by Cee, DW
“Emily.” In walked a tall, fairly good looking woman and what looked to be her husband or boyfriend.
“Hey, Sarah. Hi, Charlie.”
“Oh my gosh, what happened to you? You weren’t kidding when you said you got hurt,” Sarah said with a worried tone.
I got up to introduce myself when Emily beat me to it.
“Sarah, Charlie, this is Jake.” She turned to me, “Jake, this is my best friend and sometimes mother, Sarah, and her boyfriend since birth, Charlie.”
We all said hello, and Sarah gave me a funny look.
“When did you and Emily meet?”
“About nine hours ago.” I saw Sarah and Charlie both stare at Emily for an explanation.
“Charlie, can you walk Jake out? He’s going to be late for work.”
“You’ll be OK?” I checked on her one more time. “There are more ice bags in the freezer, and I’ll call you from the hospital. I should be done around four.” Maybe I sounded too intimate. We really weren’t at any stage to be talking this comfortably. “Sarah, will you be taking care of her for a while?”
“Sure.” Sarah somewhat slowed her word.
“Bye, Dr. Reid.” Emily was trying to shoo me out the door. I walked out with Charlie, disappointed I couldn’t stay with her the whole day.
“It was nice meeting you, Charlie. Hope to see you again.”
“Well, if you’re around Emily, we’ll definitely run into you again. Sarah and Emily are like Siamese twins. I think my girlfriend prefers to be with her girlfriend and only comes to me at nights.”
We shook hands and I left for the hospital. I wondered the whole way to work what Emily was telling Sarah about me—how she was describing who I was in her life. I wished I didn’t have to work today.
As soon as I walked onto the third floor of the hospital, I was besieged with patients. Luckily there were no surgeries this morning, but I had no time to call Emily. I sent a quick text.
It’s been a crazy morning. Sorry I haven’t been able to call you. Hope you are doing OK. Is Sarah still there taking care of you?
She answered back immediately.
Sarah and Charlie left for the picnic. You have a knack for waking me up. Please let me sleep. See you soon.
People walking by stared as I chuckled to myself. I counted down the minutes till I could leave the hospital and be with her again.
I ran into Chief Henry Reid, my uncle and the chief of staff. The main reason I became a heart surgeon was because my uncle had been such a positive influence in my life. My father, now retired, was an internal medicine doctor, but I was always fascinated with operations. Uncle Henry bought me all kinds of heart books when I was younger and encouraged me to study hard so I could eventually do what he did daily—save lives. Little did I know this job would kill my social life. He never explained the casualties of becoming a surgeon.
“Hey, Chief. Can I leave early today?”
“Why?”
“I’ve got a date with the most amazing woman.”
“If she’s so amazing, why would she be going out with you?” The chief had a wicked sense of humor I didn’t appreciate today.
“Yes or no?”
“No.”
“Chief…Come on, don’t you want to see your favorite nephew get married and have kids one day?”
“I’m sure Glen will get married and have kids one day. What’s that got to do with you?” he guffawed. “All right. You can leave now but you’re on call tonight. Your Aunt Babs and I have a dinner to attend, so I’m putting you in charge.”
“No, not tonight. Let me have one night without any interruptions. Please. I beg of you.”
“You can have that one night tomorrow.”
And just like that, he walked off.
In exchange for a possible interruption tonight, I left the hospital immediately. I drove as fast as I could back to Emily. I was about to ring the doorbell when a happy thought entered my mind—her keys.
“Emily?” I called. I felt like I was home. It felt right. “Where are you?”
“If that’s you, Jake, I’m where you last left me.”
She hadn’t moved.
“You’re dressed. Are you feeling better?”
“Well, I thought I should get up and do something, so this is all I got done today.” She pointed to her outfit.
“How’s your ankle?”
“I think it feels better. I can’t tell whether it’s getting better or the ice has numbed me to a point where I can’t feel my legs anymore. Either way, I’m starving. Can we go eat?”
I tried to pick her up again but she got up and limped toward the door. She locked her arms around mine and we got in the car.
“What do you want to eat? What are some of your favorite foods?”
“Do we have all day? I have a lot of food I like to eat.” She laughed to herself. “I’m not picky as long as it tastes good. I’ll let you decide.”
“I need to be near the hospital because the chief put me on call tonight. Do you mind? There’s a slight chance we might get interrupted.”
“Do I have a choice?”
“I guess you don’t.”
We drove to a Mexican restaurant blocks away from the hospital and settled into a booth. I was happy to have this time to ask her questions about her life.
“So Emily Logan, tell me some basic facts about you.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Only everything.”
Her beautiful smile came back. “Well, I’m twenty-four, and I’m a school teacher. I did my undergraduate and graduate studies at UCLA…”
“Uh-Oh! We’ve got some problems already.”
“What? Oh no! You’re not a Trojan are you?”
“Yup. Although, I did go to UCLA med school.”
“We’re going to have to call off this date now. You can take me back home. I can’t be out with a Trojan. My friends would have a heart attack, though I suppose you could be of help if they did have a heart attack.”
Her kidding nature kept her smile at bay.
“What kind of doctor are you, by the way?”
“I’m a heart surgeon.”
“Wow.” She sounded impressed.
A server interrupted us to take our order and since it was early, we ordered a couple of sodas, since Jake was on-call, and a mixture of appetizers to begin.
“So tell me more about you. Where are your parents? Any siblings?”
“No parents, no siblings,” she answered with sadness. I wanted to put my hand over hers and console her.
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Seeing the sadness in her eyes, I decided not to pursue this aspect of her life.
“Tell me about you and Sarah. How long have you known her?”
Her face lit up again. “Sarah and I met our freshman year at UCLA. We’ve been best friends since. She has three younger siblings so she can be somewhat motherly.”
“And Charlie?”
“They started dating in high school. They’re going on eight and a half years now.”
“Wow!”
“I know. He’ll probably propose any day now. He won’t tell me when, because he knows I can’t keep a secret from her.”
“What about your ex? Did you meet him at UCLA as well?”
“Yeah, Max and I met our freshman year. We lived in the same dorm.” My stomach knotted at the thought of them living in the same building, possibly in the same room.
I was about to ask her more about her ex when the pager went off. This was my reality—my nightmare.
“Sorry. I need to call the hospital.”
“Not a problem.”
I couldn’t believe this was happening. The hospital was calling me back in. In the middle of our first date I was going to have to take her home without having fed her any dinner.
“Emily…” I stopped with her name when I returned from the phone call.
“We
have to leave.” She posed it as a statement rather than a question. Already sliding out of the booth, she not only understood—she was understanding. “Let’s go.”
I helped her up and placed my arm around her. She leaned into my body.
“I feel terrible I didn’t get to feed you anything. Do you want me to pick something up for you before we head back to your house?”
“Don’t be silly. You have patients waiting for you. I can go home and fix myself something to eat.”
To my chagrin, her house appeared sooner than I’d hoped. Out of habit and desire I took her off her feet and carried her to her house. Her cheeks flushed to a beautiful rose color, and she couldn’t look me in the eye. There was something very raw about her.
She got herself down when we arrived at her door and there was that awkward silence again. I wanted to place my lips on hers but thought it was too early to try. Instead, I opened the door for her and asked if I could take her out again.
“Are we talking about another meal?” That was an odd question to ask, I thought.
“Yes. I’d love to try to make up for tonight.”
“All right. I’ll remember to eat something before you pick me up just in case this is a regular occurrence with you. I guess these are the casualties of going out with a doctor.”
“Emily...that’s not fair.”
“I’m only kidding. We’ll try again soon.” With that she waved good-bye while I just stood there. “Go. Save a life, Dr. Reid.”
Unhappily I said good-bye.
Chapter 3
Can Your Lips Be Any Softer?
Sunday, my day off, couldn’t come soon enough, as I fastidiously waited for 8:00 a.m. to roll around so I could call Emily again. I had become borderline obsessed with a woman I’d met only a day ago. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and wished to be with her right now. I assumed we could spend all day together and thought about what we could do and where I wanted to take her.
“Good morning!” I was my chipper self again.
“Boy, we’re seeing a lot of you these days. So you decide to come over only when it’s convenient for you?”
“Mom, do you know Emily lives five minutes from you? We could walk to her house.”
My mom looked excited. “Where does she live? Maybe I’ll take a walk over in her neighborhood.”
“Jake, you do know it’s Uncle David’s birthday today and that we’re all having lunch by his house?”
“I know but I was hoping to leave early, so I could spend the day with Emily.”
“Why don’t you bring her?” Mom looked excited again. “We’d all love to meet her.”
“I’ll ask. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a phone call to make.” I hurried up to my room again.
I dialed her number, praying she wasn’t sleeping.
“Hello?” A groggy voice greeted me again.
“Did I wake you again?” I couldn’t believe it.
“Do you have something against me sleeping in?” She chuckled. “Why are you up so early? Do all doctors get up at the crack of dawn?”
“Emily, it’s past eight. This is hardly the crack of dawn.”
“It is for me on a Sunday. I like to sleep.”
“I’ve noticed. How’s your ankle?”
“Oh, it feels so much better. It’s not as swollen either. I was able to gimp around the house yesterday after you dropped me off. Did you have to work late?”
“Only till about eleven.” Our conversation sounded so natural—like we’d been dating for months. “What are you doing today? Do you want to have lunch with me? I promise I’m not on call, so we won’t be interrupted.”
“I don’t know…I’ve lost too much weight since I’ve met you. Every time I try to get something to eat, somehow you get in my way.” Her voice teased.
“That was a joke, right?”
“Partially. I have lost weight since I’ve met you. Anyhow, I have plans today, sorry. I’m off to Charlie’s niece’s fourth birthday party. I got a personal invitation from Eunice, so I have to go.”
“What time is the party?”
“It’s an 11:00 a.m. party but it’s out in Oxnard so I’ll probably be out there the whole day. Charlie and Sarah are picking me up at ten.”
“Will you be back by dinnertime?” Already pathetically whipped and desperate to be with her, I begged for some of her time.
“I don’t know. Since Charlie’s driving, I kind of have to follow their plan. What will you be doing today? It’ll be weird not to see you. I feel like we’ve spent this entire weekend together.”
Her nothing statement encouraged me to believe she too wanted to see me. I proceeded to tell her about my day.
“It’s my Uncle David’s birthday and our whole family’s having lunch out on the Westside. I was hoping to take you with me. After that, I thought we could hang out.”
I heard her laugh. “I see. I don’t know if I can say I’m sorry to have missed lunch with your entire family, but I am sorry I won’t see you today. I guess we’ll have to try for next weekend since tomorrow begins another work week.”
Her statement sent me to the moon and back.
“Have you had breakfast? You want me to bring over something to eat?”
“I’d love that. Thank you. Can you give me about half an hour to shower and change?”
“Sure. What would you like to eat this morning, Emily? Cereal?”
“No, I don’t like cereal. I’m partial toward lattes and croissants—especially almond croissants.”
“Almond croissant it is. See you soon.”
“Can’t wait.”
We hung up and I replayed what she’d just said to me. If I heard her correctly, she was sorry that we wouldn’t see each other today, and she couldn’t wait to see me. That meant she liked spending time with me, which also meant she liked me as well? I didn’t know whether to turn this idea into a question or a statement.
Trusting she wanted to spend time with me, I zoomed down the street from my mom’s to pick up her croissant and latte. I also picked up a sticky bun, a vegetable frittata, a plain croissant and a scone, just in case she might like any of these items as well. I patiently waited for thirty minutes to be up and walked up her driveway, hoping she was ready to see me.
Ding dong.
Her hobbling turned to gimping. Her walk looked much better.
“Hi,” she answered with that sweet smile. “Come in.”
“You’re walking much better today.”
“Yeah. I feel so much better too. I fell asleep soon after you brought me home and even though someone woke me up prematurely, I feel well rested.”
“Here.” I handed her the box of food and her coffee.
“Thank you.” We sat down at the breakfast table and she looked surprised. “Why is there so much food in here?”
“Aren’t you the one who accused me of causing you to lose weight? And by the way, what do you mean you don’t like cereal? Isn’t that why you were at the market so late at night?”
“Yeah. I had this freakish craving for Captain Crunch even though I don’t like cereal.”
I just stared at her.
“I know…I’m kind of unusual when it comes to food. If I get a craving, I need to satiate it. Have you had breakfast yet?” She got up to get plates and utensils for us and brought out some strawberries as well.
“I’ve had breakfast already. This is all for you.”
“That’s no fun. I hate eating by myself,” she complained. “Will you eat a little more?” Her voice so sweet, she could have asked me to rob a bank and I would’ve said yes.
During breakfast, this girl, whom I couldn’t get enough of, told me her favorite food was sushi or foie gras—she had expensive taste; she loved to watch sad movies; and her favorite book was Pride and Prejudice. Thirty minutes might as well have been thirty seconds. Time flew by as Charlie and Sarah were at her door at 10:00 sharp. They both lo
oked startled to see me here again.
“Jake. Are you here to check on Emily again?” Sarah gave me the third degree.
“No, I came to feed her this time. I was hoping to spend the day with her, but she told me she had plans with you, so I’ll get going.”
“You’re welcome to come with us to the birthday party,” Charlie quickly invited.
I nearly ditched my uncle’s fiftieth birthday party when I noticed the excitement in Emily’s eyes at Charlie’s invitation. The Reid family would have disowned me if I did. “Thanks but I have a family function I can’t miss. Perhaps next time we can go out, the four of us?”
“That sounds like a date.” Charlie and Sarah agreed. “We’ll wait for you in the car,” Sarah told Emily.
I appreciated Sarah’s attempt to give us a few more minutes together.
“I guess I won’t see you for a while once work begins?” Surprisingly, Emily was the one who was sad we were parting. “I’ll call you when I get back.” She actually sighed.
Tension filled the room as we stared at each other, wondering where to go with this moment. Do we just walk out and part? Should I kiss her on the cheek? Do I dare try on the lips? Emily lightly bit down on her lips with some sort of anticipation but I held back. I wanted to smother her with kisses among other things and stay that way the rest of the day, but looking at her wide-eyed countenance, I felt no assurance she would agree to my idea.
“Sarah and Charlie are waiting.” Emily broke our silence.
“Sure. Let’s go.” I locked the door behind us and took her hand in mine, interlocking fingers one by one. A highly charged volt ran through both our hands. I couldn’t remember the last time I held a girl’s hand and felt such heightened emotions. With her head down, reticence mixed with a smile peered through her beautiful face. We stopped near Charlie’s car and I pulled her in for a hug. “I’ll miss you today.”
“I’ll miss you too,” she answered back. Since I wasn’t expecting this response, her four simple words shot happiness into my heart. I decided to push my luck and leaned in to kiss her. To my dismay she pulled away and explained, “I’m not big on PDA. Can I take a rain check?”