being an only child."
"Little sister being a handful?" Natalie asked.
"You could say that. She woke me up at 6:00 by jumping on my bed," he answered.
"No wonder you sounded sleepy this morning," Natalie commented.
"Yeah. Hey, did Eva manage to get you that concert ticket?" Miles asked.
"She did and I'm really looking forward to it tonight," Natalie answered.
"Have fun. I'm just not sure what I'm going to be doing except finishing up my report so Connor can have it Monday."
The waitress arrived with their drinks and took their meal orders. Miles stirred his tea and sat back to wait for his salad to arrive.