“Yep, today’s the last day.” As a resident, Lauren was required to rotate through the various clinics to gain experience in all areas. She’d become close with Kiara, Emma, and Dr. Patel over the past two months, and part of her hated to move on. Luckily, her next clinical rotation shared the same office space, and she’d still see them most days. “Tomorrow I start multiple myeloma.”

“Dr. Patel will want you to do a chemo education for the new guy,” Kiara said. “We’re going to use you every second we can. I guarantee tomorrow morning when Dr. Patel realizes she doesn’t have a pharmacist anymore, she’s gonna march to Dr. Hawthorne’s office and demand he hire one.”

Lauren shook her head. “Not yet! You have to wait until I’m done. You handled the clinic without a pharmacist before I came along, you can do it again. It’s only until next summer.”

“You want us to suffer for eight months just so you can have a job waiting?”

“Yes.”

Kiara pursed her lips. “Fine. Emma, Mr. Jones is waiting in room twelve.”

“Got it.” Emma looked around. “Where’s my stethoscope?”

Lauren pointed to the apparatus, resting on the counter beside Emma’s computer.

“Thanks.”

Lauren logged into the computer system and pulled up the chart of the nine o’clock patient, Andrew Bishop. Her heart sank when she saw his age. Twenty-six. It was sad for anyone to get cancer, but it was particularly hard to see the young ones. This guy was a year younger than her.

Newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma, stage IIB. Her frown lightened. High cure rate. She knew right away what chemotherapy regimen he would need and printed out patient education leaflets for each of the medications.

A few minutes later Dr. Patel entered the room. “Can you get me the images from the PET-CT done at St. John’s? I have the report, but I want to look at it myself. I want blood work today, return in two weeks,” she said to Kiara, then turned to Lauren. “Mr. Bishop needs ABVD, start with four cycles and then a repeat scan. Could you talk to him?”

Lauren stood. “Of course.”

“Just to warn you, it’s crowded in there.”

“No problem.” Lauren scanned the appointment board for the room assignment, grabbed her papers, and went to number eleven. She knocked twice and entered.

Dr. Patel was right. It was crowded. Lauren counted five people, four women and one man, who must be the patient. The exam rooms weren’t large, containing an exam table, a sink, three chairs, and a stool on wheels. Two women were on their feet in the corner, and the other two sat along with—

The guy from the coffee shop.