#16:

Returning to clases occurred gradually. When we rejoined the internship, we found that we had fourth-year students rotating as well, and the specialists told us to leave the writing in the medical histories to them. From then on, our role was to ensure their quality.
This made things much easier for us. However, there were other problems, since we were assigned two of the fourth-year students for each one of us, and many girls argued to become the twins´duos, it is not that this particularly surprised me, they did not even protest against the excessive feminine attention, however, all that hormonal show around them kind of annoyed me.
When distributing the new rotation of duty, I verified with relief that I was free of them until the following week. The visit pass went much faster thanks to the joint work with the new students and…I had to face the awkward moment of having Matt face to face again.
"We start today.- the scoundrel smiled from ear to ear.- I'll pick you up at six, you can eat at my house, Lucía knows you're going…"
"Okay," I whispered.
"Hey, cheer up. You are going to study with me, not to face the guillotine."- he protested.
I would have preferred the guillotine than having to put up with Mark's acid face for the hours I was there. Matt and I stayed, sitting at the kitchen table, going over topics that we had already overcome such as the surgical acute abdomen and all the pathologies that compose it, as well as the differences between the different types of abdominal hernias and Mark was present throughout the study, looking at me with the face of a pig without a sancocho. There was a moment during the night when I was afraid it was going to rise up from the other side of the counter and jump right at my neck.
Finally, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Matt took me back to Uni at about ten o'clock at night.
"Sorry.- he whispered as he stopped the car in front of the entrance.- I thought that studying in the kitchen would be better than doing it in my room."
I looked at him with a *don't tell me?*
“I could tell how uncomfortable Mark made you feel."
"Really?" I asked sarcastically.
"Yes. What do you think if we go to another place on Sunday?"
"You're not thinking of my room here, are you?"
He compressed his lips and looked at me seriously.
"No. I'm not that dumb. I was thinking of an outdoor location."
"Something like a park?"
"Something like that."
I raised a shoulder, truth is that I didn't care.
" Sure."
*******
The week was a blur of activities. Yunior accompanied me to lunch almost every day and during one of those lunches he told me amused that during the cyclone his house did flood and that even fish swarmed on the floor of his room.
The long-awaited Sunday arrived, Matt picked me up at eight, in his car, and took me straight to the botanical garden of the Marta Abreu de las Villas central university.
"Wow," I whispered in surprise, as we settled under a tree and I helped him place the tablecloth on which we would sit, placing stones on each of the four ends to prevent the wind from blowing it up.
We sat there going over it for hours. Answering questions from previous state tests in all specialties, except Internal Medicine, because we hadn't done that rotation yet.
By noon, I was cross-eyed with hunger and Matt knew because he was able to hear the sound of my guts protesting.
With much ceremony, Matt opened the trunk of his car and pulled out a large basket. He returned to my side on the tablecloth and proceeded to take out toast, cheese, ham, five tubes of mango milkshake, mayonnaise, peanut butter, a flan, and packets of cookies, both salty and sweet. As well as spoons, plates and a knife.
I would like to lie and say that I tasted very little of that picnic, but no. I was starving and therefore ate like a real pig. I must add in my defense that flan is my favorite sweet.
After giving myself the binge of my life, I leaned against the tree, stroking my satisfied belly.
"It's a real miracle," Matt commented, nibbling on a mayonnaise cracker.
"What?" I whispered, half stunned by the fullness.
"How much you eat and yet you stay so skinny," he whispered, grinning from ear to ear.
"Hey!" I scolded him frowningly giving him a pinch in the ribs.
After finishing eating, Matt lay on his back on the tablecloth and while we talked he moved until he ended up placing his head on my thighs. Luckily I was wearing a denim fisherman that afternoon.
"Matt."
"Mhh?" he asked with his eyes closed.
"Could you…"
"What?"
I compressed my lips. Well, he was helping me study and he had fed me, I thought that letting him rest his head on my lap for a few minutes wouldn't be such a big sacrifice.
"Matt?"
"Yes."
I frowned.
"Yes what?"
He opened his eyes and looked directly at me.
"Yes, I agree to be your boyfriend."
I released a snort. For such a smart boy, he sometimes behaved very stupidly.
"I would never ask you that." I protested.
"Too bad, because I would." He smiled mischievously.
"Oh, you would ask yourself to be your boyfriend? Wow, the fourth year girls will die of disappointment." - I mocked.
He became serious and denied, shaking his head.
"No. I would ask you if you want to be my girlfriend, but I know your answer would kill ME with disappointment."
Ouch! That was a low blow!
"Why do you always do this?" I muttered. "Why do you say something stupid like that every time I think I start to like you?"
He looked away from my face and sighed in exasperation, passing one of his hands over his face.
"It could be because I am an idiot and a masochist."
I bit my lip.
"Look, I know you're in love with Yunior and I understand that that's not going to change, no matter how many times I try to make you think differently, but I already said it, I'm a masochist. And I thought... that a romantic picnic in the sunlight would make you realize that I'm not so bad after all."
His tone turned dry and sarcastic, and I knew he was being defensive to hide my hurt.
He huffed in exasperation and sat down on the tablecloth, moving away from me.
"Come on, don't be shy. Ask what you wanted to know before I threw up the poor butterflies in my stomach."
I bit my nails nervously. I didn't mean to hurt Matt but I needed to know.
"Is it true that…I mean, did you and Amalia ever…?" I could feel my face turning into an oven.
"Me and Amalia, what?"
I swallowed dry.
"Did you and her had... a thing?"
He raised his eyebrows, noticeably amazed.
"I'm not jealous, it's just something I heard out there and I'd like to know if it's true," I hastened to explain.
Matt rolled his eyes.
"It's obvious you couldn't be jealous, at least not of me. Your daily lunches with Yunior give me hemorrhoidal crises, you know? Sometimes I fantasize that he chokes while eating his peas."- he snapped sharply.
“I'm serious, Matt."
"And I´m also. With Amalia I never had anything. I disliked her as much as I dislike Mildred."
Mildred? Why?
"Truth is She flirited to me several times, even when she was my brother's girlfriend. I think in her twisted mind she considered it a great triumph for herself to have us both. We were like some kind of trophies to her."
That didn't really surprise me.
"But no. We never had anything. I never got carried away, I never liked her and I'm pretty sure my brother didn't either. I think he was with her because the girl he really likes hates him."
That didn't surprise me either.
"Sometimes I think I should sue Mildred for libel. She and Amalia spread too many lies about my brothers and about me."- he commented, looking me straight in the eyes again.
I bit my lip again, because it wasn't Mildred who made me doubt him( and think of his possible excessive groping with the deceased) but Lizet and…Yunior.
The return journey was slow and uncomfortable. Matt was looking anywhere but at me and I was squirming more and more in my seat as we got closer to Uni.
For a moment on the way, I suddenly realized one thing.
"Matt, where's your ring?"