Behind the Laughter

Vivienne adjusted her head on his lap, her fingers idly tracing circles on his knee as he recounted a story from his residency days. She always loved his stories, especially on days when she was not feeling like herself. He could see it in her eyes today—something was off. But for now, he focused on making her laugh.

“So, there was this one time during my surgery rotation,” he began, his lips curl