Chapter 23 – Invitation

The air was fresh. Exhilarating. James felt reaffirmed—by Deanna, by Nomura, by his own resolve. Nothing would deter him from becoming the Doctor’s Doctor. Take the high road. Be professional. Change his attitude.

It was 11 AM, and nearly all of the day’s cases were previewed when a familiar voice greeted him.

“Any cases to show me?”

“Hi, Dr. Nomura. Glad you stopped by. There’s a stat biopsy from Greenberg, a patient in the hospital. I heard she’s the wife of one of the hospital administrators.”

Nomura nodded. “Yes, Kurtz, right? Greenberg told me about it this morning. Let’s save some time and take a look at it together.”

Nomura placed the slide on the microscope stage and together, they leaned over the scope. “James, this one’s straightforward. What do you think?”

James breathed more easily. Two months with Nomura had sharpened his eye. The confusing Latin terminology of skin diseases was slowly becoming clearer.

“I thought it was a leukocytoclastic vasculitis. The fibrinoid necrosis is diagnostic.”

“Excellent.” Nomura sat back in his chair. “And note the eosinophils. Probably an allergic component. Greenberg mentioned he was worried about a drug reaction. Go ahead and sign the case out with Haas. I’ll call him and let him know.”

James tucked the slide and paperwork under his arm. The contrast between Nomura’s calm, mentoring tone and Haas’ sharp edges was jarring. But it was time. He had to face Haas again.

He knocked gently on her open office door. Her back was to him, eyes fixed on her computer.

“Excuse me, Dr. Haas. Is this a good time for sign-out?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be at ULS?”

“Yesterday was my first day back.”

“Very well.” She turned in her chair. “Let’s have the cases.”

James set the tray beside her microscope. Haas shuffled, then stopped on the Greenberg biopsy.

“Hm. Fibrinoid necrosis… nuclear dust. History?” She scanned the requisition sheet. “New antibiotic—yes, leukocytoclastic vasculitis, likely drug reaction. That’s the diagnosis. But you’d better show it to Nomura and get his blessing.”

Finally, James thought. Did something right. “Dr. Nomura already saw the case.”

“What?”

“He came by earlier. I passed it by him, and he agreed with your diagnosis.”

Haas pushed away from the scope, eyes narrowing. “If you’d rather sign out with Nomura, be my guest.”

“No… no, of course not. He just happened to—”

“I guess you feel more comfortable with your kind.”

The words struck like a scalpel to the chest. James froze. Had he heard her right? “What do you mean—‘your kind’?” His voice rose.

“I… I just meant you may feel more comfortable signing out with someone else.”

“No, you didn’t.” His whole body trembled. “You said, ‘your kind.’ What did you mean?”

“Nothing. Look, you’re blowing this out of proportion.”

“Am I? Because I’m Chinese, you think I’d prefer to sign out with Dr. Nomura? He’s not even Chinese—”

“Calm down. You’re making a scene.”

“And you—‘my kind?’” His voice cracked. Residents hovered outside the door, pulled in by the shouting.

“I have to go,” James muttered. He left the cases on her desk and stormed out.

Dan intercepted him in the hall, grabbing his shoulders. “Whoa, Deetan. What happened?”

James shook him off. “She’s a witch. She can fire me—I don’t care anymore.”

Dan led him to a chair. “Talk to me. What happened?”

James buried his face in his hands. His voice was flat. “Nomura looked at a stat case before sign-out. When I told Haas he’d already seen it, she said I probably preferred to work with him because he was ‘my kind.’ When I confronted her, she said I was blowing it out of proportion.”

Dan shot up from his chair. “She said that? In front of others?”

“Yeah. And then she brushed it off. I couldn’t think. I just ran.”

“That’s slander. She needs to be reported to Morelli.”

“No. She’ll deny it. Say I made it up. I can’t risk it, Dan. Everything I’ve worked for is here.”

Dan exhaled, frustrated. “Then what? You’ll just let it go?”

James didn’t answer. He staggered back to his office, head pounding. The walls closed in—hallway chatter echoing, fluorescent lights stabbing at his eyes. Sweat traced down his temple. His stomach clenched, chest tight. He pushed out into the winter air, gasping. By the time he reached his car, his shirt clung damp to his back.

He slumped into the driver’s seat, rolled down the window, and let the icy wind slap his face. No more questions. No answers. Nothing.

“Didn’t you hear me calling you?”

Jasmine. Deanna’s voice.

He opened his eyes. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She reached across the seat, brushed the sweat from his temple, and laced her fingers into his. “Mind if I join you?”

She slid into the passenger seat. For minutes they said nothing, just sat hand in hand while the cold evening wrapped around them.

“I have to get back. I’m on call,” she whispered. She kissed him softly, then pulled away with a teasing frown. “We really have to stop meeting like this.”

James watched her white coat billow as she walked back inside, jasmine still lingering in the car.

The night was a blur. Tossing. Turning. Haunted by her words. By Haas’. By everything. He swore he’d face Haas in the morning, whatever the cost.

But when he arrived, a note from Haas awaited him: Bring the breast case from yesterday to my office.

This is it, James thought.

But when he entered, Haas was calm. “That was a good call you made on this case,” she said, sliding the angiosarcoma slide onto the scope. “Very rare. I think I’ve only seen one in the breast before. Good call.”

James blinked. What was this? Pretend yesterday never happened?

“James, what are you doing next weekend?”

Thrown, he stammered. “Uh… nothing.”

“Tom and I were wondering if you’d like to come over for dinner Saturday. Around 4.”

“What?”

“Seafood okay? Bring a friend if you like. Just bring your appetite.”

James mumbled assent. She smiled. Calm. Polite. Like yesterday’s confrontation had been erased.

Back in his office, Dan cornered him. “So? Did you tell her off?”

James shook his head slowly. “She invited me to dinner at her house.”

Dan’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“She said I could even bring a friend.”

Dan leaned close. “James… no resident has ever been invited to her mansion. Ever. This is her version of an apology.”

James stared out the window, still rattled. “I don’t even know what’s happening anymore.”

“Then just go,” Dan said softly. “See how she treats you. Maybe this is what breaks the tension.”

Maybe. Or maybe it was another trap. James wasn’t sure anymore.

Next Chapter: Chapter 24-Change Of Season Part 1