by Sheryl
This is how most of our rendezvous’ went. Ezra would ask me about my day and we’d talk about my work and things going on in my life. The few times I’d directed the conversation at him, he had managed to steer it back towards me. Because that’s the kind of guy that Ezra was. He put everyone around him at ease and made them feel important.
“So what did you end up doing this past weekend?” I asked.
“Well after things fell through on Friday, I stayed home and watched the game that was on. Saturday was lunch with the parents as usual and I met up with the guys on Sunday at the club.”
I smiled, “So just another typical weekend huh?”
Ezra was a stickler to routine. In the short month that I had known him, Fridays were date nights, Saturdays were spent with his family and Sundays were spent with friends or at the club.
Ezra and his parents had been part of the prestigious country club and its elite social circles for years. Our backgrounds could not be any more different. They came from a line of wealthy war veterans and politicians and were involved in many charities and organisations. Ezra had decided to stay out of the spotlight and part of the reason he had started his hedge fund was to fund a microfinance project in Africa. Despite being a trust fund baby, Ezra had always been independent and believed on making it on his own. It was why I had so much respect for him.
“So what do you want to do this Friday?” he asked.
“Well we could go dancing! It would give us a chance to bump and grind to some music,” I suggested.
He laughed. “I’m a disaster on the dance floor and you already know that. Besides the noise, the smells, the crowd… you know how awkward I get in these places.”
“What about a movie? It’s been a while since we watched a good film. It’ll be fun – dark room, romantic scenes, lots of cuddling…” I gave him a wink.
“I’d rather just watch a movie at home. Going to the cinema, getting crappy tickets… I find spending three hours at a movie a waste of an evening,” he protested.
I sighed and gave up, “I guess we could just do dinner then and see where the evening goes?”
I knew full well the evening wouldn’t go anywhere.
11 – LATISHA
“Well done Chris! Your first week in and you’ve already impressed us,” congratulated Dr. Richards.
I was annoyed. This wasn’t fair. I was the one that put in the research to solve the mystery diagnosis. But Chris Evans took all the credit because he had overheard me discuss the case with another resident. He simply put two and two together and came up with the answer. He was so smooth.
Since he had joined the hospital, for some reason, we had worked on a lot of cases together. I’m not going to lie, he was smart. Unlike the rest of us he didn’t need to put in as much of an effort or spend hours trying to solve problems. Chris had a natural affinity for the medical profession.
The other thing that seemed to come naturally to him was getting on my nerves. He seemed to bring out my antagonistic side and we had spent a lot of our time arguing and disagreeing this week.
“Thank you Dr. Richards. But I don’t deserve the credit, Latisha does. She’s the one that did most of the work. I simply connected the dots,” Chris conceded.
My head snapped up. Did he just give me the credit?
Dr. Richards turned towards me, “In that case, well done Latisha. Keep up the good work.”
This was the first time he had directly noticed and appreciated my work.
“Thank you,” I stammered. Chris smiled at me.
“Alright. You guys are free to go now – enjoy your weekend,” Dr. Richards dismissed us.
I glanced at my watch. It was 8 p.m. I had about fifteen minutes before Vivek would be here to pick me up. I started walking towards the locker room.
“Hold up, I’m coming too,” Chris called out. He jogged up to me. I could smell his spicy scent. ”So, got any exciting plans for the weekend?”
I wasn’t really interested in making small talk with him. “Meeting some friends, running some errands,” I replied curtly.
“I was wondering if…” he began. However he was cut off by a ding as the elevator doors opened.
The elevator was crowded. We got in and I was pushed up against Chris as people filed in. I could feel him behind me. He felt strong and sturdy. And he smelt good. I wanted to lean back and lose myself in his spicy haze. He held my arm as he steadied me from falling.
“You ok?” he asked in a low voice. His breath tickled my ear and sent goosebumps down my spine.
I nodded, afraid of turning around, worried that my voice might betray my fake indifference. What was happening to me?
It felt like forever before I heard the elevator ding and the doors open. I quickly ran out, wanting to avoid Chris.
My hands trembled as I turned the lock on my locker and pulled my clothes out. I got dressed in record time, pulling on my slacks, blouse and suede pumps. I touched up my mascara and lipgloss and sprayed on some perfume, not wanting to smell like disinfectant and hospital beds. Or spicy men’s cologne. Throwing my jacket and scarf across my arm I quickly rushed towards the exit.
I almost bumped into Vivek standing outside by the door.
“Hey!” he greeted me with a smile and a quick hug.
“Hi,” I replied out of breath.
“Where’s the fire?” he joked.
As if almost on cue, Chris walked through the exit. The smile on his face turned into the slightest frown as he saw Vivek’s arms around me. I would have missed it had I not seen the look numerous times this week as he studied patient charts. He walked up to us.
“Hi, I’m Chris. I work with Latisha,” he held out his hand to Vivek.
Vivek shook his hand. “I’m Vivek, Latisha’s fiancé,” he said warmly.
“Fiancé?” Chris raised an eyebrow. He looked at me, “You never mentioned you were engaged. Congratulations.”
Vivek looked at me too. “It never came up,” I defended with a shrug of my shoulders. “Anyways, we really must be going, don’t want to be late for our reservation,” I added quickly.
“Sure. Have a good weekend, I’ll see you Monday,” Chris said politely. He turned around and left.
Vivek took my hand and said nothing as we started walking.
“So, Chris…” he ventured after a couple of minutes.
“He just started this week. We’ve been working on a couple of cases together,” I explained quickly.
“You see why I always insisted on you wearing your ring?” Vivek asked.
“I’m a doctor Vivek. I would probably just lose it. Besides, this watch means more,” I consoled as I held up my wrist with a smile.
“Alright, alright. I just don’t want anyone thinking you’re available,” he said as he put an arm around my shoulder.
“Don’t worry. No one does,” I comforted him. “So how was the rest of your week?” I side tracked. I didn’t want to discuss Chris or engagement rings any further.
“It was ok. I missed you though,” he smiled down at me and squeezed my hand. My heart rose in reply.
“I did too. I can’t believe this is only my second year,” I grumbled.
“You could always change specialties,” he said quietly.
I knew he didn’t mean it. I knew this was his parents talking. Although Vivek was very supportive of my aspirations, his parents were always worried about the kind of family life we would have with my crazy schedule. While they liked that I was hardworking and a doctor, they still had the traditional expectations of me running the house, meeting all the social obligations and giving them healthy grandkids. It came with the territory. Women had to be smart but submissive, educated but un-ambitious, pretty but modest, stylish but un-materialistic. Ours was a small, conservative community and no matter how much the world progressed, a woman’s role was first and foremost as a homemaker.
“So are we still doing lunch with both families tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yup. My
parents are expecting you and your family at one tomorrow. I guess they want to start making some decisions about the wedding now.”
I looked up at him, “Can you believe we’ll be married soon?”
“There’s nothing I would like more,” he answered.
“Me neither. All I want is a small, simple ceremony with our families and close friends.” The smile vanished from his face.
“Jaan, I don’t think small and simple is possible for us. You know how well connected both of our families are.”
“Vivek, this is our wedding. Can’t we do this our way? You know how much I hate being pretentious and fake,” I argued.
“Well lets see what we can do this weekend. There’s no point us arguing about it right now is there?”
“You’re right,” I succumbed unhappily.
“So tell me about your day. And tell me more about this Chris; he seems like a nice guy…”
I sighed inwardly. No matter how hard I tried there was no escaping Chris Evans.
12 – ANYA
I looked forward to Friday. Work was always lighter since it was almost the weekend and, five times out of six, I was home at a decent hour.
But that didn’t mean I didn’t like working…I really did love my job. I was lucky enough to have been raised in a happy and healthy family. However I had seen many people who weren’t so lucky. I had seen women who were abused and children who were regularly beaten up. My best friend grew up in one such household. Her father was an alcoholic who beat his wife and daughter weekly. Tending to her bruises, comforting her when she cried and being able to do nothing about it was what motivated me, and the reason I never gave up on my ambition.
My parents didn’t want me to leave Alabama. And they definitely didn’t want me to come to New York City. They had raised me in a simple manner and weren’t sure I’d be able to make it here. But that was my first hurdle and I was determined to cross it. Only after being accepted to Fordham Law School did I work on convincing my folks. Eventually they realized that I had big dreams and they let me go.
But leaving had only been the beginning. As a small town girl, I had to fight for acceptance and respect. Everywhere I went people judged me by my looks, my accent and my mannerisms. They thought I was a silly girl who came from a small town with big dreams that would never come true. But at every step my perseverance proved them wrong. I got involved on campus with Criminal Law and Domestic Violence societies. I studied hard to get the grades that qualified me for internship positions. Interning with different law firms around New York, I eventually gathered enough credibility to help me qualify for a position at the District Attorney’s office. But that wasn’t the end either. Female lawyers weren’t always given the same respect and I had to leave my manners and sweetness at the door every time I walked into a courtroom.
However, I soon realised that being a lawyer wasn’t what I wanted. Although I wanted to advocate and fight on behalf of victims of domestic crimes; being in the court also involved playing “the game”. Court calendars, judges’ personal agendas and the DA’s priorities and interests always tainted my pursuit for justice. Smaller cases were often dismissed. Deals were often cut. Cases were often delayed to a point where complaining parties just gave up. So a few months ago I quit.
Having a background in Psychology, I decided to volunteer as a children’s counsellor. I worked with different schools and privately counselled students as well. However, having only a Masters degree puts me at a disadvantage. My real passion lay in criminology and I work with a forensic psychologist two afternoons a week. I wanted to work with victims of trauma, abuse and crime. I was also working on my Ph.D. applications, which would enable me to practice on my own. I mean if that’s what I really wanted then why not?
Living in New York has been amazing. It broadened my view of the world. But at the same time I missed home – living in a small town surrounded by people you loved, where everyone knew each other; like a large extended family. However, I would never admit this to my parents, they would just take the chance to convince me to move back home.
As I walked into the loft, I was surprised to find it dark and quiet. No one was home.
Oh right, date night.
Aimee was probably out with Ezra and Latisha with Vivek. Since Eva wasn’t home she was probably still at work or at the gym or out with friends. All of a sudden I felt lonely and memories of last Friday hit me again. It had been a whole week since Liam broke up with me but it still hurt like hell.
I changed into a pair of leggings and an oversized t-shirt as my noodles were warming up. I took my dinner plate and settled down on the couch in front of the TV with a glass of wine to enjoy some peace.
Just as my third episode of Sex and the City drew to an end, Latisha and Vivek walked in.
“Hi y’all!” I greeted them enthusiastically.
“Hello! How have you been?” Vivek greeted me with a high five as Latisha slipped into her room to change out of her work clothes.
“Swell! Where have you been?” I complained.
“Here and there. What’s going on? I heard about Liam – I’m sorry” he added apologetically.
“It’s ok. Guess it just wasn’t meant to be,“ I replied weakly. I quickly filled him in on all the details, unsure of how much Latisha had told him. I had known Vivek for about as long as I had known Latisha. He was like the older brother to all of us and we were very comfortable around him, often asking him for his opinion on boy matters. I guess he was the most constant male figure in all our lives since we saw him at least once a week. And in return for his patience, we entertained him with our daily drama and helped him out when it came to Latisha. All of us knew she was quite reserved and had difficulty expressing her feelings or desires.
“I’m sorry Anya. You really do deserve better,” he touched my shoulder.
“Easier said than done right? It’s impossible to find good guys these days.”
“How would you feel if I set you up?” he ventured carefully. I looked at him, mulling it over in my head.
“Vivek, you know I trust your opinion. Why? Who do you have in mind?” My interest piqued.
“Well I’ve recently gotten the chance to know one of my customers who I’ve been doing a lot of work with pretty well. He’s a really good guy and I know he hasn’t lucked out with his relationships yet…maybe there’s something there?” he suggested cautiously.
“You really think so?” My heart started filling up with hope again.
“Think what?” Latisha joined us on the couch. She had changed into a pair of loose fitting tracks and a t-shirt. Tish was all about comfort.
“I was just telling her about Andrew Barton. What do you think?” Vivek asked.
“Andrew Barton? Oooh that could work! We’ve had dinner together a couple of times and he seems like a really nice guy,” Latisha turned towards me. “I totally forgot about him!”
“What’s he like?” I inquired.
But before she could answer, Aimee and Ezra walked in.
“Anyone home?” Aimee called out as they walked in. Everyone exchanged hugs and hellos.
“How was dinner? You’re home pretty early,” Latisha observed.
Aimee didn’t answer. Ezra stepped in, “Dinner was good. We went to that new sushi place that just opened up in Meatpacking. Aimee wanted to go out after but I’ve had a long day. So we thought we’d come home for a quick nightcap. Hadn’t expected all of you to be home!”
I noticed that Aimee was busy studying her nails as Ezra explained. She didn’t look too happy. Knowing her, she must have tried convincing him to go out and sulked the entire ride back. Aimee was a night owl and hated being home early on the weekends.
“Well we could always leave if you guys want some privacy?” Vivek winked.
Ezra laughed, “Nah… its good to see everyone again. What were you guys talking about?”
“Well Vivek is trying to set up Anya with a work friend of his. Thinks it could work well�
� Latisha answered.
“Who’s the friend?” Aimee asked.
“His name is Andrew,” Vivek explained. “His family owns a chain of clothing stores around the city.”
“Are you talking about Andrew Barton?” Ezra asked.
“Yeah do you know him?”
“Barton and I go way back! His parents belong to the same country club as mine!” Ezra exclaimed.
13 – AIMEE
I watched as Ezra animatedly described how he knew this Andrew Barton.
“He has a large family that owns several different types of businesses globally. I think he runs their clothing chain or something,” he tried to recall.
“He has a few clothing boutiques in the Northeast. We’re one of his suppliers,” Vivek confirmed.
“Yeah that’s it. He’s very talented and very capable. He studied at Wharton like the rest of his family. Tried out a few different fields of the family business before he started his stores. And from what I’ve heard he’s doing great – always on the brink of expansion,” Ezra leaned back into the beanie he was perched on.
“It’s true. I think he’s working on plans to take the business overseas at the moment,” Vivek agreed.
“So he’s a workaholic?” Anya asked.
Ezra thought for a second before replying, “He’s hardworking. But he does know how to have a good time. He’s often playing polo at the club and I’ve seen him out in the city a few times.”
“That’s true, he’s always seems to know about the newest restaurants, latest movies and craziest clubs,” Latisha chimed in.
Ezra seemed so comfortable at home and relaxed around my friends. Unlike earlier this evening…
I had pretty much dragged Ezra to the opening of a new sushi restaurant. I had been excited about it for weeks. But everything about the evening had been a failure. Ezra didn’t like food; he found it ‘too experimental’. He hadn’t liked the restaurant either; he found the music too loud to be able to have a good conversation and the lighting too dim to focus clearly. And he definitely wasn’t interested in going out after; he claimed it was too tiring after a long week at work.