: Chapter 17
Love and Other Words
More miraculous even than a full nightâs sleep is the prospect of a full day off on a weekend. Getting a free Saturday feels like being ten years old and holding a twenty-dollar bill in a candy store. I donât even know where to start.
Well, thatâs not entirely true. I know I donât want to spend a second of the day indoors. The Mission Bay site for UCSF Childrenâs has windows everywhere, but when youâre a pediatric resident, you donât notice anything but the child in front of you, or your chief telling you where you need to be next.
Friday afternoon, on a short break after rounds, I remind Sean of our plans to picnic at Golden Gate Park. I call Sabrina, confirming that she, Dave, and Viv can all come. I invite a couple old friends from my Berkeley neighborhood who still live in the areaâNikki and Danny. And then I get back to work with the feeling of buzzing in my ears, static in my thoughts. I canât leave this unfinished all day.
After delivering an update on some bloodwork to my current favorite parents, whose daughter is an inpatient in oncology, I sprint to the break room, ducking behind the locker to grab my phone and text Elliot.