but that wouldn’t make a difference. No one could do this but me. “I’ll be alright, Daisy.”
“I know you will.” She gave me a clap on the shoulder and looked at the TV again. “Things are going well, otherwise?”
“Yeah. I started my own research project. It’d been on my mind before all the shit hit the fan, and now I’ve decided to devote my time to it. Depending on how it goes, I might recruit a few other researchers to join me.”
“What’s your idea?”
“You know how patients have pacemakers in order to keep their hearts in rhythm automatically?”
She nodded.
“What about automatic epinephrine injections for those patients with advanced heart diseases at a high risk for myocardial infarctions? When an episode happens, they’re either alone and unable to call an ambulance, or by the time the paramedics arrive, it’s too late to get the heart restarted. By establishing some kind of regulatory system that can provide the intervention automatically, it could keep patients alive long enough for help to arrive. It’s a bit out there, I understand that—”
“That sounds really complicated…but brilliant.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “That’s gonna take a long time to get off the ground, but with enough research, I don’t see why it wouldn’t be feasible. Every new suggestion in medicine is laughed off because of how ludicrous it sounds, but just a single success has revolutionary consequences. Go for it. Have you told Dad about it?”
I shook my head.
“I’m the first?” she asked in surprise.
Daisy and I were two peas in a pod, going through medical school so close together, experiencing a lot of things at almost the same time, and that created a bond between us that was timeless. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. “Don’t let it go to your head, alright?”
I sat in my corner office at the practice, going over all the paperwork I had for Mr. Torres. My notes were scribbled everywhere, and to any onlooker, I’d look like a disorganized idiot who didn’t have my shit together.
But that was just how my brain worked.
The door was open, so Sicily knocked on the frame to get my attention.
I looked up from my work and stared at her. “What’s up?”
“There’s a visitor here to see you. Her name is Daisy.”
My sister must have decided to swing by and check out the place. All I’d been doing all morning was get ready for an appointment I was already ready for, so it wasn’t like I was too busy to see her. “I’ll be out in a second.”
“Alright.” Sicily didn’t ask any questions and walked away.
I finished what I was doing then stepped into the lobby. Andrea was the nurse on staff, but she played solitaire on her desktop because she literally had nothing else to do since we hadn’t had a single patient yet.
Sicily was back behind the desk, working on some paperwork.
Daisy stood in front of the large floor-to-ceiling windows and looked out at the view of the city, dressed in a gray pencil skirt and a black blouse. Her coat was on the rack near the elevator.
“Don’t you have work to do?” I came up behind her and slid my hands into the front pockets of my jeans.
She turned around while wearing that sarcastic grin. “I could say the same to you.” She looked down at my jeans and hoodie with disapproval. “You look like you’re about to order a basket of fries at a bar, not take care of a cardiac patient.”
“I’m brilliant. I can wear whatever the fuck I want.”
She grinned like she liked that response. “This place is niiiiice.” She turned to face the desk where Sicily sat, in earshot so she could hear our entire conversation. “You look like hell, but at least your office looks professional.”
I gave her a gentle nudge in the side with my elbow then moved closer to the desk. “Why aren’t you at the clinic?”
“My appointment canceled, so I thought I’d take a peek. You gonna give me a tour or what?”
“Sure.” I nodded forward and approached the desk. “This is the crew. Sicily is my office manager and my assistant.”
“Ahh…” Daisy nodded in understanding. “You’re the one who keeps my brother on track.” She gave a thumbs-up. “Keep up the good work. Dex may be this big shot doctor, but he’s still an idiot.”
Sicily chuckled. “I don’t know about that… He just needs some encouragement.”
“Trust me, he’s an idiot,” Daisy said. “I’ve known him my entire life, and he’s sucked the whole