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The world outside the hospital was quiet at that time of night. Or maybe it just seemed that way. Through a cruel twist of scheduling, Bruce and Matt had wound up ending their shifts at the exact same time. It occurred to Bruce that his walk out of the hospital and into the parking lot had never been longer. He debated whether or not to fake a phone call just to cut the awkwardness.
“Good plans for your weekend?” Somehow Matt could ask the most innocuous question and make it feel like a practice attempt at a real interaction.
Bruce forced a light laugh. “Always.”
They fell back into silence with the parking lot stretching out in front of them. They were matching each other in both pace and direction. Bruce reminded himself internally that as soon as he got in his car, he could turn on the radio, go home, and be pleasantly alone for the next forty-eight hours. He needed a drink. A strong one at that.
He stifled a sigh of relief when he reached his car. The feeling was hampered a little bit because, of course, the kid was parked right next to him. That was his luck. But at least he was a little closer to his weekend.
“Um, so,” Matt stumbled over his words. “Have fun, I guess. No, well, yeah, have fun. And, looks like, I’ll see you… Monday?”
Bruce gave him a tight smile and tried to look relaxed. “Bright and early.”
He watched the kid unlock his car, pause to check his phone for a second, then swing open the car door. He wasn’t sure why he stopped the kid right then, but he heard himself talking before he could think better of it. “It must have been tough.”
Matt froze, already nearly sitting down. He straightened up and looked back at Bruce with a small galaxy of confusion on his face.
“The way you grew up,” Bruce clarified. “When you talk about it, it sounds like it was tough.”
Matt broke into a smile. The tension in his shoulders disappeared, and Bruce realized he hadn’t noticed that tension till right then. “It was fine. I’m realizing it may have been a little… unique, but I mean, that’s life.”
Bruce thought about going home and getting a drink and listening to his favorite records. He kicked himself internally because he knew every second he spent shooting the breeze with this kid was another second he was losing from his weekend. And yet, he wasn’t finished talking to him. “I’m just saying, I know it’s maybe not obvious” — he cleared his throat and tried to come up with the right way to phrase things — “and maybe it doesn’t always feel like it, but you are….” He sighed and stared down at the car keys in his hand. “You’re doing good, kid. It can’t have been easy for you to get where you are, given… well, given, you know. I’m just saying you should be proud of yourself. It takes guts to leave something like that and go build a life for yourself.”
There was a silence. Another one, but somehow it didn’t feel as awkward. Bruce looked over at Matt, and the kid was practically beaming. He didn’t think he’d ever seen him smile that genuinely, that easily.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. Just get out of here.” Bruce slapped the roof of his car. “There’s a weekend to enjoy, kid. Enjoy it.”