No. This was his life now and he wasnt sure he wanted to face it.

Hed had some hopes that hed only be passing through here in this furnished apartment when hed moved in a year ago. Look how that had turned out.

He unlocked the door and dumped his bag and coat and the take-out dinner hed picked up on the kitchen counter. The cleaning service had been there. Everything was clean, tidy, and oh, so very impersonal. He missed tripping over the shoes that Ashley used to kick off by the door of their house in Alexandria and having to shove aside the jumble of whatever craft project shed embarked on to get to the dinner table. He hadnt realized what a privilege it was to make room for someone in his life, to share in their joys and sorrows, to laugh with them and, yes, to cry with them, too.

He should have done a better job of it.

He pulled a beer out of the fridge, popped the cap off the bottle, and took a long pull of it, grimacing a little at the hoppy aftertaste. Without sitting down, he pulled a fork out of a drawer and ate a few bites of the chicken vindaloo hed picked up at the corner Indian place. It was already cold. Sighing, he put the fork down.

He really couldnt put it off any longer. He pulled out his phone and hit the button to place the call hed been dreading.

Hey, thanks for calling me back. It didnt matter how long it had been since Ashley left Louisiana. There was always a honeyed hint of the south in her accent. It still made his heart beat a little faster.

Of course. He heard the little catch in her breath and knew what it meant. If hed been a little better at things like returning her calls, he might not be living in a furnished apartment in downtown D.C. He might still be out in Alexandria with her. I dont suppose this has to do with hospital business. Ashley was an Assistant Director of Administration at Georgetown.

No. Its about us. Did you get the papers I sent?

He sat down in the recliner chair across from the television set and pushed back. I did.

And?

And Ill get them signed this week. They have to be notarized and I havent had the time to figure out where to do that. Hed been a little busy trying to figure out Vincenzo Rohrs diagnosis and keeping another doctor from inadvertently killing the man.

Want me to research that for you?

That was Ashley all over. Always looking for those little ways to help, to make his life easier. He hadnt fully realized all she did until she wasnt there to do it anymore.

No. Ill figure it out.

Thanks. Please do, Morgan. I think its time for us to wrap this up.