CHAPTER EIGHT – CHECKING OUT

When their food arrived - some kind of fancy fish dish that Joan couldn't pronounce - Ethan barely broke his monologue. "Oh, this looks divine," he said. "Reminds me of the time I dined with the chief of surgery at Johns Hopkins. Now there's a story..." Joan picked at her food, her initial excitement about the date fading rapidly. She tried once more to engage Ethan in a two-way conversation. "You mentioned earlier that you're interested in the mind-body connection. I'm actually doing some research on that for my thesis-" "Oh, psychology," Ethan interrupted. "You know, I considered going into psychiatry for a while. But ultimately, I decided that surgery was the true test of skill and intellect. No offense, of course." Joan felt her face grow hot, but not from embarrassment this time. She was starting to get annoyed. "None taken," she said, a bit more sharply than she'd intended. If Ethan noticed her tone, he didn't show it. He launched into yet another story about his surgical pro