Hush

by Jess Wygle

  I nodded to show him I was listening though I knew my eyes were glazed over thinking through Dr. Sladek’s idea in my mind. It really didn’t matter what I thought because ultimately the decision was up to him. I figured he came to me with this in hopes of hearing what he wanted to hear, not necessarily looking for my opinion. I could tell he was leaning, skirting around one answer over another. He paused, waiting for a reaction. “And I’m guessing you’d interview and hire all before your retirement?”

  Sladek nodded. “That would be ideal. I was lucky when I hired you. Our relationship outside of the practice was enough of an interview for me. I’m not really looking forward to going through countless résumés and interviews,” he groaned, rolling his eyes behind his spectacles. “I’ll probably end up hiring out for that process. The last thing I need before retiring is a heart attack from stress. I should have probably gotten this started last year, but I couldn’t have anticipated all the changes we’ve gone through just in the last few months.”

  “Well, I think it’s a good idea,” I said, taking his brief pause to step in. “Not only will it help with patients, like you said, but without you around, it’d be nice to have another professional to get a second opinion from.”

  Dr. Sladek nodded. “Those were my thoughts exactly.”

  “So when will you start? How do you even go about that?” I asked.

  A pruned hand rubbed the balding top of his head. “I’ll probably reach out to a few of my colleagues, see if they have any recommendations for the positions before I take this news to the presses,” Dr. Sladek smirked. “If I can find someone based on a recommendation without having to put out a damned want-ad, life will be simple. You know, these days they use the Facebook and those websites to search for people and put out ads. It’s insane. I can’t keep up with it all. I’m getting worn out just thinking about it.”

  I nodded with a faint smile, not really knowing what else to say. “Are you feeling okay? You don’t look as bright and cheery as usual,” Dr. Sladek pointed out.

  “Oh, I didn’t sleep well last night. I don’t know what it was. I think I need to flip my mattress,” I rambled quickly. The truth was I couldn’t sleep well because of last night’s events bouncing around aimlessly in my head all night.

  Dr. Sladek nodded. “It’s amazing how much that can help, isn’t it. I sleep like a baby the night mine gets rotated. I’m sure that’s the cure.” He smiled. “Well, I better get to work. I think the doors are probably open by now.”

  He stood from the chair when Carla appeared in the doorway. “Doctors, you each have your first patients here,” she said.

  “Right on time,” Dr. Sladek cackled as he headed for the door, following Carla out.

  My days, as they have been since starting at the practice, were ten-plus hours of a big blur. Everything moved so fast. Before I knew it, the sun was setting on beautiful Huntington Beach and I was still elbow deep in work. I was just wrapping up some last minute paperwork when a face appeared around the corner from the nurse’s station where I was currently sitting.

  “Dr. Reinbeck, sorry to bother you,” Amanda poked her head in. “There’s someone here to see you. He doesn’t have an appointment, but he insisted you’d see him.”

  I frowned a little. “Who is it?”

  “Mr. Tate.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. I had only recalled last night’s events one time today and that was right when I woke up. “Thank you. He’s right. I will see him. Could you please let him know I’ll be out in a moment?”

  Amanda smiled and agreed before disappearing around the corner. A minute later, I stepped out into the lobby of the clinic to find the dashing Mr. Tate waiting for me with a wide smile. “So we meet again,” he started. Callem was donning yet another tailored suit. I’m sure his closet was filled with suits just like this one.

  “Callem. Nice to see you. I feel silly,” I confessed. “I should be the one seeking you out, thanking you for last night, and yet, here you are.”

  Callem shook his head. “Well I wanted to stop by earlier, but I figured you were busy. Looks like you still are. Hope I didn’t disturb you.”

  “No, it’s fine. I was just going over some patient files. Just wanted to make sure I didn’t go to the police?” The words echoed in my head and they sounded more brash and uncalled for than I had intended. I tried to laugh it off like some kind of inside joke between the two of us.

  Callem’s smirked weakly. “No, I wanted to make sure you were okay. I got a little worried about you last night after I left. You didn’t seem shaken up. I just didn’t know if you were playing it cool for me or if maybe you were freaked out about what had happened. I called this morning to make sure you were in the office and not at home.”

  I wondered what he would have done if I hadn’t been in the office this morning. Would he have come by my house to check on me? “Oh, I didn’t mean to make you worry. That’s awfully thoughtful of you though, to be so concerned. Not that I’ve really thought about it, but I can only imagine what would have happened to me last night if you hadn’t been there. I’m embarrassed for putting myself in that situation. I don’t do things like that. Normally, I don’t really do much of anything. When he asked, well when you asked for him, I thought to myself, why not? And look where it got me.”

  “Well, I hope he didn’t put a terrible taste in your mouth. I can assure you not all musicians are like him. I’ve been doing this for a long time and I’ve never had to deal with anything like that. I can guarantee you, it’s the last time. I sent him back his money and left his ass at Staples Center. I’ll never work with him again.”

  I nodded. We held gazes for a long moment in the awkward, funky silence, one I was all too familiar with.

  “Well, I don’t want to keep you from your work. I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Callem said, standing up from the chair. He made his way to the front doors before turning. “Do you have plans for dinner?” My mind raced for something to say. I looked at him, my jaw suspended in mid-excuse. “I don’t mean to impose, but it’s getting late and I’m guessing you’ve been here all day. Just thought, if you’re heading out, we could get something to eat before heading home.”

  I made a mental note to close my gaping mouth. “No, yeah, that’s a good idea, that sounds good,” I fumbled over my words. “I just have one stipulation.”

  “Alright.”

  “My treat.”

  Callem sighed, shaking his head with a smile. “Just this one time. Call it what you will, but I don’t usually let women pay for my dinner. For you, I’ll make an exception.”

  “Good. Alright, well, can you give me just five minutes to wrap this up and I’ll meet you outside?”

  Callem nodded. “No problem. Take your time.” He slipped out of the office.

  Only a few minutes later, just as I promised, I strolled up to a black Mercedes that seemed to gleam even in the murky street lights. Callem was out of the car at the sight of me, walking around to the other side to open the door for me. “You didn’t have to do that,” I smiled. “Thank you.”

  “Force of habit,” Callem said before shutting the door and walking back around to the driver’s side. “So where to?”

  “Have you heard of Seaside Café?”

  Callem nodded, pulling the gear shift into reverse. “I have.”

  I nodded. “Have you ever been to Seaside?”

  “Once, but it was quite a while ago. I probably couldn’t tell you what I had to eat.”

  “Oh, we eat there once a month probably, the girls at the office and I,” I explained. “It’s fairly inexpensive and they deliver. We order it for lunch. They have a panko-crusted tilapia that is to die for. Everything is so fresh. This is a beautiful car,” I said. I was rambling. I ramble when I’m nervous. Why was I nervous?

  “Thank you. I had a Range for a while, but it’s too much for me. I’m more of a car guy than an SUV guy.”

  “Yeah, a lot of guys drive those big cars to intim
idate. I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

  Callem looked over at me. “You think I’m intimidating?”

  “Yes. Yes I do. You’ve never intimidated me, but when you were scolding Damien last night, I was scared for him. In your line of work though, I’m sure having a quality like that comes naturally; effortlessly. It works for you. By the way, I hope you didn’t lose any clients because of what you did last night. Now that I’ve seen what he’s really like, I can see Damien bad mouthing you and your business.”

  “I’m not worried about it. Anyone who’s close enough to Damien to take his word on my services, whatever he has to say about them, isn’t anyone I want to work for anyway. I know you’d probably like to see him get in trouble for what he did last night. I can’t thank you enough for saving my neck.”

  I shook my head. “That’s a little backward, don’t you think? You don’t need to thank me. You did the noblest thing of the night.”

  When we arrived at the restaurant, Callem hurried around to my door to open it for me as well as the door to the restaurant. We were seated at a table next to the large windows peering out to the Pacific. The moonlight reflected on the rolling waters and if you listened closely enough, you could hear the song of the ocean humming through the windows.

  “So how long have you been doing what you do?” I asked Callem after our server took our orders.

  “Well, my father started the business so I’ve had my part in it since I was a teen,” Callem explained. “After high school, I joined the Army and was away for about seven years.”

  “Are you still in the Army?”

  Callem shook his head. “No, I got an honorable discharge for medical reasons. I was doing a 10 mile ruck march and when I got back to the barracks, I took my boots off and my feet swelled up. I was immobile for about a month. It took the army doctors that long to diagnose me with reflexive sympathetic dystrophy.”

  I nodded. “RSD. That’s a fairly rare disease which could have accounted for the lengthy diagnosis.”

  “That’s what they told me, too,” Callem continued. “So I came home and started working for my dad. He died almost eight years ago now. I took over operations with his passing. Since taking over, I’ve really expanded the company. A lot of the men I have working for me are former military or cops. I have a few guys who fought MMA professionally and a few were personal security guards at one time. We’re in four different states right now and looking to grow.”

  “Were you a pilot in the Army? I guess I don’t even know. Does the Army have pilots?”

  “No. I actually got my pilot’s license before I got my driver’s license. Since my father had the planes and jets, I grew up around them and I’ve always wanted to fly so I learned young. He taught me. I was actually an Army Ranger.”

  “Oh okay. Don’t you have to take a number of extra courses and training for that?”

  “Yeah. There’s a program in Fort Benning, GA that I went to. It’s pretty elite, the Rangers are to the Army as the SEALS are to the Navy. I was only a Ranger for about two years before I got hurt. What about you?”

  I shrugged. “The most interesting facts of my life you heard last night on the car ride to Staples.”

  “I’m sure that’s not true. You’re probably one of the youngest doctors in the state, maybe in the country, right? That’s pretty interesting. How old are you anyway?”

  There was that question again. “I’m twenty-one.”

  Callem’s eyes bulged for a second. “Twenty-one?! You’re kidding me. You’re younger than you look. I thought you were probably twenty-four, twenty-five, but not that young.”

  “Twenty-one isn’t that young,” I protested.

  “It is for a pediatric oncologist residing at a private practice.”

  “Well it does when you put it that way. Since you’re getting so personal here, how old are you?”

  Callem’s mouth curved up in one corner. “How old do you think I am?”

  “I’d say thirty-two.”

  “Close. Thirty-six.”

  “No, you don’t look a day over thirty-four,” I replied playfully.

  Callem chuckled. A matching set of dimples appeared on his cheeks. “I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you.” He reached for his glass of water and took a long sip, keeping his eyes on me from the top of the rim. “So this whiz kid thing you’ve got going on, do you have any siblings who are geniuses too?”

  “I don’t have any siblings, biologically at least. I was orphaned at a young age. My mother didn’t know who my father was, which is sad in more ways than one, and she died when I was pushing five.”

  “How did she die, can I ask?”

  “She died of leukemia when she was only twenty-four. I became a ward of the state and spent the next ten years bouncing from home to home. I’d get with a foster family that I’d like or one that was decent and they’d end up giving me back. It’s not easy fostering a gifted child. The state was aware of my talents, for lack of a better word, and it was required of my foster families to keep up with my accelerated learning and some families just couldn’t do it. I managed to land a wealthier family and I stayed with them for a few years. They got me through high school and Ole Miss.”

  “And then you moved out here?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Since I was underage, I moved in with another foster family and I still consider them my family to this day. They have a biological daughter who is my age. She was in high school when I was going to Berkeley so I was living vicariously through her. She’d teach me things, oddly enough, about how people my age interacted and social norms. Those were the kinds of things they couldn’t teach you at the university and the kinds of things I was severely lacking. She’s great. She’s always accepted me even though I was weird and awkward back then.”

  “Does she still live around here?”

  “Yes. Well she lives in Downey with her parents for now. She’s finishing up a nursing program at East Los Angeles. She’s hoping to get on at my office when she’s done and she’d probably move in with me until she can save for a place of her own.”

  “So you guys are really close. Did she want to be a nurse because of you?”

  “I don’t think so. I think she’s always wanted to do that, to go into that field. Besides, she’s much more of an influence on me than the other way around. I was probably a good example for her particularly when it came to school work, but other than book smarts, I didn’t have much to offer at that age. I didn’t have friends. I didn’t have time for friends. She taught me how to be a friend to someone. We fought a lot when I first started living with them only because I didn’t know how to treat other people. I didn’t know the rules of a friendship so she’d get testy and correct me and I’d learn from my mistakes.”

  “Seems to me you’ve turned out well. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you, socially speaking.”

  I cocked my head. “But speaking in other terms, you’ve found some flaws, have you?”

  Callem held up his hand. “No, no, I didn’t mean that.”

  I chuckled. “I know. I was just joking with you.”

  Our food arrived. Callem took my advice and got the tilapia. I got the seafood alfredo. Callem kept his eyes on me as we ate, making small talk about our dishes and our approval for them.

  “I remind you of someone, don’t I?” I asked.

  Callem studied me for a second before answering, “Why do you say that?”

  “I’m an observer at heart. I watch people, learn to pick up on little things. If you can decipher someone just by the way they move their hands or where their eyes plant themselves, you’re already one step ahead of the game. It’s something I’ve always done. I can tell by the way you look at me, and won’t stop looking at me. That’s why I remind you of someone. You saw the correlation when we first met too, which is why you felt the need to keep an extra close eye on me last night. You care for her, whoever she is, don’t you?”

  Callem sat in sile
nce for a second. “Here I thought I wasn’t that transparent of a guy.”

  “On the contrary. You’re hard to see past and I think you’re not one to boast about yourself, which is why me and my egotistical ways have been dominating the conversation, but your eyes are telling a story of their own. Blame it on them.”

  Callem chuckled, rubbing his lip with his fore finger. “You’re right. You do remind me of someone. Camilla. She and I dated in high school and shortly after. We were together about six years, but she tragically passed away in a drunk driving accident.”

  “Callem, I’m sorry,” I replied, feeling like an ass now for prying.

  Callem nodded slightly. “I was in Tennessee at the time for military stuff and in my youth, I blamed myself for her death. I thought if I had been with her, she wouldn’t have had to drive. Ultimately, it was her choice to get behind the wheel that night, but grief does awful things to someone. You look a lot like her. It’s hypnotizing, in a way.”

  “Was your relationship serious?” Why did I ask?

  “It could’ve been, but it’s hard telling. In those first years of early adulthood when you’re first out on your own and you start making your own grown up decisions, well, you get this air about you that makes you feel important and responsible and it’s intoxicating. Dangerous at the same time because you don’t know any better. You haven’t been doing the adult thing long enough to’ve learned from your own mistakes. The choices I made back then, I’ve never had more regrets at any other stage in my life. I was dumb and anything could have happened to Camilla and I if she hadn’t died, but there’s no way to know. Relationships back then were mostly physical and at my age now, you can’t base a relationship based purely on physical attraction. I get that now. I didn’t get that then. We were just so in love it blinded us. We thought we’d be together forever, but that may not have been the case if things had turned out differently.”