A comfortable silence settled.
Then Claire said, "Can I ask you something personal?"
"Sure."
"You were engaged. Recently. I heard people talking at Central Perk."
Of course. The Village was small. People talked.
"I was," I said.
"What happened?"
"We realized we weren't right for each other. Called it off before the wedding."
"That must have been difficult."
"It was necessary."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm better than I would have been if we'd gone through with it."
She nodded. "I was engaged once. Two years ago. Called it off three months before the wedding."
"What happened?"
"He wanted someone to manage his life. I wanted a partner, not a dependent." She drank her coffee. "People thought I was cold. But I wasn't cold. I was practical."
"There's a difference."
"Most people don't see it."
"I do."
She looked at me. Really looked. Assessing.
"You're different from most people I meet."
"How so?"
"Most people hear 'urban planning' and their eyes glaze over. You asked questions. You listened." She paused. "And you fixed a tooth for someone on a Saturday. I saw you unlock your clinic. That's not normal."
"It was a favor."
"Exactly. People don't do favors anymore. They optimize for themselves. But you're optimizing for relationships."
"Is that bad?"
"No. It's rare. And valuable." She checked her watch. "I should start documenting. Last day of field work."
"Then what?"
"Then I write the report. Submit it. Move to the next project."
"Where's the next project?"
"Uptown. Building inspection. Electrical and plumbing systems. Less photogenic than fountains, but more critical."
"You'll still walk through here?"
She paused. "Probably. It's on my route. And the coffee's better when I share it."
"Same time tomorrow?"
"If you're here."
"I'll be here."
She walked to the fountain. Set up her camera for the last time.
I finished my coffee. Stood. Headed toward the clinic.
Something was forming.
Not romance. Not yet.
But connection.
Recognition.
Two people who saw the world similarly.
Who valued the same things.
Who understood that fixing broken things was more satisfying than pretending they worked.
I could work with that.
Thursday brought complications.
The X-ray machine made a grinding noise mid-morning.
I stopped mid-exam. Listened.
The sound came again. Metal on metal. Unhealthy.
"Give me a minute," I told the patient.
I went to the X-ray room. Powered down the machine. Opened the service panel.
The motor belt was fraying.
Replacement belt: $180 if I could install it myself. $500 if I called a technician.
Bank balance after this week's expenses and debt payments: approximately $1,400.
I could afford $180. Barely.
I called the parts supplier. Ordered the belt. Express delivery. Tomorrow morning.
$200 with express shipping.
The patient was waiting.
I returned. "The X-ray machine needs repair. I can't complete the full exam today. Can you come back Monday?"
"Is there a charge?"
"No. This is on me. Mechanical failure."
"Oh. Okay. Sure. Monday works."
I rescheduled her. Adjusted the rest of the day's appointments to avoid procedures requiring X-rays.
Lost potential revenue: $600.
But honest.
Better than lying about the equipment or rushing repairs.
Linda watched me reschedule three more patients.
"This is going to hurt the week's numbers," she said quietly.
"I know."
"We could call an emergency technician. Get it fixed today."
"For $500. We don't have $500 for emergency repairs."
"So we lose revenue instead."
"So we maintain honesty and reschedule." I looked at the appointment book. "Call everyone scheduled for X-rays tomorrow. Let them know the situation. Offer to reschedule or refer them to another practice."
"You're offering to send them to competitors?"
"I'm offering them options. Some will reschedule. Some will go elsewhere."
She made the calls.
Out of eight patients scheduled for Friday: Five rescheduled. Three asked for referrals.
Lost revenue: $900.
Maintained reputation: Priceless.
By 5:00 PM, Thursday's numbers were still decent. $1,400.
But Friday would be half the usual revenue.
Week 3 total was going to fall short.
I locked up. Walked home.
Tried not to calculate the shortfall in my head.
Failed.
Week 3 Projected Revenue: $4,800 (down from $6,000 average) Week 3 Expenses: $4,150 Net: $650
After the $1,000 venue payment due Friday: $-350 in the hole.
I'd have to pull from the emergency fund that barely existed.
Bank balance would drop to approximately $900.
One more equipment failure and I'd be in real trouble.
The anxiety tried to creep back in.
That familiar tightness in the chest. The what-ifs spiraling.
I pushed it down.
One problem at a time.
I'd fix the X-ray machine tomorrow. Get back on schedule Monday. Make up the lost revenue next week.
This was a setback. Not a catastrophe.
Setbacks were manageable.
END CHAPTER 6 (2)
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