"Please, call me Arizona. And that's fine. I've been through a long and rough path since the accident, but I've found how to cope with it. Sometimes I even forget I don't have a leg" – Arizona explained.
"You said Derek Shepherd. Isn't he Dr. Grey's husband?" – Mel asked, taking a sip of her wine, too.
"He was. Unfortunately he died in an accident a few years ago" – Arizona told the resident.
"Oh my God. That's terrible. Dr. Grey lost her sister, then her husband. You lost your husband. How many tragedies!" – Mel was quite perplexed.
"Not my husband, no. I wasn't married to him. He was just the father of my daughter. I was married to Callie, but she wasn't on the accident" – Arizona tried to explain, but saw Mel's confused look – "God, it's quite a mess. I dated Callie, won the Carter Madison grant, went to Africa alone but came back for Callie, who was pregnant with Mark's baby and I didn't know. But in the end, it all worked out. I adopted her and we've raised Sofia together" – Arizona explained.
"Wow. What a journey. And also, oh my God, the Carter Madison grant! That's so amazing!" – Mel exclaimed – "And now the two of you live in NY?"
"We do, but we are divorced. Good friends, though" – Arizona said and Mel smiled.
"I see. Well, I will be glad if NY works out for me" – Mel said, smiling.
"What hospital?" – Arizona asked, blushing a little because of Mel's smile.
"Presbyterian" – Mel answered.
"Oh, great one! I know a few people over there, let me know if you need anything" – Arizona offered again.
"Thank you, I will. Can I have a contact from you? Maybe an e-mail?" – Mel asked, a little unsure if Arizona would find that invasive.
"Of course. Here, there's my phone and e-mail. Don't hesitate to contact me" – Arizona handed Mel her visit card.
"How long are you staying in the city?" – Mel asked.
"I leave the day after tomorrow. And you? Do you live in Seattle?" – Arizona asked.
"In Portland, actually. I came to the conference but I think I will stay in the city for a few days more" – Mel explained.
"It just hit me now, why Boston or NY? Seattle is closest to Oregon, Grey Sloan has one of the best surgical program in the country and you will get to know and work with Meredith Grey" – Arizona suggested.
"Well, I've tried, but my application was late one day, because I was flying back to Mexico and couldn't send it in time. I was devastated" – Mel explained.
"Really? Did you talk to somebody?" – Arizona asked.
"A few people from the Fox Foundation. They were nice but said they couldn't do anything about the deadline" – Mel told her.
"Well, I can give a few calls. Are you still interested?" – Arizona asked.
"Of course. Yes. Oh, that would be a dream" – Mel exclaimed.
"Ok, send me your résumé and whatever you have published so I can try. I can't guarantee anything, but I'll try!" – Arizona smiled.
"Oh, my God! Thank you so much! I will send you everything" – Mel was overly happy.
"Dr. López, it was a great pleasure to meet and talk to you, but it's getting late and we should wake up early tomorrow. I see you at the conference, right?" – Arizona asked.
"Yeah, I'll be there. Thank you again, Arizona. Have a good night" – Mel said, hugging the blonde.
"You, too" – Arizona said and left towards the elevator.