Page 19 of The Scientist
“Sounds like you’ll be able to stay more focused on your work while you’re, you know... working,” I pointed out.
“Wow, seems like Lex was able to join us for lunch after all,” he said, tone laden with sarcasm. “You sound just like him.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, and he gave me a wry smile in return.
“So, how was your first day teaching?” he asked, changing the subject.
I looked down at my food, pushing it around a bit. “It was okay.”
“Some kid tried to throw her off,” Sarah said, answering his questioning look at my lukewarm response.
“What’d he do?”
I waved him off. “Just yelled something inappropriate.”
It wasn’t even what he said. It was the fact that I clearly seemed like an easy target to them. Could they smell rookie on me? Darling little bloodhounds, trying to sniff out incompetence.
Stuart shook his head. “I can imagine.”
“What about you? When do you start your classes?” I asked, trying to divert the conversation.
“Not until Thursday.”
“And you’ll be teaching a neurobiology class?”
“No, I’m not technically a neurobiologist. Lex needed a chemist for his team, so that’s how I started working with him. After all these years, I’ve absorbed enough to get by, but my PhD is in chemistry, so that’s what I’ll be teaching.”
“And then what? You do your research on all the other days?”
“Yeah, we got started in the lab today.”
“What kind of research are you guys doing exactly?” Sarah asked.
“We’re trying to create an implantable device for Alzheimer’s patients to deliver medication to the affected segment of the brain to delay neuronal death and possibly even reverse it.”
“Wow, that’s pretty amazing,” Sarah said, and I nodded in agreement. “I hate to admit it, but you’re kind of impressive.”
“Yeah, I could barely pass basic algebra in high school,” I added.
He straightened with a hopeful gleam in his eye. “Wait, I did tell you guys I was single, didn’t I?”
He just couldn’t help himself.
Sarah used her hand as a fake phone and started to dial. She nodded at me to pick up.
I played along. “Hello?” I answered.
“The delusion’s coming from inside the house,” she whispered dramatically.
At that, I broke into a fit of laughter, with Peter joining in. Stuart just rolled his eyes, sagging back down in his chair.
When the laughter finally died down, I got an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. It took me a few minutes to identify what it was: guilt. Here I was, sitting around laughing and carrying on with my life, while my mom was going through one of the hardest times in her own life. She said this was what she wanted for me when we talked about moving here, but it still didn’t sit right with me.
As we got up from the table to leave, Stuart asked, “Betty, before I forget to ask, are you going to need a ride back home?”
“I can just take an Uber.” I didn’t want to burden anyone.
“I’ll take you. It’s on my way home,” Sarah offered, and I accepted.