They sat down at a table sitting across from each other. Nathaniel didn’t make contact with the doctor’s eyes, only looking at the floor.
“What do you want to eat?” the doctor asked, but the boy only shrugged.
For a moment, the doctor felt angry and impatient with him. Why couldn’t he just get over it? What was the big deal? It’s not like he hadn’t gotten over the same thing before. But he knew very well how complicated feelings could be. Even he had trouble understanding his own, and it’d been that way for a while.
“I’ll just order something for both of us.”
Nathaniel nodded slowly, his eyes glassy and still examing the floor. The doctor ordered two cheeseburgers and one milk shake for the boy. He pushed the milkshake toward him.
“I’d like to see a smile…”
Nathaniel’s eyes lifted slightly to meet the doctor’s, “And you think material things can do that for me?”
The doctor shook his head, “No… but listen, being happy is loving who you truly are, not what you think someone has turned you into.”