I started going to a physiotherapy center in July after pulling a muscle during exercise. My main ambition was to recover. I hadn’t expected the treatment schedule to include learning a special handshake.
At first, she and I just chatted. She’s outgoing and talks to plenty of patients when she has a gap in her schedule, so I didn’t attach any particular meaning to it. I was one of the people available for conversation, with the added advantage of attending regularly.
By the end of August, we were talking more. Hellos and fist bumps had become standard. She also started volunteering to help with some of the machines and asking whether I was comfortable. Even my own physiotherapist hadn’t asked me that, so I noticed.
Then September arrived, and she suggested we do the Spider-Man-and-Ned handshake every time we saw each other, like best friends. Apparently, the ordinary fist bump had reached the limits of what it could express.
She became more playful, too, with little pranks and more casual physical contact. I didn’t mind. She was funny, and it was a welcome distraction from being there because something hurt.
I liked how caring she was. I also liked that she was intelligent and easy to laugh with. Somewhere along the way, I stopped thinking of our conversations as just a way to pass time between parts of a session.
Still, she was friendly with other patients. I kept that fact handy whenever I started wondering whether this meant anything.
Then she found out I’d recovered and wouldn’t be coming in the following week. She asked whether I used Instagram. She also confirmed that we were the same age.
I’d assumed we would go our separate ways once my muscle was better. Now there seemed to be a chance of keeping in touch, although I had no idea what kind of chance it was.
I’m poor at taking hints. A custom handshake has not improved that skill. Is she interested in me, or have I made a friend who takes greetings seriously? I’d like to return the interest. I’m just trying to work out which interest I’d be returning.
