Caught in the Middle

Chapter 15

I look at the time on my phone for what feels like the hundredth time in the last hour. A full hour has passed since Maya was supposed to come over and I still haven't heard from her. Not since the alarm blared five minutes before her shift ended, and she had to hang up on me to rush to the scene. I chew on my lip and twirl my wine glass between my fingers while glaring at the black screen of the TV. I decide to rather make my way to the table both Amelia and I use as a desk, to work on my study instead of obsessing over the unknown.

The first year Maya and I were together, I glued myself to the nearest television every time I knew she went out on a call or just when she didn't answer my texts while being on shift. It was an adjustment falling in love with someone who's job could take her away from me in an instant. The only danger a job ever entailed in my previous relationships was the possibility of having to sacrifice time between each other. Loving Maya not only came with the ever-growing fear of her getting seriously injured or killed while on duty, but also about the ways in which her career and ambition could steal her away from me.

Luckily my wife helped me see how unhealthy it was to worry so much about something I couldn't control or even worse, something that didn't even involve her or her team. She sat me down and explained every aspect of her job to me in an attempt to put my nerves at ease. It happened after we moved in together and Maya was on shift. She hadn't answered any of my calls or texts that entire day. So, when I got home from the hospital, I switched on the news to a report of a structural fire downtown where some firefighters were trapped.

I freaked out and drove to the scene, breaking a bunch of rules to get through the barriers and ended up getting arrested. Maya smooth talked the cops into letting me go when she got to the police station and the worst of all was that she and her team were clear across the city, saving a kid who climbed onto a tree and couldn't get down. She was perfectly safe, and I cost her a favor with the police that she paid for, for a very long time.

Now I have to fight the urge to switch on the TV in situations like these, where I know Maya is at a big call. Especially if her shift is over and they haven't been relieved by the next team yet. The only thing keeping me from freaking out is because Maya told me that she can't focus if she's worried about me watching her, and overreacting over the way the media dramatizes some incidents. Nessuna notizia è una buona notizia. (No news is good news.) And every surgeon will get notified to be on standby should the incident turn into a four or five alarm.

I don't realize how much time has passed until I avert my gaze from the computer screen to see that it's completely dark outside. Still not a single word from Maya, so I call her just to hear her voice. The phone rings to the end before switching over to her voicemail, just like I expected since Maya will always call me the second she could. I end the call and send her a quick text to let her know I was thinking about her and to put some of my own nerves at ease.

Carina
Guessing it's not the quickest of calls.
I'll have a warm meal and loving arms waiting for you when you're done <3

I get up and pour myself a second glass of wine, switching on the stereo on my way back to the desk. The soft tunes of Frank Sinatra acting as the soundtrack to the finishing touches of my study. After I submit this paper, phase two will be complete and I'll get to move on to testing the theory on actual living participant. I already received some queries from volunteers that are current patients or former patients of Amelia and her network of neurosurgeons.

I crack my fingers and get to work, comparing notes, doing calculations, reaching conclusions, all while sipping on my glass of wine. When I finally save the document and print it, another hour has passed without a word from Maya. I call her again and get sent to voicemail once more. "Buonanotte amore mio. Please call me whenever you're back at the station. I don't care what time it is." At this point, I'm getting increasingly worried about her.