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“Thanks for coming to help me move into my apartment,” Rachel said to Elizabeth. They were sitting on the couch after a busy Saturday of moving in. Rachel had medical school orientation in a week and a half but wanted to come to Chicago early to move into the apartment she would be sharing with a classmate and readjust to the city.
“It was a lot of fun, and I’m glad Carter stopped by to help with some of the heavy lifting.” Elizabeth laughed. “I mean, the movers did a great job, but it can never hurt to have extra hands on such a busy day. I remember when your father and I moved into the house…oh we had movers too, but we still had to put everything away and decide how we wanted to arrange things. And that was before I was pregnant.
“It’s too bad your little sister couldn’t come, but she can’t be alone yet at home or in a hotel, and I don’t know that she would’ve been a whole lot of help. Plus, we can’t really keep an eye on her constructively, and she likes going to Zoe’s house anyway, so it all worked out.”
“Yeah, I wish Ella could’ve come for sure. I’m going to miss you both.” Rachel started to look sad and turned away from Elizabeth briefly to look out her living room window. “And I wish Dad were here.”
“Well, just remember what Carter said. Your father would be very proud, both of you starting med school and your first apartment. You’ve come a long way from that struggling teenager you were when I first met you, and he’d also be happy that you’re more mature now. And you’ll see Ella on school breaks and holidays.”
“I just realized something else,” Rachel added. “You said he would’ve wanted you to find love again. You still have that breakfast date with Peter tomorrow morning, right?”
“I do,” Elizabeth smiled. “I’m quite looking forward to it. You know he and I have been talking since we went back to North Carolina after the Carter Center opening. At first, I thought we would just have a phone call or two and then not talk to each other until I came back here with you. Of course, as you and Ella have overheard, it’s turned into a lot more than that. We definitely need to have a talk about our relationship.”
“Are you as nervous as you were the last time?”
“No. Not particularly. I’m pretty excited. I really feel like this is my best hope yet at having another romantic relationship. Even though it’s kind of a redo, or a reunion. It helps that Peter and I stayed on good terms after our breakup. Yes, you might say that we worked together and didn’t have a choice but believe me some workplace breakups get quite messy. Which is why I told you to exercise caution if you date someone in your class.
“Anyway, I’m kind of curious to see how the conversation goes. I would love for us to get back together, but we both need to agree it’s the best thing to do.”
“I think you should initiate it,” Rachel said. “I mean, Carter did tell that story last year of how you piqued his interest in the first place with the egg…”
“Oh stop! That’s so embarrassing! I still can’t believe I did that. I was in my more daring days; this was even before your father and I made eyes at each other.” They both started laughing.
“Although you are right,” Elizabeth continued. “Back then, Peter was so stoic. He’s slightly more relaxed these days. And he did laugh when I was eating the egg. I don’t think he ever believed that I could make a move on him, or even predicted it.”
“It sounds like it worked out, though. I hope you guys have fun tomorrow. I’ll be sleeping in, so don’t wake me with a call too early even if things go well.”
“You deserve a good night’s rest. And don’t worry, I won’t bother you. Any news can wait until you wake up. Do you still want me to come over again tomorrow or would you prefer to meet up at my hotel?”
“Oh no, definitely come back. I still need help organizing and setting up my room and stuff. My roommate’s not coming until next Friday, so it’ll be just us again.”
Elizabeth nodded in agreement, and they sat back and took drinks of their wine. “Here’s to fresh starts.”
Elizabeth was still excited for breakfast the next day. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach, but this time, they were the good kind rather than the nervous ones she felt in the late winter. She had tried not to give Rachel and Ella too many details about her phone calls with Peter because she didn’t want to disappoint them in case they lost touch or they decided not to have a relationship. But she was looking forward to seeing him again and figuring out where they stood.
“And here we are again,” Peter said when he arrived. They were meeting at the same diner they had the last time Elizabeth was in Chicago. “Not to mention we’re having another breakfast date instead of dinner.”
“It is a coincidence, but I do like that we’re keeping things casual,” she said. “How are you?”
“Good. How did Rachel’s move go?”
“The movers got here and unloaded everything just fine, with a little extra help from Carter. She did ask me to come back today so she could unpack some boxes and get organized, and she’s sleeping at the moment. Ella is staying with her friend back home again, but I’m leaving tomorrow anyway so I can be home to help her finish getting ready for the school year.”
“Yeah, I have to do the same with Reece. I can’t believe he’s going to be in seventh grade. Roger and Tamara got him some things too, so it helps to have someone to split the load with. And then next year, he’ll be a teenager and I’m afraid I’m going to feel old.”
“You’re only as old as you feel,” she laughed. “Although I get it. It’s hard to believe I look at Ella and she’s a nine-year-old trying to act like a miniature adult. Not to mention Rachel being 22. I’m sure Mark wouldn’t believe it either.” It felt like she could finally think of Mark without sadness, but instead with fondness and imagining that he was seeing all of this from wherever he was now.
“So, how’s everything else? I’m guessing it’s the same old, same old with work.”
“Pretty much.” Peter replied. “How about with you? Are you still on the faculty at Duke, preparing to teach another crop of up-and-coming doctors?”
“Yes. I was asked to give a presentation this year on a career in trauma surgery. It’s my first time presenting and doing a Q&A, surprisingly. I’m excited. I’m just trying to figure out how to liven everything up and not spend too much time reading from a PowerPoint.”
“I’m not the best person to ask for advice on that. We all know I just make med students fall asleep with their eyes open. Although I’d try to tell some stories about interesting cases, what it’s like to be on your toes waiting for the next trauma, why you chose trauma surgery over general or cardiothoracic…that kind of thing.”
She nodded and turned back to her coffee. “There is a bigger question I wanted to ask you.”
“Really? What’s on your mind?”
“Well…you and I have been in touch for about the last six months now, and I can’t speak for you, but I’ve been enjoying talking on the phone and sending emails. I feel like there might still be a little something there, and I know it’s hard to tell when you can’t see someone in person frequently, so you can tell me if I’m off base. What have you been thinking?”
“Straightforward as always, Elizabeth,” he answered. “I agree with you, for sure. Now, of course our relationship statuses are different. You lost Mark several years ago, and Cleo and I broke up a few months back, but it went pretty well for a breakup and we’re still friends. I want to make sure the next woman I date doesn’t have a problem with that. I don’t want a relationship with someone who gets jealous; not that Cleo did, just as a general rule.”
“I don’t think that would be a problem. Cleo and I know each other, and we got along well at work. And we have history with you in common. I of course haven’t seen her in a while since she wasn’t at the center opening, but I’m not intimidated by other women unless something sinister was going on behind my back.”
“You did always make friends pretty easily,” Peter agreed. “Still do, I’m guessing?”
“It hasn’t been quite as easy since I started working at Duke. Being a chief now, in addition to faculty, some of my colleagues don’t want to get too close, so my friends are generally Ella’s friends’ mothers and a couple of the other female department heads, but I’m doing OK. And I still have my friendships with everyone else who was here for the opening. I’m closest to Susan, but I talk to Kerry once in a while and Carol and I are trying to stay in touch more too. I caught her up on everyone’s lives since she and Doug couldn’t make it.”
“Yeah, the only one I’m still really close to is Carter. Everyone else I’ve lost touch with or just say hello when I see them around. My schedule at Northwestern keeps me pretty busy, plus parenting. You know how it is.
“Anyway, I think it makes it easier that at least we’ve vetted each other and we’re not starting from scratch as strangers, you know?”
“Oh, for sure. Online dating is quite a beast these days. I’m glad it wasn’t really around when we first met and started our relationship. Rachel helped me set up some profiles on one or two of those sites, and I don’t know…perhaps I’m just old-fashioned, but I was never comfortable with it. I prefer walking up to a man I noticed in person and starting a conversation or flirting, just like I did with you back in the day.”
“Agreed. I think I’m too boring for online dating,” Peter said with a laugh. “I look at other profiles and you can tell everyone’s trying to have the best picture or the most interesting hobbies or write the most creative headline. My bio would probably read...I’m a surgeon and have an adolescent son. My hobbies are going to an occasional basketball game and working out. Not very enticing. It doesn’t feel very genuine to me, meeting people online.”
“We really have the same values in common too,” Elizabeth replied. “I guess my point is—and you probably already figured this out—I’d like to give us another try. I know it’s harder now since we both have children and not to mention we live in entirely different states, but with technology the way it is, we really have no excuse to not keep in touch and try. If it doesn’t work, we go back to being friends and I’ll just meet up with you when I’m in town. And if it does…well, we’ll figure out the logistics of that later.”
Peter quickly swallowed his mouthful of food. He hardly looked surprised that Elizabeth was the one proposing that they get back together. She smiled patiently and awaited his answer.
“OK,” he said in his usual nonchalant way. “Sure. We can start with more frequent phone calls or video chats, even. And if we’re going to be in a relationship, we’ll have to figure out how to celebrate holidays and birthdays when we’re several states apart. Make sure we send gifts back and forth on time, write down important dates, that kind of thing. It’s going to take more work, but it’s worth a shot. You’re right; we already know each other and have a long history. I wouldn’t do this in a new relationship, but this could be worth it.”
“I can’t wait to see how it goes.” She smiled again and finished the rest of her breakfast.
“So, when are you going back to North Carolina?” Peter asked once they were ready to leave.
“Tomorrow. I don’t like to leave Ella for too long when I have to travel. Even when I’m on the road interviewing residents and students, I check in at home quite a bit. However, I’m afraid I can only do that for a couple more years before Ella complains that I’m embarrassing her and she just wants to be with her friends.”
“Ha. I’m lucky that boys aren’t quite as over the top. Reece loves spending time with me and Cleo, and I’m trying to be a little more hands-off as he gets older, you know? Roger and I will be there for him, but I want him to start making some of his own decisions while I stand in the background and be available for advice if he needs it.
“That’s the other thing we may have to figure out: how to tell our kids.”
“Well, I feel like Rachel has been almost as excited about this as me.” Elizabeth laughed. “She understands Mark would have wanted me to find someone else. Ella doesn’t know you yet, so it will be more interesting to talk to her.”
“And Reece sure had a lot of questions about you last year. I think he already knows something’s up. You sure Rachel hasn’t been influencing him?”
“Oh, I don’t think she knows sign language very well.”
They turned to each other since Elizabeth was almost to her car, and then they both shifted around awkwardly.
“When do you want to talk again?” she asked.
“You can give me a call Tuesday. I’m usually off work then, and that’ll give you a day to get home and recover.”
“I’ll put it in my calendar.” They briefly held hands and gave each other loving glances.
“Well, this has been lovely,” she finally said. “And…I can’t wait to talk to you again. Or maybe I’ll visit Chicago sooner rather than later and make up some reason I just have to be here. Or you might have to come to North Carolina. You do take vacation, right?”
“Not very often, so some things never change. But I guess I could find time.”
“I’d love if you could.”
Then she leaned into him, and for the first time in over 10 years, they exchanged a kiss.