The Reunion

Chapter 2 - Kaia

Kaia stared at the surgery schedule, her heart skipping a beat as she reread the name—Harris, Dwayne. It couldn't be right. This couldn't be happening. Not after ten years.

Her hands trembled, the medical electronic tablet feeling heavy in her grasp.

She sat down on the computer chair at the nurse's desk with more force than she intended, her legs couldn't hold her up from the shock of it all. She hadn't heard that name in years. So long in fact, that she imagined she would never see it again.

The sterile aroma of the hospital faded as memories of Karlie Harris flooded Kaia's memories. The stolen kisses, the late-night talks on the roof, the way Karlie's eyes sparkled when she was painting. And then, the day she learned when she disappeared, leaving a gaping hole in Kaia's heart.

"Did you see the new doctor on rotation?"

Kaia set the tablet down and looked up. Emily joined her, leaning on the desk next to her in her nurse's blue scrubs.

She hummed in question, not particularly understanding what she had been asked. Her mind was racing. She hadn't seen Karlie since graduation, leaving her with so many questions and a dull heartache. And now, she was about to assist in the surgery of her father. The irony was a bitter sting. How was she supposed to focus when her heart was thrumming out a decade of questions?

"She's kind of dreamy." Emily continued as she crossed her arms, peering down the hallway. "I forget if this is her first week or not. I don't remember seeing her before."

Oh, right. The new doctor on the floor. If Kaia remembered correctly, the doctor had just moved here from somewhere west. The exact location was beyond her though. The woman could have been from California or Arkansas. She had no clue. With what had just appeared in her charts, she could concentrate on nothing else. Her chest felt like it would clench, closing in around her heart and lungs, locking tight.

"Hey, are you okay?" Emily asked. Her head tilted so much that her blonde hair pulled back in a tight ponytail hung and swayed over her shoulder.

Growing so close with Emily had not been intended, but when they saw each other so frequently at work, it was inevitable. They had been cordial in high school, but naturally, after graduation, they had grown apart. Once they began talking between patients, a friendship blossomed, and Kaia couldn't imagine her life without her. It was easy to forget that Emily could read her better than an open book or a patient's chart.

"Oh, I'm- I'm fine." She answered. The little stutter wasn't missed by Emily though. Over the past few years, Emily had really been able to get a solid read on her. Kaia could say just the same about Emily too. She had been in the bridal party for Emily's wedding, suffice to say, they were each other's best friends.

"Liar. What's going on?"

Kaia gently slid the tablet across the desk, and Emily picked it up and scrolled through it.

Emily scrolled reading the patient's name. "Looks like it'll be a routine procedure for Dr. Patel. Wait ... Why does this name look familiar?"

Kaia sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. The smell of hand sanitizer washed over her senses.

Emily studied her, waiting for an answer. She set the tablet back on the desk. Her eyes narrowed before asking, "Harris. As in Karlie Harris? From high school?"

Kaia nodded, "Her father. He had a heart attack.

That caused Emily to furrow her brows in question.

"She and I ... we used to be best friends."