Run, Girl (If You Can)

September 2017

"Mommy, do we have to go to school? I want to stay with you," Violet said with a tragic pout on her face.

It was their first day of preschool and the day Keeley would finally be going to work at a privately funded research lab called the Department of Medical Advancement, or DOMA for short. Aaron was able to get her in by offering a very large donation on the condition that she would be able to use the facility to continue her cystic fibrosis research.

She really hoped that nobody but the director knew how she got in because she didn't want to be looked at strangely. It would be so awkward to be known as the woman who only worked there because she had a rich husband.

"Mommy has to go to work, Vi. We talked about this, remember? You get to stay here and play with Kaleb and meet new friends for a while. I'll come pick you up at three and then you can tell me all about what you did and we get bake cookies, okay?"

Violet was much more of a homebody than her brother. She didn't mind being out and about as long as her mother or father were in sight but she still wasn't particularly adventurous. Unlike Kaleb, whose adventurous nature had already caused him to break his arm last year by falling off some park equipment.

Kaleb smiled and took his sister's hand. "Don't worry, I'm here!"

Keeley had made sure to register them for the same class because otherwise she worried Violet would throw a fit. Hopefully her brother could help her come out of her shell a little bit and she would be able to make her own friends.

She would play with other kids if her mother set up a play date for her but at the playground she did her own thing while Kaleb would play with other random children who were present. Her closest friend was definitely her twin but she was also quite fond of Noah Singleton, who was nearly two years old now.

Whenever the Hales and Singletons met up, Noah would follow Violet (and to a lesser extent, Kaleb) around like a puppy. It was pretty cute.

Violet looked back and forth between her brother and mother hesitantly. "Come back fast, Mommy."

Her daughter's plea tugged at Keeley's heartstrings. She wrapped her arms around both of her children.

"I love you two! Have fun today, okay?"

They both nodded seriously and walked a bit ahead of her hand in hand to meet up with their new teacher. She sighed as she watched them go. They had grown so much already. As excited as she was to get back to work, she would really miss being with her babies all day.

She drove herself to the DOMA building all the way out in Queens, nerves and excitement warring within her. She had to think positive. This was what she wanted; it was going to be a good thing for her.

Just before Keeley walked in the front door, her phone went off in her pocket. It was a good luck text from Aaron. Because of that little gesture, she was able to head inside with a smile on her face.

A professionally dressed woman was sitting at the front desk. "How can I help you?" she asked, looking up from her computer screen.

"Hi, I'm Keeley Hale. It's my first day here; I was told to meet with Doctor Butler."

She tried to project confidence and talked like she knew what she was doing. She wasn't sure how effective it actually was but the woman answered her question as if she didn't notice anything strange.

"Ah yes, Doctor Butler said you would be coming. Please take a seat while I call him, Doctor Hale."

It was the first time someone had referred to her as Dr. Hale since her graduation. Her stomach was filled with butterflies. She had earned her title; she shouldn't be this excited about someone using it.

Dr. Butler was the director of DOMA and had dealt with Aaron's donation directly. Keeley really hoped he could be discreet about it. He greeted her warmly when he came through one of the side doors.

"We're so glad to have you on board, Doctor Hale. Please follow me," he said as he shook her hand. At least he seemed friendly.

He led her to his office and gestured for her to sit down. He went over basic welcoming procedure, such as telling her what she needed to do to get her ID badge. So far it seemed pretty painless.

Then he pulled out the big guns. Dr. Butler folded his hands together on top of the desk and smiled widely.

"Thanks to your husband's generous donation, we have more than enough funds available to take care of your research materials. I read part of your dissertation. I believe you were ready to move up to rabbits?"

Keeley nodded and he continued. "I've already submitted a request for rabbits that have been genetically modified to have cystic fibrosis. They'll arrive in a week or two. In the meantime, everything else you need to get started is already here. I assume you have a copy of your dissertation with you?"

"Yes, like you requested. I'll be able to use it to replicate the method I used on the mutated CFTR gene before," she replied.

"Excellent. I'm certain you'll be an asset to our team, Doctor Hale."

An asset to the team indeed. If her research managed to get somewhere, the name of the lab it was accomplished in would surely be mentioned in any media coverage. Donations would increase exponentially.

Dr. Butler led her out of the office and showed her where the break room, lockers, and labs were. There were five total in the building. She would be sharing a space with two other scientists working on different projects and their small research teams.

She had to admit she was a bit nervous being put in charge of other people. Dr. Butler had assured her that the lab assistants she had been assigned were among the best DOMA had to offer.

Keeley wasn't worried about their competency; she was worried because she had never had any subordinates in either of her lives. Even though she worked at Ace Burger for so long in her first life she never got promoted to a supervisory position. She wasn't sure how to manage people.

It might be helpful to talk to Aaron about how to be in charge effectively. Despite the awe and fear that most of his underlings seemed to have for him, she knew he was a good boss who looked out for his people.