Little Known Facts A Novel - By Christine Sneed Page 0,29
knows that she doesn’t look professional. She suspects that she might even look silly, hardly a woman to take seriously, let alone to entrust anyone’s life to. At the hospital she always gathers her light brown hair, which is the same color as her father’s and as thick, into a bun.
“I didn’t know you lived in Marina,” says Dr. Glass, motioning for her to sit down. He is wearing a pale green cotton shirt, a color that suits him. His hair is starting to grow out too, and with his dark stubble and wire-rimmed glasses, he looks especially handsome.
“I don’t, but I have a friend who just moved here. She wanted to be close to the beach, and she doesn’t mind the crowds.” She sits in the chair across from him, careful to pull her skirt down as far as it will go, but it stays well above her knees, one of which has a blue-green bruise the size of a quarter.
“But you do?”
Anna nods. “I like it quiet when I’m home. There are too many cars here anyway. It took me fifteen minutes to find a parking spot.”
“There are too many cars everywhere.”
She smiles. “That’s true.”
“Where do you live, if not here?” he asks, dabbing at his mouth with a napkin. His salad is only half eaten, and she realizes later that he didn’t eat any more of it while they were talking. She wonders if he worried about looking graceless, as she does when she eats, especially on first dates.
“Silver Lake.”
“Do you own your own place?”
“Yes. For a few years now.”
“Any roommates?”
She shakes her head. “I rent out the first floor to someone because it’s a big house, but she’s a tenant, not a friend.”
He smiles and shakes his head. “Sorry for all of the questions. I’m not usually so nosy.”
“You can ask me anything you’d like to,” she says, then looks down, embarrassed by her brashness. It is as if she has never before talked to a man she finds attractive. She doesn’t quite understand why Dr. Glass affects her as he does, especially in view of her many interactions with her father’s glamorous friends—some of them among the most accomplished, and the most handsome, actors in the world.
“You’re going to be an excellent doctor, Anna,” says Dr. Glass.
“Do you really think so?” she asks, blushing. “I’m trying to learn everything I can, but it still feels like I’ll never know enough.”
“You’re already very good, and I don’t say that about everyone.”
“Jim’s better than I am,” she says, then cringes inwardly.
He shakes his head. “He’s different, not better.”
“He notices everything.”
“That won’t always be the case. But he is very bright. There are plenty of more experienced doctors out there who aren’t as sharp as you two.”
She wonders if he will remember this conversation later and wish that he hadn’t been so frank. She has no idea if he is flirting or simply being indiscreet. She glances at the hand that rests next to his water glass and sees his platinum wedding band, an intricate ivy pattern etched onto it. “I should let you get back to your lunch,” she says.
“No, no, please stay as long as you’d like to. You’re not interrupting me. It’s nice to see you outside of the hospital.” He pauses. “I know it was a while ago, but I want to thank you again for sending that e-mail about the quail’s eggs. I felt bad about not replying sooner. I didn’t end up needing them. All my wife talked about for a week were those ridiculous eggs, and then at the last minute, she changed her mind.”
She looks at him, surprised. “Really? If you need them in the future, at least you’ll know where to go now.”
“I don’t think we will. No more dinner parties, at least not for a while, if I have my way. They’re always much more disappointing and expensive than my wife thinks they’ll be.”
“I’ve only hosted one. It was small, but it was still a lot of work.”
“I’d rather just go to a restaurant.” He smiles, motioning to his plate. “I guess that’s obvious.”
“I should let you finish your salad,” she says and stands up, wondering if he will see the bruise on her knee. The sudden wild thought arrives: Will he think that she got it during sex? She doesn’t remember how it happened, but it wasn’t from sex. She hasn’t slept with anyone in four months, since an ex-boyfriend visited from Tucson. Because they were both