Roommates & Soulmates

Ch: 198 Paige's Eyes

Paige skimmed down the page of the textbook she was holding until she reached something that looked interesting.

"What is a choroidal melanoma?" she asked.

"A malignant tumour," Jon answered.

"Correct," Paige replied. "What are the risk factors for Dry Eye Disease?"

"DED, um," Jon began. "I think that's contact lens use, previous optical surgery, over 40 years of age, certain medications cause it, and um, smoking, systemic diseases, too much screen time and-" He stopped clearly stumped. Jon was biting his lip and looking off to his left.

"Here's a hint," Paige said. "I'm more likely to get it than you are."

"Oh! Right being female is also a risk factor," Jon said grinning. "Thanks."

"That double X chromosome I'm telling ya," Paige sighed. "Makes us unlucky about everything."

"Congenital cataracts is more common in men," Jon pointed out. "And baldness."

"Those two don't make up for periods and peeing standing up," Paige chuckled. "But we're getting off topic." She looked down at the textbook again before speaking. "The patient's eyes won't stop watering, tears just streaming down their face everyday. What's wrong?"

"They likely have dry eye disease as well," Jon replied.

"But doctor, that can't be right," Paige mocked, pretending to be a patient. "How can they be dry while they are constantly leaking water?"

"Tear film is made up of two main parts," Jon replied. "One is watery and the other oil based. If the oil glands are blocked then the water ones try to compensate, leading to watery eyes because the oil isn't there anymore to stop the water from evaporating."

"Good job," Paige chuckled at him. She put the book down and moved closer to kiss him. "I don't know why you are so worried about passing your test. You know all this stuff."

"Yeah but studying makes me less anxious," Jon replied.

"And this is just your regular school test," Paige smiled. "Imagine what it's gonna be like when you have to take your board certification exam."

"I don't want to think about it," Jon groaned.

"Maybe that's why you dropped out of school," Paige teased him. "It wasn't about your crazy ex or travelling the world or being a rebellious teenager. You were just trying to avoid exams." He didn't seem to appreciate her joke.

"You'll appreciate my sense of humour again once your exams are over," she told him. Just then the timer on her phone went off. "Dinner is ready!" she said, jumping up.

Paige loved having her own kitchen. Yes, she'd had unconditional access to many a kitchen in her day, but having her own was so much better. She got to decide where everything went and buy unnecessary kitchen gadgets! Jon didn't care what happened in the kitchen so long as he could eat whatever she made which meant that Paige ruled supreme in her own kitchen. Okay yes, that was a bit dramatic but she couldn't help it. Paige loved having her own space to organise. Before Jon her life had been all roommates, roommates, roommates. What living with Jon had taught her was that life was far better with a soulmate than a roommate, and for far more reasons than just the kitchen. The kitchen was merely a bonus.

The thought made her smile. Living with Jon was a new type of happiness that Paige had never experienced before; she intended to enjoy every minute of it.

Opening the oven Paige reached in with her oven mitts and pulled out the dish. Tonight they were having pierogi casserole with tuna. The recipe was beyond simple and so yummy. Saute onions in a pan until clear, add other veggies as deserved, add tuna or any other meat you want then a can of cream of something soup. Tonight she'd picked mushroom. After that she put frozen perogies in a greased casserole dish, poured the meat, veggie, soup mix on them and sprinkled with cheese. Then cook for an hour at 375 fahrenheit. And bam! Dinner is served.