“Good,” Frank says. “Because I hate when people whisper like I’m already gone.”
Melissa nods. “You’re very much here.”
He beams at her. “See? She gets it.”
I watch the interaction carefully. She’s good. Not performative. Not overbearing. She meets patients where they are, and they feel it. They feel seen and understood by her.
“I’ll step out and grab his vitals,” Melissa says after a moment, glancing between us.
She’s being professional, but I still feel the distance. How guarded she is around me. Careful.
She hesitates, barely, then moves past me toward the door. I catch the faint tightening of her jaw, the way she avoids my eyes.
The guilt strikes harder than I expected.
“Melissa,” I say before I can talk myself out of it.
She pauses, turning back. “Yes, Doctor?”
The distance in her words stings.
“Thank you,” I say. “For settling him in.”
Her eyes search my face for something I’m not sure she’ll find.
“You’re welcome,” she replies evenly. Then she steps out.
The door clicks shut behind her, and the silence presses in.
Frank watches me with knowing amusement. “So,” he says, “you two are … what?”
“We’re colleagues,” I say quickly.
He hums. “That wasn’t a colleague look.”
I don’t answer.
Instead, I pull a chair closer to the bed and sit. “Let’s talk about you.”
As I explain the plan, I feel the weight of the room settle into a steadier rhythm. Frank asks good questions. Smart ones. He cracks another joke when the conversation gets heavy.
By the time I stand to leave, he gives me a look that’s gentler than before.
“She makes this place easier,” he says quietly.
I nod, unsure what to say.
When I step back into the hall, Melissa is there with her tablet tucked to her chest, expression neutral.
“Vitals are updated,” she says.
“Thank you.”
We stand there for half a second too long. I want to say more, to explain, to undo whatever I’ve done. Instead, I step aside to let her pass.
She walks away without looking back. And somehow, that feels worse than her anger ever could.
The next day, I find myself looking forward to going intoroom 447. I tell myself it’s because Frank eases the tension, but I also know I saw Melissa walk in.