Read Online Code Blues by Melissa Yi - Free Book Online

rolled on as if I hadn't
stirred.
    "– but a lot of the teachers aren't
evidence-based at our center. I wanted to do my residency at the
Jewish General Hospital. They do a lot more research there. But I
lost the internal match."
    His nose was shiny. I also found myself
staring at the small, dark hairs that sprung from the pores on its
surface. Did Mireille say she left a message with Robin's wife?
Someone had married this robot?
    "Still, Dr. Radshaw was one of the reasons I
ranked St. Joseph's above the CLSC." The CLSC was the community
health centre affiliated with the Jewish. "I worked with Dr.
Radshaw as a student. He was really good, really concerned."
    I ate faster, so I could have a good reason
to escape Robin. Fortunately, Anu bore down on us with a platter.
"Samosa?"
    "Bless you," I said. I took one. It was
still warm.
    "Were you talking about Kurt?" she asked,
losing her smile. "I'll miss him. He was cool. He taught, but he
also treated you like a human being."
    "What does that mean?" I put the samosa down
and wiped my fingers on a napkin.
    She shifted her weight from foot to foot,
and dropped her eyes. "Well, a lot of doctors don't care who you
are, as long as you can answer questions about hypertension. But
Kurt asked how you were doing, and he really listened to your
answers." She paused for a second. "He and Alex were friends."
    "They were?" My annoyance with Alex began to
evaporate.
    She shrugged. "Alex and I did family
medicine together in second year med school, on Dr. Radshaw's team.
Alex told me that Dr. Radshaw inspired him to go into family."
    At orientation, Alex said he'd wanted to be
a family doctor ever since he was a little kid. But both could be
true. I could give him the benefit of the doubt. I stood up.
"Excuse me."
    I dropped my plate back in the kitchen,
where Mireille was washing dishes. She grinned at me and stuck a
fistful of cutlery in the dish rack. "Back for seconds?"
    I rubbed my stomach and laughed. "Maybe in
another hour. Have you seen Alex?"
    She made a face. "Not recently. How did you
like the pasta?"
    "Delicious." I glanced through the doorway
to the living room, to make sure Alex hadn't reappeared. All I saw
was that Anu was now edging away from Robin the robot.
    "Are you all right?" Mireille asked, but I
waved and said, "Bathroom" and disappeared down the darkened
hallway. It was possible that Alex had ditched the place, but I'd
give him a chance to plead his case with me. His mentor had died,
after all.
    There were three closed doors at the end of
the hall. I opened the one on the left and found stacks of neatly
folded black-and-white striped towels, labeled cardboard boxes, a
package of maxi pads, and a bike helmet.
    I tried door number two, on the right. It
was a fair-sized bedroom that felt about five degrees warmer than
the rest of the apartment. It smelled like alcohol and sweat. And
there was a man sitting on the bed's blue quilt.
    His back was slumped, his head bent in
profile to me. A bedside lamp glowed behind him, making a halo out
of his hair but leaving his face in darkness. He was so quiet that
I could hear his slow, even breaths.
    I whispered, "Alex?"
    He lifted a hand at me. He clutched a brown
beer bottle between his legs.
    I leaned against the door frame, pressing
the wooden ridge into my triceps to try and make this seem more
real. This was not how I'd pictured our grand reunion. He was
supposed to come up with a good excuse, beg my forgiveness, and
whirl me off to Paris to make it up to me. Not get drunk at
Mireille's makeshift wake.
    Alex lifted the bottle at me in a mock
toast. "Hope. I'm really sorry."
    About taking off on me? About drinking? I
stayed at the doorway.
    "Really, really sorry. Totally sorry. I
suck. I'm worthless." He took a swig out of the bottle. I could see
his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed. Even in the warm glow of the
lamp, he looked strained and exhausted.
    I took two steps toward him, stopping short
of the bed. "Alex. I don't think you