The Funny Thing about Love: Feel Good Sweet Romance stories

by Laura Burton

  “Coming here was a new start for me,” he said. “I was ready to get on with life, and when the offer popped up in my inbox, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.”

  Jennifer could feel the heat rising in her face as she remembered the disastrous start to the week. “About that …” she began.

  Pat cut her off. “You don’t have to explain to me,” he said. “It’s worked out well so far.”

  “I owe you an explanation for my appalling lapse of emotional control,” she said.

  “Well, if you insist, I’m listening,” he replied.

  “Annette arranged for her colleague and friend, Pat, to come here for twelve months,” Jennifer began. “She left it up to me to type up the offer and send off the email.” She paused and looked at him. He appeared to be totally focused on her story. “I did that, right at the end of the day. It had been really busy and just as I was about to send the email, the phone rang. It was a long call, so I grabbed the email address off the national register. It was right at the bottom of the page. Then I sent it.”

  Pat was looking amused. Jennifer suspected he already knew how this story would end. She continued.

  “When you turned up and you were obviously not the Pat I was expecting, it felt like the straw that broke the camel’s back. So many things had already gone wrong that day, and I couldn’t believe that we had such a monumental disaster on our hands. We were expecting the other Pat the following day, and I had no idea what I was going to do with two of you!”

  Pat started to smile, a slow, amused grin that flowered into outright delight. “What happened?” he asked.

  “I went back into the national register and checked the names again. I loaded up the next page and there, right at the top, was Pat MacKlenna.”

  Pat burst out laughing. “My evil twin strikes again,” he chortled. “I had a feeling this might be how the story went.”

  “You know the other Pat?” Jennifer asked incredulously.

  “We’ve met a few times. Mostly over mix-ups with our names. Some of my patients and mail have been sent to her and vice versa.”

  “What are the chances of two people in the same profession having almost identical names?” Jennifer half-groaned. “It was a stupid thing to do on my part, but it never occurred to me to check the next page of the register.”

  “It wouldn’t occur to anyone else, either,” Pat said cheerfully, still grinning at the circumstances that had led to his arrival in Concord. “I’m glad things worked out the way they did,” he said. “Even if I did make you cry because I’m a man.”

  Jennifer felt herself blush. “Don’t remind me,” she said, covering her face with her hands. “I would rather forget that moment.”

  “Hey, it’s kind of funny,” Pat said, still chuckling. “Think about it. My Scottish twin is supposed to receive your email but I get it instead. Unbeknownst to all of us, I steal her job. Then when I turn up, I’m supposed to be a woman and the practice manager bursts into tears.”

  Jennifer was half-laughing, half-embarrassed. “When you put it like that, I can see the funny side,” she said.

  “What happened to my evil twin, anyway? Why aren't we causing mayhem by trying to work together?”

  “Annette called as she was about to board her flight the next day. She told me Pat had just called with bad news; her father had just had a stroke and she wouldn’t be able to come. So, it was meant to be that you arrived instead.”

  “God must have sent me here,” Pat decided. “Do you believe in Him?”

  “I do,” Jennifer replied. “Although I wouldn’t call myself religious.”

  “I’m the same,” Pat said. “But I like to think that He’s watching over us and helping us to be in the right place at the right time.”

  “I agree,” Jennifer replied.

  Pat looked at his watch. “Are you ready to leave?” he asked. “You’re right, the food was delicious and it’s been an enjoyable way to experience Concord for the first time. But I might turn into a pumpkin if I stay out too late.”

  Jennifer grinned. “Alright, Cinderella, I’ll take you home,” she said.

  Later, as she dropped him back at the clinic to retrieve his car, he sat beside her for a moment before opening the door.

  “I really did have a great time tonight,” he said quietly. “Thank you, Jennifer. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed good food and good company.”

  “It was a pleasure for me, too,” she replied. “Good night, Pat.”

  She watched until he was in his car, then turned and made her way home. She floated through the door and collapsed onto the sofa, dreamily recalling the wonderfully unexpected evening with a kind, caring, funny, impossibly good-looking man. Did it get any better than that?

  A few minutes later, her phone rang. She picked it up, delighted to see that it was her old friend from nursing school, Sarah.

  “What’s happened to you?” Sarah asked without preamble. “You sound like you won the lottery.”

  “I just spent the evening with a wonderful man,” Jennifer said, happiness in her voice.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve finally started dating again!” Sarah exclaimed. “Tell me all about this Mr. Wonderful!”

  “He’s Dr Wonderful, actually,” Jennifer replied. “He’s a proctologist from New York, and his name is Pat. He only just started at our clinic this week and tonight was totally unexpected, but it was so worth it.”

  Sarah was quiet on the other end of the phone. “What did you say his name is?” she asked.

  “Pat. Pat MacKenna. He’s kind and caring and gorgeous! Even if he does drive me mad at work because he’s messy!”

  “Be careful,” Sarah warned. “He has a reputation.”

  “Do you know him?” asked Jennifer incredulously.

  “I’ve worked with him at a couple of the hospitals,” Sarah replied.

  “What is this reputation that he has?” Jennifer asked, almost not wanting to hear the truth.

  “He’s a womanizer,” Sarah replied. “Haven’t you seen how flirtatious he is? And look at him now. He’s already latched onto you as his next conquest. It didn’t take him long.”

  “That’s not the way it was!” Jennifer protested. “We just had a friendly dinner together. He was a perfect gentleman, and never once flirted with me. Besides, he’s friendly to everyone. All the old ladies love him.”

  “Of course,” Sarah said scornfully. “It’s the way he covers his true motives. You wait and see what happens if you allow yourself to fall for him. Once he snags you, he’ll move on and find someone else. That’s how these playboy doctors work.”

  Jennifer felt deflated. “Thank you for the warning,” she said. “I shall be careful now.”

  The talk moved on to other things, but Jennifer’s bubble of happiness had burst. It seemed that a certain kind, caring, good-looking doctor was too good to be true. It was a disappointing end to what had begun as a wonderful, unexpected bright spot in her week.

  Chapter 5

  “Look at this!” Tanya bubbled, holding a beautiful bouquet of pink and white flowers. “No one has given me flowers on my birthday in years!”

  “Who sent them?” asked Belinda.

  Tanya went searching for a card hidden amongst the blooms. “I have no idea,” she said. “The card just says it’s from someone who hopes I have a wonderful birthday. I wish I knew who it was. I’d love to say thank you.”

  “The person doesn’t want you to know,” Jennifer said. “Just enjoy them, and I’m sure whoever sent them will know that you like them.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Tanya said reluctantly, still wishing she knew who had sent her such a lovely bouquet.

  Jennifer wondered what would happen when her birthday rolled around the following week. She preferred not to think about her age most of the time; after all, it was not something she could change. But it was hard to ignore a birthday altogether. Someone always reminded her.

  On her birthday, Jennifer foun
d herself torn between pretending it was just another day, and wanting it to be somehow special. Perhaps she might see if her friend Linda wanted to catch a movie later.

  “Happy birthday!” Tanya greeted her the moment she walked through the door of the clinic.

  “Thank you,” Jennifer replied graciously, although she’d half-hoped that everyone would forget.

  It wasn’t to be.

  “I have a delivery for Jennifer,” a deliveryman said as he walked into the clinic an hour later. “Happy birthday!”

  The patients in the waiting room clapped, and one of them started to sing happy birthday. Soon everyone else joined in, and Jennifer felt her cheeks redden. She was not used to being singled out for special attention, and she wasn’t sure she liked it. She preferred to be in control of situations, and this one felt suspiciously out of control.

  “A birthday, I hear,” Pat said cheerfully, coming into the waiting room a few minutes later. “Those are beautiful flowers,” he said, pausing to admire the peach and ivory arrangement. “Who sent them?”

  “I don’t know,” Jennifer replied. “Someone who hopes I have a good day.”

  “Ah, a secret admirer, perhaps,” replied Pat. “Just enjoy them. Sometimes not knowing is fun.”

  “I shall,” Jennifer replied, but she was wracking her brain to think of who might have sent the flowers. She liked to tidy away all the loose ends in her mind, and mysteries that couldn’t be resolved were a little irritating.

  After the next appointment, Pat came out to the waiting room again. There were no appointments for fifteen minutes.

  “Time for a break,” he said. “I made a cake.”

  Everyone scrambled to their feet. Pat’s cakes were delectable. They’d started to tell each other that he was creating bad habits at the office with his morning teas. But so far, no one had refused. His cakes were too good.

  Jennifer made her way to the staff room.

  “Happy birthday!” everyone chorused.

  Pat held out a delicious-looking cake decorated with strawberries and cream. “Blow out the candle and make a wish,” he said.

  While they sang happy birthday, Jennifer thought about how the clinic had changed since Pat’s arrival. They had never celebrated birthdays before, yet here they were, singing happy birthday and eating homemade cake together. Somehow, in the space of a few short weeks, Pat had managed to turn them from a group of colleagues into a workplace family. Jennifer suddenly knew what to wish for: this wonderful feeling of warmth, caring and family to continue. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so good about work.

  “Thank you, everyone,” she said as she cut into the cake. Her mouth watered as the gooey, delicious filling leaked out. “It’s been a long time since anyone made a cake for my birthday,” she said. “Thank you, Pat.”

  “That’s my pleasure,” he said. “It gave me an excuse to cook a cake. I have to find someone to share it with if I make one. Otherwise, I eat it all myself!”

  Everyone laughed, and Jennifer wanted to tell him how much it meant to her that he’d thought of her, but she knew that the other staff would instantly assume that there was a more personal relationship between them. Their antennas were always wired for gossip, and this would be a juicy story. She decided to thank Pat privately if she got the opportunity.

  “Who’s up for a game of tennis?” Pat asked one morning a few days later. “I was thinking of hiring a court and having a few hits. Tomorrow night works for me.”

  “I’d be interested,” Belinda said.

  “I know Carl would be,” Tanya added. “He likes to play tennis.”

  One by one, each of the staff confirmed or declined. Pat looked at the names on the piece of paper he’d left on the desk. “It looks like we’ll have enough of us for a good game,” he said. “Can you book it for us, please, Jennifer?”

  “Sure. What time?”

  “How about 6? That will give us enough time to get changed and have a quick bite to eat before we start.”

  “Your wish is my command,” Jennifer said with a smile.

  Pat winked at her. “Why is tennis a noisy game?” he asked.

  Jennifer groaned. “Not another one of your jokes!” she exclaimed. “Go on, you’d better tell me.”

  “Because each player raises a racket,” he smirked.

  She clapped her hand over her eyes, smiling despite herself. “OK. You and your awful jokes! Go see your patient before you become unbearable.”

  Pat walked up the hallway with a chuckle. Jennifer heard him whistling as he opened the door to his room. So much had changed since his arrival, and somehow, she couldn’t imagine it ever going back to the way it was. Pat had brought laughter and fun to the clinic. But he’d brought more than that. He’d brought warmth, caring, and love, too. Jennifer couldn’t imagine how they’d lived without it.

  “Nearly everyone is here,” Belinda commented as they pulled into the parking lot.

  “That’s good. I thought we might’ve had to wait for everyone to turn up,” Jennifer replied. She and Belinda lived near each other and Jennifer had accepted Belinda’s offer of a ride.

  They scrambled out, keen to get started.

  “It’s been ages since I’ve played,” Belinda commented a few minutes later. “I’ll probably be hopeless!”

  “Me too,” said Jennifer. “But this is just a fun social outing so I’m not too worried if I miss a few balls. It’s more important to enjoy the evening.”

  “True, but you know me. I’m a perfectionist,” Belinda giggled. “I have to get it right or everything is not OK in my world.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Jennifer assured her. “You’ll have so much fun that you’ll forget about any that you miss!”

  Pat came over to them. “Ready to get started, ladies?” he asked.

  Jennifer thought how handsome he looked in a casual blue shirt that made his eyes look intensely blue.

  “Let’s go!” exclaimed Belinda. “I want to make the most of this since Mark is at home babysitting. It doesn’t happen very often!”

  Jennifer found herself playing in a mixed-doubles round with Dr Carl Walker, Belinda, and Spencer, a friend of Carl’s. She surprised herself by being better at it than she’d thought, considering the years that had passed since she’d last played. She kept watching Pat out of the corner of her eye. He was playing on the adjacent court with Tanya’s husband Sam, while Tanya and Janet played on the other side. Jennifer knew that Janet’s husband Paul would’ve come too if he hadn’t been rostered on to work.

  SMACK! The tennis ball hit her in the shoulder.

  “Ouch!” she exclaimed. “That’s what you get for not watching!”

  “Sorry,” said Spencer, who’d aimed the ball at her. “I thought you were ready.”

  “I will be next time,” she said ruefully. “That was a strong serve!”

  “We take no prisoners at this end,” Spencer grinned. “It’s the quick or the dead!”

  The game ended after a few minutes and Jennifer congratulated the winners. “You’re a formidable team,” she told Belinda and Spencer. “I’ll have to improve before I take you two on again!”

  Belinda’s phone rang and she walked over to the fence to answer it just as Pat walked up to them.

  “How did you go?” he asked. “We just finished our game. We should all swap around for the next one.”

  “That sounds like a good plan,” Carl agreed.

  Belinda returned from her phone call with a worried look on her face. “I’m sorry, everyone,” she said. “I’ll have to go. Mark just called and said that Evie has a temperature and is vomiting. I hope she hasn’t caught the gastric bug that’s going around.”

  “Oh, that’s rotten luck,” Janet sympathized. “You hardly ever go out, and the first time you do, someone gets sick. Poor little Evie, I hope she’s OK.”

  “I’ll get my things,” said Jennifer.

  Belinda turned to her in consternation. “I forgot you were with me
!” she exclaimed. “I’m so sorry, Jennifer. It shouldn’t spoil your evening too.”

  “I’ll drop you home, Jennifer,” Pat offered. “That’s if you want to stay,” he added.

  Jennifer felt torn. She wanted to stay and finish the evening but she also wanted to support Belinda. It didn’t seem fair that Belinda should miss out on her fun and go home alone to a sick child.

  “Go on,” Belinda urged. “Stay if you want to. I’ll be fine. I’m just worried about Evie. Last time she came down with something like this, she couldn’t stop vomiting and we ended up taking her to the hospital.”

  “Are you sure?” Jennifer asked.

  “Sure. There’s nothing you can do, anyway.”

  “I can keep you company on the way home.”

  “And miss out on the rest of the evening here? No, don’t do it just for that. I’ll be terrible company, anyway.”

  “All right,” Jennifer conceded. “I’ll stay. And thank, you, Pat.”

  “That’s my pleasure,” he said with a smile that melted her heart.

  “Let us know how Evie is,” Jennifer said anxiously as Belinda left.

  “I will,” she promised, hurrying out to the parking lot.

  “Well, since we’re now down a player, we can take it in turns to sit out a game or be the umpire,” Pat said. “I’ll go first.”

  “That was so much fun!” Jennifer exclaimed as they made their way to the parking lot after their evening of tennis.

  “We’ll definitely have to do it again sometime,” Janet agreed.

  Jennifer followed Pat to his slate-grey Ford Ranger. “This is an unusual choice of car for a person in your profession,” she said.

  “I like to go out into the wilderness sometimes,” he replied. “I like winter sports. It helps to have a vehicle that can get around no matter what the conditions are like.”

  He opened the door for her and she slid into the roomy interior.

  “Thank you,” she murmured.