by JA Lafrance
At some point, after the strange man left, Chrissy explained the shock finally set in. She had trouble convincing the stranger to leave once the taxi arrived, and even more so when both credit cards he attempted to use to purchase some items showed up on the machine as blocked, which meant they were more than likely stolen.
Jessa had to admit that she was impressed with Chrissy. She remained calm during the ordeal and wrote down all of the details of the stranger and the altercation before Jessa had arrived. The only other item of interest that Chrissy disclosed was that the strange man left his backpack and belongings all over the storefront as he scavenged for his cards, which he was convinced the cards he’d set on the counter were not the ones he was searching for. Upon two customers cashing out, the handsome main witness noticed there was a situation between the clerk and the strange man as something felt off to the witness.
The main witness, Kyle Stevenson, stood tall above Jessa and Chrissy, a concerned expression displayed on his face. He had a calming aura about him. Interviews from everyone matched up, and Kyle seemed to be no threat. The nearby stores in the same plaza had not seen the strange man Chrissy talked about. Jessa kept the paper with the clerk’s details in her notes with the address to where the taxi dropped off the stranger, which supposedly was where he lived, according to the store’s customer membership files. Jessa held onto the information to check on the stranger’s well-being later, but at that point, there was, unfortunately, nothing Jessa could do pertaining to laying any charges. She planned to encourage the store owners to have at least two clerks working together.
Jessa couldn’t believe the day she was having. Her father reached for his mug from the kitchen cupboard to pour some tea, but he lost all of his strength in his hands and dropped the mug, and collapsed on the floor. Luckily her mother was home and found her father to call for an ambulance. The doctors weren’t sure of the cause for his fall, but they suspected a stroke. Her mother ran all of the errands and rarely spoke with Jessa. They just didn’t see eye-to-eye, so it was best they kept their conversations short. Other than errands, Jessa had no idea where her mother went as she was left to figure out all of her father’s medical information because even the doctors hadn’t seen her mother visit her dad in the hospital. Jessa never crossed paths with her mother in the hospital, and it was for the best. Yet, Jessa’s day was less chaotic than usual. Today everything felt heavier as she struggled to keep her head clear and focused. Even the eye candy she laid eyes on at the earlier incident didn’t make her feel better. She was worried about her father in the hospital after his fall, but she knew he was where he should be, with some of the best doctors in Southwestern, Ontario.
Jessa sat in her patrol car, stared at her steering wheel, and turned on the local radio for a moment of peace to collect herself. She missed the end of her favourite song, and a commercial began with a public announcement regarding school closures after March Break. Her thoughts overpowered the rest of the information. With fears that come with her job as a police officer, Jessa didn’t have children, but it didn’t take rocket science to figure out the struggle parents and caregivers would face, not to mention the loss of many jobs. She figured this was not the first announcement made, which would explain the line of vehicles that began to fill the parking lot as she left. Jessa planned to visit her father in the hospital then return to the store to check on the clerk’s well-being. She hoped time allowed Chrissy to cope and her panic and anxiety to settle after such a strange encounter. Of course, based on the cars moving into the center’s lot, her day was about to become very busy. The crap retail workers dealt with and yet continued to be underappreciated. Spending time with her father would be the highlight of Jessa’s day, and seeing hottie Dr. Jack Masan would be the cherry on top.
Chapter 1
The doctor assured me that my father would be okay, but Dad’s face was more flushed than usual, so the doctor couldn’t convince me my father wasn’t in any pain. Whenever my father tried his hardest to hide his pain, that was when I knew when it showed the most because he placed his hand over his stomach. It was a secret my mother had taught me. My father tried to stay strong and never take time off work, but my mother knew when he was hiding something.
The words shot out of me like a bullet, “Don’t fuck with me.”
The doctor, hot in every aspect with a freshly shaved face, appeared younger than his credentials, letting out a quick bark of laughter. He seemed shocked with my language. Although I wasn’t sure why since he had to have worked with angry families before.
“My father is in pain, or he wouldn’t be holding his stomach.” I tried to retract my outburst and spoke in a calmer voice, my words a warning rather than a threat.
The doctor’s blue eyes pierced through me as he stared for a moment, and I almost lost myself in them. He peered at my father’s chart again, flipped two pages, tapped his pen on the board of paper, reading something. Done, he turned to a nurse, who had followed closely behind him into the room and stood next to him. “I don’t see any recent labs in Mr. Wellington’s chart.”
The nurse looked to another nurse who stood behind her as if to form a line. They stared blankly.
“Mrs.—”
“Miss, divorced,” I corrected him.
My finger played with an imaginary ring that I had once worn. I didn’t have time to mourn the separation for a month before Dad had his accident.
“Alzheimer’s,” I added. “My father has Alzheimer’s, but still holds his hand over his stomach when he is in pain like he used to. It’s how my mother could always tell.”
The doctor nodded without glancing up from my father’s chart.
I stood from my chair, walked over to the window, and looked out over the evening rush as I brushed my hand through my ponytail. Long night at a hospital wasn’t where I expected to be, in a cold, stale room, possibly losing my father at my fingertips. My best friend. I then noticed the time on my fit watch, seven o’clock. I assumed sunset, but nobody kept track. The emptiness in the hallowed room felt like we’d been there for so long. The sky shone bright warm colours just the same, whether the sun was setting or rising.
I hadn’t changed out of my uniform when given instructions from my captain to cut my day short and visit my father. All that mattered was having my dad for another day. It felt selfish, but I couldn’t let him go.
Barely noticing the doctors and nurses entering and leaving the room, I felt a tap on my shoulder. “It’s time to take your father for an MRI. The nurse will wheel him down,” the doctor assured me and reached out with an enormous coffee cup covered with a lid. “I’m sure you could use this.” He smiled. “I pulled some strings and had your father scheduled for an MRI scan immediately.”
“Thank you, Dr. Masan.” Feeling a boost of guilt, I smiled. “I—”
“It’s French vanilla. I heard you and your father talking earlier and figured caffeine and something sweet is something you needed right now.”
I assumed Dr. Jack Masan could tell from the baggage under my eyes that I desperately needed an energy boost. The type of boost I wanted required a longing touch, but he at least understood sweet caffeine. If his lips tasted as sweet as they looked, he’d be exactly what I’d order.
A nurse spun a wheelchair around the corner from the hall into the room. Dr. Masan grinned as I looked wide-eyed between him and my father. I remembered the time I broke my leg when I was about twelve years old and my dad wheelied me from the waiting room to get my X-ray then back again. He would do this anytime he had the chance to push someone in a wheelchair to make their time more fun. Dad deserved some fun too, so if a wheelie to his MRI would be the rainbow to his storm, then he deserved to relax before laying in a machine that was a claustrophobic’s worst nightmare.
“Ready, Mr. Clary?” The nurse slowed to my father’s bedside and helped him into his chair, careful not to tangle his IV.
The nurse’s voice sounded familiar. I took another gulp of French vanilla, an
d then it hit me. I hadn’t noticed with loose scrubs hiding his muscles, but the nurse who took my father for his MRI test was the male witness inside the store. My partner later confirmed that the stranger was a meth user on a high binge but was no hard threat.
Chrissy and the nurse would have made a cute couple. No rings on either of their hands. I suppose the entire situation was life’s crazy way of bringing them together. That idea didn’t feel the same for hottie Dr. Masan and me.
My father’s wink as he left the room showed he believed otherwise.
“Your father is in expert hands.” Dr. Masan chuckled, as the nurse wheelied my father out of the room. He stared as I shook my empty cup without a response. “I knew you needed the caffeine. How about another one?”
I smiled to hide my disappointment in the lack of caffeine left in my cup. “Now, there’s an idea. Too bad mugs can’t refill themselves.”
He laughed at my sad attempt at a joke. I just didn't have the excitement in me to join in. My father’s empty bed looked comfortable, though. I didn’t think anyone would mind if I took a twenty-minute nap. Oh, what it would be to feel young, pull an all-nighter, and keep going the next day again. I always said once you hit twenty-five, it’s all downhill from there.
“Jessa, would you like to have coffee with me?” He checked his shiny gold watch. “I’m on my lunch break and could use another cup myself.”
In my thirties, I felt my best, more accomplished, and my career kept me busy enough to appreciate the lack of a dating life. Dating in my field never lasted since my divorce.
“Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Masan?” I giggled. Another sad attempt of a joke to ease the moment. “My apologies. I blame the bluntness on my lack of sleep and my job requiring me to be upfront.”
Dr. Masan assured me, “You don’t beat around the bush, and I like that.” There was an ease between us that came from him. “Blame my bluntness on my job as a doctor to be upfront, too, but yes, I would love it if this were a date.”
I threw my mug in the recycling bin and followed him out the door. “Sure, but I’m buying this time.”
He didn’t argue when he saw that I wouldn’t let him win.
My stubbornness came from my father, but I liked a man who knew when to quit and let me return the favour of a simple coffee fix. Dr. Jack Masan was delicious eye candy, and I hoped for the opportunity to introduce him to my sturdy cuffs.
Chapter 2
It was nice to have a decent conversation with someone, even if it was only for coffee and a good chat before it was time for me to leave. It’s the simple things that we need to be thankful for, and I was thankful for Dr. Jack Masan's comfort while Dad was gone for testing. The doctor’s schedule was super busy, and yet, he made time for me. We didn’t have to leave the place where we were needed most to enjoy each other’s company.
I stepped out onto my balcony and looked down at the rush of vehicles that seemed heavier than the week before. From the sixth floor, the sun felt warmer, and the colour of lilies bloomed polka dots of colours that made the busy streets brighter for a late spring.
I inhaled the spicy aroma from my mug of freshly brewed French vanilla and closed my eyes to enjoy a moment of peace, ignoring the distant horns and sirens below. It was different without Dr. Masan in my company. Quiet. Up there, nothing could reach me—a safe space to escape the chaos.
I popped my earbuds in and listened to my playlist, dancing around to chase those endorphins, careful not to tip my mug. My efforts reminded me of the old days at the club when I tried my damndest not to spill my drink on anyone…except now, it was without the drunk girl twerking. I laughed at my reflection in the balcony’s glass doors.
But that ass, though!
Can’t lie, I wouldn’t mind backing it up into Dr. Hottie-Blue-Eyes. I sang along to For You by Rita Ora and fell into a peaceful, fun trance. Invisible soundproof walls from the noise went up around me on the balcony and drowned out the television coming from my neighbour's apartment below. Nature, a natural tranquility…nothing else mattered except the escape. But the robin that flew my way then quickly steered into the other direction must not have felt the same about my singing. I laughed at the sight, hoping I would see it again this high above the trees.
In the paused moment, I decided to call to check on my father to see if there was any update. I kind of hoped to speak with Dr. Masan this morning. Or just to hear his voice.
I took out one earbud, slid open the patio doors, and stepped back inside to grab my phone.
Missed Call: Southwestern Universal Hospital.
Dr. Masan was very patient with my constant calling, not that I was stalking. I never daydreamed about him until now because it was easy for me to dismiss the distraction of a good-looking man. What worried me was Dr. Masan wouldn’t call me unless it was urgent.
A journalist spoke loudly from the neighbour’s television below and interrupted my dialing.
“March Break starts right on schedule but may not end for schools across Canada as school closures remain in effect after the one-week holiday. Thanks to the new devastating Coronavirus, families across the world won’t be enjoying the spring liked they hoped for…”
Fuck. My heart jumped into the pit of my stomach, but there was no time to let the panic set. I understood how the clerk at the grocery store kept her cool during an incident that required her focused attention until a moment allowed her to break. I slid my patio door shut and called Dr. Masan for full details on the hospital's new protocols. I was scared about how this would affect seeing my father.
A nurse picked up on the other line, “Dr. Masan is conducting surgery at the moment. I can leave a message for you?”
I gulped. “Is my father, Joe Clary, in surgery?”
“Let me check…”
The anticipation killed me. How did she not know who the patient was in surgery but knew where the doctor was? I tried not to judge. Perhaps she didn’t have the full information because Dr. Masan rushed to emergency surgery. Essential workers had been so busy since the virus spread, and schools switched to home-school. As a police officer, I felt like I was still adjusting to continuous changing policies every day, all day.
“John Clary, no, Ma’am.”
Her words fluttered up from the pit of my stomach into relief. The heaviness of anxiety suddenly felt slightly lighter, and hope lifted to replace it. Maybe my father was recovering well.
“Dr. Hot—” the nurse paused.
I let out a snicker when the nurse almost slipped at calling him Dr. Hottie. I was sure of it. I would be naïve if I thought that I was the only one who called him that behind his back. A presence of the nurse's smile could be felt from the other side of the phone.
“Dr. Jack Masan left a note in case you called back. Because of the current situation of the COVID-19 virus, they permit only one family member to collect his belongings,” she barked before pausing again.
I breathed in deep a couple of times to meditate my frustration.
The pitch in her voice raised with more care as if she suddenly became calm. “Okay. I have a pen now. Is this Mr. Clary's daughter or wife?”
I questioned what type of person could change personalities over the phone so many times. A stressed one!
“Daughter. Jessa Clary,” I confirmed and told her that I would pick up my father and his belongings.
I scrolled through my social media while the nurse had me on hold. The virus took over the lives of the elderly across the globe in hospitals, nursing homes, those living their independent lives, and those with underlying health conditions. But only at first, because soon, children were affected by a new mutation. The pandemic brought a new virus to most of the world, and even the world’s smartest doctors seemed to feel defeated in all of their hope. There weren’t many words to describe such horror, not even zombies. The virus changed the world and how people acted, destroying friendships because people acted like they graduated with a medical degree overnight, which qualif
ied them to debate over subtopics like procedures and masks. Perhaps the virus also brought out the truth in people, showed them who they had always truly been. Disgusting behaviour happened all around us, but now, we saw it from every angle, and nobody was afraid to show out. Their limited knowledge and political views made people forget that we were all in this together. The ever-growing number of deaths of loved ones across the news screen was tragic. Watching left me feeling helpless because there was absolutely nothing anyone could do except get used to the new normal of quarantine and masks.
“Thank you for holding, Ms. Clary,” the nurse announced and startled me enough to make me jump.
The best plan, per the nurse and Dr. Masan, was to have my Dad back at home with a day nurse to help him stay healthy and safe. Not having to visit the hospital would be a change, but a good one. I wanted to barricade myself in my room and quarantine with Dr. Hottie, but then reality set in. I was an essential worker, and hiding wasn’t who I was. At that moment, I hadn’t the slightest idea how busier and more dangerous my work days would become. Just the thought made me want to disappear for a while to collect myself because the ideal police work isn’t what most people think it is.
Maybe romance wasn’t in the cards for Dr. Masan and me, but a friendship couldn't hurt at the very least. There would hopefully be plenty of time to close the gap in regard to our social distancing soon.
Chapter 3
Between chasing down speeders, solving minor thefts, assisting the homeless into their new homes at shelters, not to mention phone calls to my father’s home nurse, things felt like a regular pandemic day. Major crime only started to take a spike recently. If there were zombies, even then, I wouldn’t take off my protective uniform, but I’d at least get some cardio.
I pulled into a strip mall parking lot and parked to pick up lunch from a local sub sandwich restaurant beside the grocery store I investigated a few weeks ago. This restaurant supported the community by giving proceeds to local firehouses, paramedics, and the like, so it was one of my main food stops. My day’s plan was simple: grab lunch, check-in on the store clerk to see how she’d been, then meet up with my partner. Perhaps I was just nosy to find out if the sparks I’d seen between Chrissy and Kyle ignited a flame, but I was ultimately concerned, too.