The Triskelion Patriarch

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I'd spent a lot of the afternoon with Sam at the VA

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I'd spent a lot of the afternoon with Sam at the VA. He was a pretty interesting guy. I had a lot in common with him. I also took Andi's advice and paid a visit to Peggy at her retirement home. I loved seeing her, but it hurt my heart as well. Her dementia was getting worse. There were days when I could hold a conversation with her for hours about the good times. And then there were days when she completely forgot everything, backtracking to the day she discovered I was alive. It was terrible to watch.

Night had fallen when I arrived at my apartment. I climbed the stairs to my floor, digging my keys from my pocket.

"—so sweet. That is so nice."

I passed my neighbour, Kate the nurse, holding a basket of laundry and on the phone. I smiled and gave her a small wave as I walked past.

"I gotta go, though. Okay. Bye." She turned to me, dropping the phone in the basket. "My aunt. She's kind of an insomniac."

I chuckled. "Yeah." I remembered my conversation with Natasha. "Hey, if you want...uh. If you want, you're welcome to use my machine." I shrugged. "Might be cheaper than the one in the basement."

She raised a well manicured eyebrow. "Oh, yeah? What's it gonna cost?"

"A cup of coffee?"

I'd gotten better at talking to girls to since being in the 21st century. I had to admit that Andi had helped a lot. And Natasha. If Andi was with me she would've elbowed me and told me how smooth I was. She would've shoved me and told me to "go for it".

Kate beamed politely. "Thank you, but I already have a load on downstairs, and you really don't want my scrubs in your machine. I just finished a rotation in the infectious disease ward, so..."

"Oh." I nodded in awkward understanding. "Well, I'll keep my distance."

"Hopefully, not too far."

I chuckled as she headed to the stairs.

"Oh." She turned. "I think you left your stereo on."

What? "Oh. Right. Thank you."

I turned to the door and frowned as Kate took the stairs. I never turned my stereo on before I left this morning. Something was wrong, and I had a feeling that going through the front door was not the way to go. The window? Yep.

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