“You did!” Alex boomed. “You called my mother?” An incredulous look spread over his face as he limped closer to her.
Josie held out her palms. “Don’t—I just—you were being unreasonable!” She inched backwards.
“I was being unreasonable?” He snorted. “And why are you moving away from me? What are you afraid of—that I’ll shuffle after you faster than you can run?” He thought for a second. “Then again, I’ve seen you run. Maybe your instincts are right.”
“Alex!” Meribeth exclaimed, rushing to him, one palm against his injured cheek before he could say a word. “Josie did the right thing calling me. But…I thought you didn’t go to the ER. Did I misunderstand? You’re back already? Whoever did this surgical glue thing did a great job.”
If he could tighten those arms against his chest another millimeter he’d cut off his own circulation. “I did it myself.”
Meribeth rolled her eyes and shot Josie a sympathetic look. “Men,” they said in unison.
“Oh, no!” Alex shouted, dragging himself to the coffee pot. He pulled out a mug and declared, “You do not get to double team me.”
“It takes two of us to get you to see reason, Alex,” Meribeth answered. She gave Josie a knowing look. “Normally I have to bring one of my sisters in to help.”
“Tell me about this side of him,” Josie asked, smiling. Interesting. She never thought about a layer to him that required prying and intervention.
“Alex thinks he’s his own island. Doesn’t need help. Can handle everything life throws at him without any assistance.”
Josie shrugged. “I can understand that.”
“Thank you,” Alex said with sarcasm. “You demonstrate your respect for my independence so strangely,” he added, pointing to Meribeth as he angrily poured a mug of coffee, then struggled to get to the couch with the hot cup in hand.
“Let me get that,” Josie said, taking the mug.
“See? Perfect example,” Meribeth chimed in. “When he had an asthma attack during a soccer game in eleventh grade, he insisted on playing between nebulizer treatments.”
“It was state championships!” Alex objected.
“When he was studying for MCAT exams for medical school, he ingested so much NoDoz he couldn’t sleep for three days, and we finally had to have him hospitalized. It took about an elephant's dose of tranquilizer to get him to sleep.”
“But my scores got me in!” he said as he settled into a corner spot on the couch, motioning to Josie for his mug, which she gave him.
“I thought you were Dr. Calm and Mellow. Dr. Perfect. Dr. Centered,” Josie said, a dawning feeling hitting her. He was nuanced. Flawed. Imperfect. He glared at her and said nothing, but the edges of his mouth cracked into a smile.
And she liked him even more that way.
“Alex,” his mother said suspiciously. “Why are you lurching about like a frog with its leg mowed off?”
“I fell.”
Meribeth threw up her hands. “One- and two-word answers are your fallback, Alex.” She turned to Josie. “Can you explain?”
“He saw me sitting on my porch with another guy and he ran into a No Parking sign.”
Dead silence.
Josie winced.
Oh, shit.
Josie had called his mother. She’d called in his mother. No girlfriend, date, bedmate—whatever you called them—had been so brazen. He was fine. Fine! Bruised and sore with a fixed face, all he needed was for these meddling women to leave so he could drink a huge glass of water and take a nap.
Or for Josie to stay, so after that nap he could apologize and just put his arms around her and tell her everything he should have said that day he flipped on her.
Whispering, heads together, his mom and Josie kept saying “I know!” and “He does that with you, too?” Which didn’t help his increasingly split mood. Frustrated that they were treating him like a child. Maybe they were right. His hamstrings ached, his hip felt like an octogenarian’s, and his shoulder still hurt. Stretching his body out on the couch, he curled on his non-injured side and closed his eyes.
A soft hand on his brow. Mom. “Honey, are you okay?”
Honey. There was that word again.
“I’m fine,” he huffed.
More words between his mom and Josie, and then Meribeth gave him a hug, leaning over his body and awkwardly embracing him. “You’re in good hands with Josie. I have to get back to a patient, but I’ll call tonight.”
“Okay,” he said, sleep taking over. Whatever he thought his day would look like, nearly eight miles of running, a stupid injury, and a strange back-and-forth with Josie were all enough to let his exhaustion win, and sleep prevail.
“Thank you for calling me,” Meribeth said. Those kind eyes and her wit made Josie like her instantly. Nonjudgmental, sharp as could be, and funny, too.
Great mother-in-law material. About as different from Marlene as two women could be.
“No problem. He needed it.”
Meribeth laughed lightly. “He is a wonderful man, but Alex can be…self-contained. I assume he didn’t tell you about his problems at work.”
Josie frowned. “No.”
“For the past month his judgment was called into question on a case at the hospital. I’ve never seen him so stressed out. Professional ethics are very important to Alex.”
“I noticed.”
“And he misapplied those in your case.”
The two stood in awkward silence, until Meribeth said, “Josie, I’m about to pry.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
“Whatever is getting in the way of your being together, get rid of it. I’ve never seen him so affected by a woman before. And I’d like to get to know you better.” The pressure of her hand on Josie’s forearm felt good. Comfortable. Warm and caring. Like an invitation.
Josie smiled. “Me too. I just don’t know…” She bit her lower lip and swallowed hard.
“You’ll find your way.” And with that Meribeth reached to her for a hug, the affectionate gesture so alien, so maternal that Josie felt both punched in the solar plexus and joyously appreciative all at once.
An anemic wave as Meribeth left was all Josie could muster. Padding softly over to Alex, she saw he was asleep. Admiring him like this, bruised and sweaty, she found her heart giving way. Maybe they could find their way. Maybe Josie could find her way.