The Dotted Line by Nick Pageant

Author:Nick Pageant [Pageant, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pageantry Books
Published: 2015-11-02T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Jimmy sat in the ER’s waiting room. His stomach was in knots and he wondered what exactly he’d been thinking. He tried to remember the confident feeling he’d had earlier in the day, but he couldn’t understand how he’d ever felt that way. It was like that cocky guy existed in a book or movie and had nothing to do with Jimmy. It didn’t matter, he supposed; Pete didn’t know this was supposed to be a date. Jimmy could just be his regular, nervous self and Pete would be none the wiser.

At seven sharp, Pete came loping up. He was dressed in his green scrubs, looking tired, but happy. “I hope you don’t mind the scrubs.”

“Of course not.”

“What about the restaurant? We could run by my place and I’ll change if I need to.”

Jimmy still hadn’t decided where they were going to eat. He had memorized all the health code violations committed by every restaurant in the city, so that helped narrow their options. He thought for a second. “I thought maybe that Tex-Mex place on Belmont. They won’t mind your scrubs.”

Pete nodded enthusiastically. “Great! I love that place.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

“Jimmy?”

“Pete?”

“You seem a little tense. If this isn’t a good night for you… I can just go to the cafeteria.”

The words hit Jimmy hard. Pete didn’t mean any harm. He had no idea that he was reminding Jimmy of all the other times he’d bailed out on a get-together because he was too nervous to go out. Pete was reminding him of his need to stay in places he considered safe, places where he knew everyone, places where he’d memorized all the exits and knew he could get away quickly if he had a panic attack. “No, Pete. I’m not tense… well, maybe just a little, but I want to get some spicy food with you more than I want to send you into that petri dish of a cafeteria. It’s a good thing that place is in a hospital.”

Pete laughed. “I know. Three cases of salmonella in the past week! It’s like the admin’s trying to drive up revenue with food poisoning cases. Not very charitable of them, if you ask me.”

The drive to the restaurant was quiet. Jimmy felt himself building up to a serious meltdown. He tried focusing on Pete’s voice, but found all he could do was focus on his own heartbeat. By the time they reached the restaurant parking lot, he’d convinced himself he was having palpitations. Was this the night his undiagnosed heart murmur finally proved fatal?

Pete knew him well. “Listen to me. We don’t have to go in. I can see you’re about to blow.”

Jimmy got angry. At Pete. At the world. At himself. He wanted to lash out. He wanted to run and hide. He wanted to go into the restaurant and have dinner like a normal person for once. His words came out haltingly. “We’re… going in. I’m fine. I just… Shit. Let’s just go in.”

Pete squeezed his shoulder. “I like you like this, Jimmy.

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