The Gift Ch. 06-10

"Aren't you hungry?" he asked. She looked at him, slightly embarrassed at being caught.

"A little, maybe," she answered shyly. She then put a spoonful into her mouth, eyes going wide at how delectable it was. "This is amazing," she announced enthusiastically.

Chris smiled smugly, digging into his own food. As they ate, Luciana revealed bits and pieces about her life— her office that she loved dearly and was proud of, the duplex that she and Matt had bought and remodeled together, and the different clients she had worked with over the span of her career. He also learned that she played the piano and the violin, skills picked up at her foster home. The more he heard her talk, the more he realized that was how she really was. It made him hope that the veil of sadness would eventually lift and he'd get to know more about her.

He told her about his childhood, growing up in a house in the woods and being visited by a family of bears. Luciana's face lit up when he talked about the deer that lived in the backyard and the skunks that sometimes appeared at night. She spoke of the time she had rescued a baby skunk from the snow and handed him to a wildlife shelter.

"I have always wondered something about vet school," she said, no longer caring about the direction of their conversation. "How many different kinds of animals did you have to know about?"

"Around six," he said. "Dog, cat, cow, horse, pig, and chicken."

Luciana's eyes widened in awe. "So you had to know all the details of each of their anatomies?"

"Yup."

"Wow. I always thought being a doctor for humans was hard enough."

"Yes, but remember that most people won't sue me if their chicken dies. The responsibility is much greater when you're treating people."

"I would sue you if my chicken died because of you," she stated flatly.

"I know. I'm glad you don't have chickens."

"What's the best thing about being a vet?" she asked, swishing the chili around in the bowl with the spoon.

"The animals," he replied. "And the people."

"That's exactly what I expected to hear," she rolled her eyes.

"Don't get me wrong," he threw up his hands. "The people we deal with every day aren't much different from the patients doctors have to deal with. They are pushy, sometimes hypochondriac, a little neurotic, and bordering on crazy."

"Really?"

"Of course. They consider pets their children and members of the family, which makes them demand a full exam if they even suspect anything is wrong. Some of them bring in their healthy pets at least once a week. But we have devised a system to deal with it."

"What system?"

"We put a yellow sticker inside the pet's file. It helps us tell apart the ones who come by every week but have nothing wrong with their pets. We just do a cursory exam and get them in and out of the office quickly."

"Have you ever wondered if they bring in their pets because they are more interested in you?" Luciana wondered.

"That's not the case," he chuckled. "I'm usually mostly handling surgeries and emergency cases. The other vets deal with the outpatient department."

When the waiter came by to drop the check, Luciana offered to share part of the bill with him. Chris agreed with a smile, knowing how much it meant to independent women to be able to pay their own bills. She looked up at his face, calm and serene in the soft yellow light above them, the long, golden bangs gracing the sides of his face lending him a raw, tender sensuality. She tore her gaze from him and gulped slowly, reminding herself that she wasn't in Chicago for this. That her beloved Cleo had died, that she was still mourning the loss, and that she would have to return to an empty house soon. That only three months ago, Henry had chosen to break up with her at a restaurant like this and she had decided to not date again.

But then, maybe she wasn't being completely honest with herself. If there was anyone who had been the greatest help during her difficult time, it was the man sitting in front of her at the table. They were new and it was too soon, but she knew one thing: that he was a man she could fall in love with, even if she didn't want to.

(To be continued)