Page 98 of In Sheets of Rain

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I Hadn’t Seen That Coming

“This is so much more fun with you here,” Michael said.

I stared at all the people filling up the wide aisles at the cardiac conference and nodded my head.

“For starters,” he said, “you’re a great conversationalist.”

I smiled.

“You don’t talk back.”

I arched my brow.

“You’re very witty. I can barely stop myself from laughing.”

“OK, now you’re just taking it too far,” I said.

“See? Perfect comedic timing.”

I laughed.

“Now, the key to these things,” Michael said, “is making them go faster.”

“How do we do that?”

“The guessing game.”

“OK,” I said, “I’ll bite. What am I guessing?”

“Who’s having an illicit affair with whom while on conference.”

“Does that actually happen?”

“All the time. I’ll go first,” he said.

“By all means,” I offered.

He laughed.

“Those two there,” he said, nodding towards a couple standing too close together at a pharmaceutical company’s stand. “She’s a junior nurse, new to the team, and he’s the registrar, trying to make a name for himself. And they hooked up when she accidentally-on-purpose spilt a full bottle of hand sanitiser over his scrubs. And then proceeded to enthusiastically wipe him down in the storeroom afterwards.”

I made a snorting sound and then tried to cover it with a cough.

“Your turn,” he said.

“I’m not good at guessing.”

“Of course you are, you’re a writer. You make things up inside your head every other second of the day.”

I stared at him. “How did you know that?”

“It’s what writer’s do. They dream things. Sometimes big, sometimes small. But they’re always dreaming.”

“Some would say that’s not a good thing.”

He smiled. “I think it’s great,” he said.