Michael received an acceptance letter to a Genomics residency in association with Harvard University a month before finishing his internship. That Friday night, he and Anne celebrated the night away eating blue crab from the Chesapeake Bay and white wine. They called a cab to take them home after feeling the third bottle of Chardonnay starting to make them feel silly. They were so in love with each other, but Michael would be traditional and ask her father before popping the question. He found that time a week later when Anne was on the phone with her mother but had to get something in the other room.  

Michael picked up the phone and asked her mother to have Anne’s father call him back on his phone the next day while Anne was at work. Anne’s mother became excited and replied, “You betcha.” Her father called the next day, and Michael asked for her father’s blessing. He sniffed back emotion and gave his permission. After the call, Michael took one of Anne’s rings to the jeweler for the correct measurement. The jeweler said the ring would be done in two weeks, four days before the residency ended.  

That last week Anne submitted her two-week notice and decided she was going to Massachusetts with him after she finished her notice. Michael finished his last two days at Johns Hopkins, packed his car and his rented trailer, and left for Cambridge. He felt so relieved to have Dr. Bishop behind him.  

The following Monday, Michael reported on time for his first day of residency at the genomics laboratory, and the staff greeted him warmly and showed him around. The first week he had an unusually large number of people coming by to chat and get to know him. He was amazed since he always heard that folks from the Northeast were rude or trying to get an angle on strangers. They asked about his childhood and where he was from and couldn’t wait for Anne to meet such friendly people.  

He returned to his apartment near the laboratory site and called Anne that Friday. He said he stopped having nightmares that kept him awake for so many nights. The only thing he thought of was that maybe Dr. Bishop was responsible for giving him such dreams. Anne laughed and agreed but countered that had it not been for Bishop’s ugliness to him, she would never have met him. 

He replied, “Okay, I will take the good with the bad and ugly, and you know it was Bishop’s fault I didn’t see you that first night.” Both laughed uproariously and said they could not wait to see each other again. They were so happy they found each other and gave each other their love, finishing the call. 

Monday was busy filling his calendar with duties and research goals. Everyone was fascinated with Michael’s thoughts on gene mapping, curative medicine, and his knowledge of the similarities and differences between humans and other mammals, especially bears. They wondered where he found time to have such detailed knowledge of something intricate and complex. Now he had a venue to test his theories and create something extraordinary for mankind while making a good living. 

The second week was full of parties as the department chair believed that creativity was maximized among groups that get along in social settings. Never the social animal, he stood around quiet and shy, nursing his drink and feeling out of place that entire Tuesday evening with all his thoughts about Anne.  

About two hours into the party, he heard a woman’s voice from behind, “What’s wrong tonight? Today, you were this passionate force in the laboratory, wowing everyone with your knowledge. Tonight, you are avoiding everyone like the plague. Are you worried or concerned about something?” She stroked his neck lightly. He turned around with a startled look.  

“Okay, did I do something wrong? You aren’t gay, are you? I was just trying to relax you.” 

“No, just surprised. I have spent so much time reading and studying that I don’t get out too much. By the way, my fiancée is moving here in a few weeks.” 

“Have you ever heard the song that goes, ‘When you’re not with the one you love, love the one you’re with?’” 

“Yes, I have. Stephen Stills, formally with Buffalo Springfield, but I think it would not be a good idea. Also, you have had too much to drink.” 

The woman did have too much to drink, but she was insulted, and the office secret was revealed from her unencumbered tongue. 

“Well, big boy. Did you know that all we wanted to do in the office last week was to hear your weird South Carolina accent, you gullible moron?” She threw the rest of her drink in his face and stormed off. 

The next day Michael stayed alone and quiet in the lab, reading journals. When anyone came by, he only waved or hummed an answer. He found out later the woman’s name was Robin, another resident in the lab. They looked at each other at times but never spoke, and neither would admit the conversation for not having others render judgment either way. The mood in the lab lasted the rest of the week.  

The Chair also noticed and called Michael into his office for a chat. 

“Dr. Townsend, is it Mike or Michael?”  

“Michael, sir.” 

“Let’s not be so formal. My name is Ed, Ed Hatcher. Please call me Ed.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Okay. Let me say first thank you for coming so quickly. But to cut to the chase, another one of the residents seemed out of sorts after the Tuesday evening party too. Are you sorry about anything that happened at that event?” 

“Yes, sir. I think I insulted her.” 

“Did you apologize?” 

“No, sir.” 

“Why?” 

Michael recounted the events to Dr. Hatcher and agreed with Robin’s provocative and unprofessional behavior. But he had a laboratory to run and wanted to tamp down any discord. He arranged to have the two of them assigned to the same project so they would put their issues behind them since they had to perform well to complete the residency. Ed called Robin into the office and gave her the same news he gave to Michael.  

They were assigned to the molecular biology lab specializing in gene splicing. The conversations were noticeably short at first, but the tension began to leave the room once they discovered they had some of the same professional passions – the human genome. 

That weekend, Anne visited and told Michael that her parents wanted to meet their soon-to-be son-in-law the following weekend. Her parents were extremely excited to hear the news about being in love with such a talented young man. Her job interview was going to be that Wednesday in town with a dinner. Michael was ecstatic that she was coming and wanted to know what he could do to make her more at ease. She thought that was cute and said the only thing she wanted was him, then kissed him.  

Michael and Robin started the week much better, beginning to make progress on their project. The entire lab witnessed what Dr. Hatcher knew about Michael – he had a terrific mind. Robin was exceptionally talented herself. Michael bounced intricate, complex ideas off her and gave him knowledgeable feedback that helped the project.  

Robin asked Michael to have lunch together across the street at a café and had a delightful meal. In the end, Robin leaned over as they got up and kissed him on the cheek just as Anne walked in the door. Anne screamed and ran out the door, believing he was cheating on her at that moment. Michael asked what had just happened. Robin told him that was a token of her appreciation for being such a sweetheart. 

“No, the scream.” 

“Oh, a tall brunette gal looked in the place and ran out screaming.” 

“Anne!” 

He started to run, then turned around and gave Robin sixty dollars for the food and tip. He turned for the door and left. Once outside, he looked around to find Anne. He saw her quickly walking down the street, hands clenched in rage. He ran up to her and said, “Anne.” 

“Don’t talk to me again. You come up here, and they make it with the first tart you see.” 

“She is my residency partner in the laboratory.” 

“So, what the hell are you two cooking up? Well, I don’t care, goodbye!”  

And with that, she turned around and slapped him so hard you could see the handprint on his face. She got into a cab, and it drove away. Michael stood there motionless, squeezing his eyelids together, holding his drooped head with his hand, and feeling the sting of the slap on his face. 

The next moment, Robin walked out of the café, saw Michael with a despondent expression, and asked what had happened. He told her that his fiancée, Anne, walked into the café the moment she kissed him on the cheek. “She thought I loved the one I was with, to paraphrase the song.”  

That comment upset Robin for bringing back the embarrassing encounter at the party. Now, both women were mad at him. They returned to their separate offices and did not come out until it was time to go home. Michael went home to drink a beer he knew was in the back of his refrigerator.  

He arrived at his apartment, slowly walked up the stairs, unlocked the door, and went straight to the refrigerator. The beer wasn’t there. He turned around and saw a note that directed him to the bedroom. 

He walked in and saw Anne sitting on the bed with the beer with nothing more than a smile and a robe.  

“You want a sip? Still cold.” 

“Anne, that was the other resident from the lab and …” 

“Shhhh!” and put a paper receipt ring on her finger. “I tried to call you to yell at you more but was interrupted by the receptionist who told me the whole story about Dr. Grandy without prompting. I will do something I have never done before to a man, so be honored.” She then whispered in his ear, “I’m sorry.” Then she kissed his cheeks and mouth with the passion that brought the two into each other’s arms. That night, Anne and Michael became the happiest couple on earth. 

The following morning, they woke up to Michael’s alarm. He realized Anne did not attend dinner or her interview the day before. He woke her up in a panic, but Anne told him the interview was put off a day and she could stay and meet her parents in town Friday night when they came to town. She told him they would be pushovers when they met him. 

Michael came into the lab the following day with an unusually brisk jump in his step. The receptionist caught Michael and told him that she had talked to a woman who was terribly upset at the time. And that she wanted to speak with him, but he never picked up his line or answered his cellphone. The receptionist told Anne that you and Dr. Grandy completed their first genome assignment and went to the café for lunch and said how professional you both were and the hard work both did. Michael reached into his pocket, pulled out a twenty-dollar bill, and told her to have lunch with him. He walked on to his office humming happily and leaving the receptionist speechless.  

Later, Michael knocked on Robin’s office door and asked to come in. 

“Yes, Dr. Townsend, we need to get to work,” she said tersely. 

“I want to apologize for what I said in front of the café yesterday. It was cold and out of line, and I am excellent at saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. Can you forgive Doctor Foot-in-mouth?” 

She laughed and said, “Yes, and I forgive you this time … I need to give you a heads up. No, let’s go see Ed together.”  

When Michael went to Ed’s office, Ed said, “come in and have a seat.” Michael did not know Robin went to the boss first to speak about him, so he was blind-sided when Ed said, “You need to think before you think. Words can hurt greater and longer than a cut.” He reminded Michael about the lab’s culture of respect for one another. Robin interrupted and said, “Ed, Michael, and I had a misunderstanding that we have cleared up. That’s why I came. I should have gone to Michael first. You know how I am working on things.”  

Ed closed his eyes with his mouth open, not believing that Robin even came to him with this complaint in the first place. “Doctor Townsend, I need to speak with Doctor Grandy.” Michael forgave but did not forget. 

The rest of the week was about two residents who acted overly professional, did not share small talk, and went their separate ways during breaks and after work. Friday did not come too soon. All he wanted to do was to get home to Anne. 

Anne was a farmer’s daughter who wanted to do something different. When working at Johns Hopkins hospital, she had a reputation as a demanding taskmaster. That is why her colleagues were so surprised by Anne and Michael’s romance. Anne never dated anyone in the five years she spent in Baltimore. They turned out to be a great match and the talk of the hospital.  

Anne’s parents were the real deal down to earth mid-western roots that bloomed in full color. Her parents were berry farmers in Michigan who had just finished harvesting the blueberry crop and wanted to see Anne and Michael that Labor Day weekend. The New England weather did not disappoint, and Michael hit a home run with George and Betty Wilson.  

After getting the real story about the Dr. Grandy issue, she had the best week of her life. Her parents were impressed with Michael, and they had a touristy visit. Anne got the nursing job at Mass General, near the apartment and Michael’s career. They told her parents they wanted to get married soon, pleasing them tremendously. 

The first Tuesday in September was another spectacular weather day. Michael came into work ten minutes before he was scheduled. Robin was already there and waiting for him.  

“Hey, there, Dr. Grandy.” 

Robin began to cry, put her head in her hands, and told him that her husband had had asked her for a divorce over the weekend. “He found someone who would stay at home. The only time I did anything close to that was when I said those things to you at the party. I was lonely and had two too many drinks. But he has been doing it for a while.” 

 Michael cocked his head back, opened his eyes wide, filled his cheeks with air, then let it go. “Oh, dear. Then why are you at work and not going somewhere you enjoy?”  

“I am a doctor. Instead, he wanted a full-time wife at home. He told me I had to choose between the two because the hours are too long, and he did not see me enough to feel like he was married anymore.” 

“Whoa, that’s not fair. Did you not discuss this before y’all got married?” 

She cut her eyes at him and said, “Proper syntax and using y’all in the same sentence?”  

Both laughed and that broke the ice from the previous week. Robin was not 100% happy that week, but Michael was the right person at the right time and place. Dr. Hatcher noticed an the lab’s engagement improvement over the next two weeks.