𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐇 // 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

SOMETHING TOLD CONNOR he had to prepare for being outside when he left his apartment that day, heading over to Eila's door, right next to his. He raised a hand to knock on her door, a beanie and a pair of gloves in one hand, a scarf hanging loosely around his neck. In fact, he looked somewhat ridiculous where he was standing. Had he been outside prior to showing up at her door, his outfit would look somewhat more believable, though without the Chicago-snowflakes covering his coat, he just looked as if he was absolutely freezing.

               "Good afternoon, sir," he smiled politely, at one of his other neighbours, who simply chuckled as they noticed how he looked. Turning back to the door, Connor sighed heavily, glancing at his watch.

               He wanted to spend the afternoon with Eila, but she needed to open her door. Connor had told Ethan Choi that he was, in fact, only a phone-call away, in case his patient's condition worsened, and though the man had been stable when Connor left, he feared he would recieve a call.

               Eila's face was filled with surprise when she finally did open the door, seeing Connor all dressed to be outside ( or to survive an ice age, which was her first thought upon seeing the way he had dressed ). Stifling a chuckle, she stepped to the side, letting him into the comforting Christmas atmosphere of her apartment. "I see someone's dressed to—," she paused, furrowing her brows as she leaned forward, picking small pieces of lint off his coat. "Well, I wouldn't say impress, but you should be able to survive regular Chicago temperatures, that's for sure."

"Eila, I need to warn you of something," he spoke in a rushed tone, though realizing how serious and bad it sounded when he saw her facial expression. "No, no one's dying — or, well, my patient could die, but if I get a call from the hospital, I'll have to go in and do what's best for my patient. I just thought I should let you know."

               Eila found herself releasing a breath she hadn't even realized she was holding, a chuckle escaping her lips. "I was quite convinced you were ill, or you needed to leave for some medical conference, or something unexpected."

"I usually know about medical conferences a little while before they take place," Connor smiled, leaning against the kitchen island. "Though it's unexpected, I guess what I'm telling you to do for the night is to, well, expect the unexpected."

"You got it," she nodded. "Hey, I need to just fix one thing and then we're off, yeah? I was thinking we could go out hunting for the Christmas Cola-truck."

"Let me drive then," Connor spoke quickly. "I mean, of multiple reasons, including my patient at the hospital, but you're taking all this time and spending it on me, the least I can do is drive when we get out." For a second Eila looked as if she was about to say anything, but she remained quiet, instead disappearing into her apartment. Connor remained put, the hard edge of the countertop digging into his lower back. Quickly, he checked his phone, seeing if he had gotten any messages from Ethan, and was relieved to see the notifications on his phone were still blank.

               "Okay, I'm ready — are you?"

               Eila smiled as she returned to Connor's side, watching him flash a smile and nod. "Now, I want you to know that I don't actually know where the Cola-truck is at what times. It's got different routes, and to be honest, I'm yet to learn them to know. Besides, those routes might also change every time new houses are built, expanding the city, little by little."