Cherish

by Evelyn Sola

  The angel in front of me turns away, and I’m still unable to form a word.

  “I think he’s lost,” she says, her attempt at whispering failing miserably. She looks at me again. Despite knowing that I’m standing there like an idiot with my mouth hanging open, I can’t seem to move or speak.

  She blows out a breath and runs a hand through her curly mane. She turns her eyes back on me briefly before turning away and taking a few steps from me again.

  “I think he might be”—she looks at me again before turning back to Mellie and the unknown female—“slow,” she says, lowering her voice, but not enough for me not to hear.

  At that, Mellie throws her head back and lets out a loud belly laugh. The angel frowns at Mellie and tells her to shush.

  “Don’t laugh at him,” she says, angry at my sister’s reaction. Like an idiot unable to form a single syllable, I watch as she takes the few steps to where I’m still standing.

  “Come here,” she says, grabbing my hand. I let her lead me to an empty chair. She tries to push me into it, but I like the feel of her hands on my chest so much, I stand still. She finally looks up into my eyes, her cheeks pink and my body alive from just her touch. She shoves again, but this time, her hands linger a little bit longer than necessary. She finally drops her hands and points at the chair.

  Mellie walks over, the smug look still on her face.

  “Maybe you should go fill out your new hire paperwork,” the angel says testily. “Since you can’t help but laugh at someone who is obviously a little slow.” She drops her voice when she says the word slow again.

  “Jesus!” Mellie practically yells. “He’s not slow.” She points from me to the angel. “Alex, meet my brother, Doctor Jason Dupree. President of his high school class. National Merit Scholar. He went to Boston College on a full academic scholarship. Graduated second in his class at medical school at Johns Hopkins, and that’s only because those snooty fools over at Harvard were too stupid to accept him. He’s not slow. He’s just struck.”

  The other woman, the one with the nose ring, walks over and looks at me. “Maybe he’s an idiot savant?” she offers, shrugging her shoulders. “You know what I mean? He’s science smart but unable to interact in society. There’s a TV show based on that premise. I bet he has one hell of a bedside manner,” she says, but she’s looking at me with a playful glint in her eyes.

  “Science smart?” Mellie says with a snort. “Now, who’s the idiot?”

  “Well, excuse me, but genius boy hasn’t said a word,” nose ring girl says.

  Mellie turns back to me.

  “Say something, Jason.” She turns her attention from me and faces the girls. “Normally, he can charm the skin off a snake. Say something.” She nudges my leg with her foot. When I still stay mute, she gently knocks me on my shoulder.

  The girl with the nose ring laughs. The angel is looking at me, arms crossed and brows furrowed, clearly unamused by the turn of events.

  I stand up abruptly and nearly collide with her again. To avoid me, she takes a step back, but wobbles and starts to fall. Without thinking, I reach for her; she grabs my biceps, and I steady her by putting both of my hands on her hips.

  Our eyes meet again, and we stand there, my hands still on her hips even though she’s no longer in danger of falling. She makes no moves to remove her hands from my body either.

  I feel my Adam’s apple bob as we continue to stare at each other. She’s beautiful with clear skin and huge eyes. Her cheeks are a light pink, and I don’t know if that’s from makeup or the staring contest we’re having.

  I’m about to take that step, but all of a sudden, she purses her lips as if she tastes something sour. She drops her hands from my body and takes several steps back. She looks around, looking as confused as I feel. No one in the room speaks for several seconds.

  “Well, if he’s your brother, you can deal with him. I have work to do.” Without so much as giving me her name or a second look, she walks down the hall and out of my sight.

  “What the fuck just happened?” the girl with the nose ring asks. “I’m Ananda, by the way, and that was Alex.” She offers me her hand and I take it. Unlike Alex’s touch, I feel nothing when I hold Ananda’s hand in mine.

  “We bumped into each other in the hallway. I was coming in here to give Mellie her wallet.” Mellie finally takes the damn wallet from my hand.

  “He speaks,” Ananda says, eyeing me suspiciously.

  “Yes, and despite what you just observed, I can be quite eloquent at times.”

  “What kind of doctor did you say you were?” She’s eyeing me up and down now. Her lips curl into a smile, and it’s as if she’s in on a secret that I’m not. And the secret is about me, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never met this girl before.

  “Surgeon. General surgery, to be more precise. I’m a fourth-year resident.”

  “You don’t say? I guess you’re what some would call a healer.” She still has that secret smile on her lips.

  I expect her to leave, but she surprises me with her next words. “That was the best thirty bucks I ever spent. Welcome, Dr. Jason. Welcome. It’s about freakin’ time.” Those are the last words she says to me before she turns and walks down the hall. I watch her leave, craning my neck in hopes of getting another glimpse of Alex.

  I can feel Mellie’s eyes on me, and I can almost hear the wheels turning inside her head, but I ignore her. I concentrate on picking up my backpack from the floor. I have one more day of vacation left, and I’m going to spend it sleeping off the booze filled weekend I just had.

  “What the hell just happened to you?” Mellie asks, while holding onto my arm to keep me from leaving. “You went mute over that girl.”

  I open my mouth to argue, but she speaks first. “Don’t think I didn’t notice it’s the same girl you were staring at on the way here. The one who was in the little diner. How fortuitous for you that she and I are about to become BFFs.” She finally lets go of my arm, smiling like the Cheshire cat.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Be her friend, but I’m not interested in her or anyone that way. Are you good on how to get back home? I’m heading out and going back to bed.”

  I turn my back on her and walk out before she can give me a smart-ass response.

  CHAPTER 4

  ALEX

  The entire day has been a clusterfuck. Since bumping into Jason Dupree, I haven’t been able to focus on a single thing. The only work I managed to do today was put off my work for another day and answer a few emails. I managed to ignore Ananda’s looks all day too. I was relieved when Beth offered to take us to lunch in honor of Mellie’s first day. Thankfully, Ananda kept her mouth shut since Bethzilla was in the room, but the one thing I could not escape was the satisfied, smug look on her face.

  Even now, I can feel her watching me, but I refuse to give her the satisfaction of returning her stare. I don’t care what she or the psychic has to say. I know they are wrong. So what if Dr. Dupree is insanely handsome? His perfectly lined haircut and soft brown eyes give him an approachable look. He is warmth and comfort in one tall, broad package. He’s much more handsome than Dr. Doyle, but I was never in this for the looks.

  Dr. Doyle is handsome in his own way. Who cares if he’s not as tall as Dr. Dupree? It doesn’t matter that when Dr. Doyle and I become an official couple, I’ll never be able to wear stilettos again. And so what if Dr. Dupree’s body felt much harder than any body has the right to feel? How the hell does a surgical resident have time to work out?

  I shake my head, clearing all thoughts of Dr. Dupree. He is not the plan. Dr. Doyle is the plan. Jason Dupree is not even a speed bump in my journey to love. Yes, he’s attractive. I’d have to be blind not to see it, but the man doesn’t have an ounce of charm. He couldn’t even open his mouth to utter one complete sentence. Ananda is right about one thing. He might be book smart but clearly lacks social skills.

  “You keep shaking your head, Alex. Are you hearing voice
s again?” Ananda asks.

  I refuse to answer. To piss her off, I shake my head again.

  “Don’t get pissy with me,” she says. “Wendy was so right, though, girl. You can fight it all you want.”

  “The death card?” I ask, my heart rate suddenly taking up speed.

  “It’s not what you think. The death card symbolizes the end of something, not an actual death. It’s also symbolic of a new beginning.” I relax at her words and wait for her to say more. I wait with bated breath as she flips over two more cards.

  “Hmm. We have the High Priestess and the Queen of Pentacles. These two symbolize healing. And here,” she says, pointing at the love card she flipped over earlier, “you’re on your way to a new love, girl. And he’s a healer.”

  “A doctor?” I ask, hopeful for the first time in months.

  “Possibly. He can be a doctor, or someone in medicine. He could also be healing in other ways, like your other half.”

  “I’ve already met him. He’s a doctor at the hospital where I work.”

  “Hmm,” she says, flipping another card. “No, we have the fool here, which means the end of something, and the world card here, which means something new. You have the world at your feet. There’s definitely a new love coming, but it’s not someone from the past. This is brand new.”

  Ananda throws a magic marker at my desk to get my attention. I give her a dirty look, but this time I don’t even shake my head at her. I ignore her and focus on my work, imagining getting home and enjoying some solitude.

  Ever since the night a group of us ended up at the Tip Tap Room six months ago, I knew Dr. Doyle and I were meant to be. I hadn’t noticed him at all. I was at a table with Ananda and a few other hospital employees we work with. We had a great time that night. It was a Friday, a few weeks before Christmas. The city was glowing with lights, and there was a dusting of fresh snow. The city was alive, and that night, I too felt alive. I felt my mother’s spirit. It was almost as if she was trying to tell me something, but I didn’t know what.

  After three rounds, one of our friends Ed, who works the day shift at the main security desk, waved at one of the other tables. It turned out it was a table full of doctors from our hospital.

  Ed knows everyone and before too long, we had put our tables together and someone ordered another round. Dr. Doyle was there, and we were introduced, but I was too busy consoling Ananda, who was spending her first Christmas without her ex, to pay much attention to him.

  In all honesty, he’s average looking with hair that is neither blond nor dark. He is of average height, and his conversation was lackluster, but throughout that night, we learned that Dr. Doyle is a genius, who graduated Harvard Medical School at the age of twenty. He is only twenty-five but in the last year of his residency.

  I still remember the words he said that led to our first conversation.

  “It doesn’t matter how many years I’ve lived here. This Southern California boy can never get used to the Boston winters, and I hate snow,” he had declared.

  “How boring,” I said back. “You get summer, summer, and more summer. How can you resist the change of seasons? You mean to tell me you don’t love the fall foliage? A fresh blanket of snow? The spring rain?” Fueled by the alcohol, I squeezed between John and someone else.

  “We get all of that in California. I just have to drive or fly to another part.” And that led to an hour-long conversation about New England weather versus California weather.

  At the end of the night, he helped me with my coat, and when we walked outside, I slipped on the slick snow. John caught me, holding on to me until I reassured him I was steady on my feet.

  “I guess there is a positive to this,” he said, pointing toward the sky and the falling snow. “I got to save a damsel in distress.” He reached over and adjusted the pom-pom on top of my beanie. “You’re very pretty, Alexandra,” he said.

  “Alex. I prefer Alex,” I replied.

  “But Alexandra is so much more feminine.” I ignored his unwillingness to call me by my preferred name. His hand touched my hair and he squeezed my curls between his fingers. Emboldened by the alcohol and the way he was looking at me, I leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

  I could sense the surprise in his body. For a few seconds, he was tense, but then he kissed me back. The kiss was nice. Neither one of us opened our mouths, but our lips remained on each other until Ananda stumbled out of the bar, laughing hysterically at something Ed had said.

  “There you are, Alex,” Ananda said, barely registering what just happened between John and me. “Come and listen to this story.”

  She grabbed my arm, and the three of us walked to Ed’s car, leaving Dr. Doyle behind.

  After that, we ran into each other several times at the hospital. We ate lunch together a few times and went on two dates. After the second date, we made plans to see each other again, but a few days before that date, he had to fly to California for his grandmother’s funeral.

  When he returned, something was different. The texts stopped, and he could never find the time to see me, but he was always very pleasant and seemed happy to see me whenever we would bump into each other at the hospital.

  I had given up all hope of a romance with him and was ready to move on until I had a dream about my mother telling me it was okay to find love and to fight for it.

  “Hey,” Ananda says, rolling her chair next to mine and bumping my shoulder with hers. “You haven’t said a word in hours.”

  “I’ve been working, Nanda.” To prove my point, I start a reply to an email. “These claims aren’t going to settle themselves.”

  “Melanie!” Ananda shouts. “Bring your lunch tomorrow. We usually eat lunch together Monday through Thursday and go out on Friday. We go to the Bean Town Café. Alex is obsessed with that place.”

  Melanie smiles at us and gives two thumbs-up. “Yeah, Jason and I walked by there this morning.” I choose to ignore the mention of Jason.

  Despite the incident with her brother, Melanie seems like a good fit here, but I worry her brother will visit her in this office. I hate how he made me feel this morning. I can still smell and feel him. He smelled of soap and laundry detergent, but that scent has invaded my senses. It’s fucking with my mind. I smell him everywhere.

  “Maybe we’ll see Dr. Doyle in the cafeteria tomorrow,” I say.

  Ananda rolls her eyes and moves her chair back to her desk.

  “Who?” Melanie asks.

  “This guy Alex is hung up on. They went out a few times and he ghosted her. She’s way too attractive and interesting for him. You want to know what they talked about the first night they met? The weather.”

  “I know another doctor I can introduce you to,” Melanie says.

  Ananda rolls over to her and gives her a high five.

  “Who? Dr. Mute?” I say.

  “You just rocked his world, Lexie. Did you ever think of that?”

  I smirk at her and turn back to my computer, typing as loud and as fast as I can. “Don’t call me Lexie,” I say back.

  “I like it better than Alex. And my brother is a good guy. We had a shitty relationship for years, and we talked and cleared the air. He invited me to not only move to Boston, but to live with him. Before that, he saved my ass from getting a felony on my record. He’d give you the shirt off his back if you ask him to. He’ll do anything for the people he cares about. And he’s no coward. Cowards ghost people. Jason Dupree would never do that.”

  Instead of pretending to type, I pick up the phone and pretend to make a phone call, shutting everyone else out.

  CHAPTER 5

  JASON

  In the past week, I’ve seen her everywhere. I’ve worked at this hospital for years and never saw her until a week ago, but now I see her every day. I’m usually in the hospital before six in the morning. One day, I saw her walk through the main entrance. Despite having rounds, I stood in the corner and watched her carry on a conversation with the security guard assigned t
o the front desk.

  She was so animated, gesturing wildly with her hands. At one point, she threw her head back and laughed so hard, I heard it all the way to my soul. Whatever was being said must have been hilarious because the security guard laughed too. They fist bumped, then she walked toward the elevators. I noticed her curly hair was straight and reached to the middle of her back.

  As she walked away, I admired her bare legs and tight ass beneath a gray pencil skirt.

  The next day, while taking a mid-morning break outside the hospital, I saw her walk out of Beantown Café and walk to work. She had earbuds in her ears, and as she waited for the light to turn green, she smiled and even laughed at whatever she was listening to.

  One day, I was walking behind her toward the same elevator. Our eyes met as I stepped inside. Despite the full elevator, I could feel her eyes on the back of my head. I could smell a light and flowery fragrance, and I knew I was smelling was her. She had the same distinct scent when we collided that first day.

  And because the gods want to punish me, she’s standing a few feet away from me with my sister, waiting for her food to warm up in one of the microwaves in the hospital cafeteria.

  “Hey, Jase,” Mellie says way too loudly for a public space. “Where’s the lunch I packed for you?”

  “I ate it for breakfast,” I say. I cut my eyes in Alex’s direction, only to find her looking anywhere but at me. In fact, she grabs her lunch and walks away from the group to sit at a table in the far corner of the room.

  “Come and sit with us,” Ananda says.

  I look at Alex, who is now pretending to look at something out the window.

  “Maybe another time.” I start to walk away, but Mellie grabs my arm and practically shoves me toward Alex’s table.

  “Sit down, Jason. I’ll go get you something to eat. You’re always on your feet. Relax for a few.” And with those last words, she shoves me into an empty chair across from Alex. Mellie runs back across the room and says something to Ananda, who nods.