by Laura Burton
Jennifer was thoughtful. “Do you think she wants you back?” she asked.
Pat didn’t answer right away. “I’m not sure,” he said at last.
“What would you do if you became certain that she wanted you back?”
“That’s a bridge I hope I never have to cross. For lots of reasons.”
“Do you think she’s changed?”
Pat shook his head. “She’s still the same in many ways. She’s very focused on herself and her own life. She can’t see much beyond that. So no, I don’t think she’s changed a lot. She certainly doesn’t seem to be sorry for hurting me. She’s never said so.”
Jennifer touched his shoulder lightly. “I’m sorry,” she said. “You have no idea how sorry I am that I hired her.”
Pat looked sad for a moment, then he brightened. “Ah well, things could be worse,” he said. “I could be a flea on a dog that’s about to go through the dog wash.”
Jennifer giggled. “You do have a unique way of looking at things,” she said.
“It’s genetic,” Pat replied. “I drove my mum mad, and she passed it on to me. Now we’re both crazy like an arachnophobe in a house full of spiders.”
Jennifer shuddered. “I’ll be there too if I have to take on a spider.”
“Better not let the prankster at work know you don’t like spiders.”
Jennifer looked sideways at him. “I hadn’t thought of that … but hey, we could set a trap. One of us could make it known that we dislike something and see if the prankster takes the bait.”
“Now, that’s smart thinking. But let’s just pretend we have a phobia about something. I don’t want to find my food laced with cucumbers.”
“Nor do I want to find my handbag full of spiders.” Jennifer shivered at the thought.
“I know,” Pat said. “Let’s say I have developed a great fear of ducks after one chased me when I was a kid. It really did happen!”
“Were you hurt?”
“No, just frightened. But I can pretend I have anatidaephobia.”
Jennifer thought for a moment. “I was afraid of clowns when I was a child,” she said. “Is there a name for that phobia?”
Pat nodded. “It’s called coulrophobia.”
“Excellent!” Jennifer said, feeling satisfied. “It might lead us to the culprit who’s been causing chaos at the clinic.”
“I suspect it’s one certain person,” Pat replied. “Perhaps this will confirm my suspicions.”
Jennifer silently agreed with him. She couldn’t wait to see what happened next.
Chapter 9
“What’s on the agenda for the staff meeting?” Belinda asked as she settled down to wait for everyone to gather after work.
“Oh, just the usual stuff,” Jennifer replied. “Some accounting matters, some other minor housekeeping stuff. Oh, and Barbara wants us to think about what we can do to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the clinic’s opening.”
“That could be fun,” Belinda said. “We haven’t done anything fun for a while. We should plan a party!”
After the business had been discussed, Dr Barbara Gallagher brought up the anniversary. “I think we should celebrate it in some way,” she said. “Any ideas, anyone?”
“Let’s have a party!” Belinda said. “Let’s make it fun.”
“We could go out for dinner,” Janet suggested. “But a party would be more fun!”
After a few minutes of discussion, the vote was unanimous: they would share little gifts with the patients, and hold a party for the staff and their partners after work. There would be food and door prizes, and they would make it fun. Everyone left the meeting buzzing with excitement; it had been a long time since anything like this had happened at work.
On the way out, Jennifer stopped at the water cooler and Pat joined her. Jennifer noticed Virginia lurking in the background, close enough to hear their conversation.
“I’m glad there won’t be any clowns,” Jennifer told Pat as they discussed the party. “I hate them.”
“Why clowns?” he asked.
“I got frightened by one when I was a child and I’ve hated them ever since,” Jennifer replied. “Everyone has phobias, don’t they?”
“I guess so,” Pat replied. “Mine is a fear of ducks. I got chased by one when I was a child and to this day, every time I see a duck, I’m convinced that it’s plotting murder. It’s lucky that I don’t live near a lake!”
“Ducks and clowns,” laughed Jennifer. “Don’t tell anyone or they’ll make us go to therapy!”
“My lips are sealed,” Pat promised, a twinkle in his eye.
Jennifer glanced sideways to see Virginia slinking off down the hallway. She was convinced that Virginia had overheard their conversation. It would be interesting to watch what happened next.
“Let’s do something fun right at the beginning,” Belinda told Janet and Tanya.
The three women had volunteered to help with organizing the office party, a task that the doctors were more than happy to delegate. They had chosen a date with no scheduled surgeries, hoping that everyone would be able to attend.
“We can hand out some lucky door prizes,” Tanya said.
“That’s a good idea,” Janet replied. “They can be anything from funny to silly to sensible.”
“We can tie them or tape them to helium balloons,” Belinda said. “That will help with the decorating.”
“Good idea,” Tanya agreed.
“Can we make sure someone gets a specific prize?” Belinda asked, a wicked grin on her face.
“Well, that’s kind of like cheating, but maybe. What were you thinking?”
“I’d love to see Virginia’s face if Pat got a voucher for dinner with Jennifer,” Belinda smirked.
The other girls burst out laughing. “Oooh, you’re so naughty,” Tanya chortled. “But let’s do it!”
“She’s been so nasty about Jennifer,” Janet added. “Always putting her down in front of us. I haven’t told Jennifer what’s been going on but it would be good to see some justice served.”
“Jennifer might be a neat freak but she’s got a good heart,” Tanya said. “It annoys me when Virginia is polite to her face, and mean behind her back. She doesn’t deserve that.”
“She’s been a good friend through the years,” said Belinda. “It’s time to repay her friendship.”
The three conspirators chuckled as they bent to their task of planning the party. All of a sudden, it was going to be a whole lot more fun.
Jennifer opened the top drawer in the cabinet behind the desk to get a folder. As she slid the drawer open, an image of a grotesque, bloody clown face leered up at her. It was so suddenly shocking and so lifelike that she gave an involuntary little scream. Pat and Belinda hurried over.
“What is it?” Pat asked, concern in his voice.
“Oh nothing,” Jennifer managed. “Just a silly clown in my drawer.”
“Show me,” Belinda demanded.
“That’s an awful picture,” Pat said. “I’m not surprised it frightened you.” He gave Jennifer the faintest wink, acknowledging that their plan had worked.
“No one goes to that drawer except you,” Belinda said. “Whoever did it must’ve wanted you to find it.”
“I’m OK,” Jennifer said. “It just gave me a little scare.”
“Are you ready for the party tonight?” Belinda asked Pat.
“As ready as a racehorse at a starting gate,” he replied. “I’d better go back to work or I’ll still be peering at bottoms while you lot are partying.”
That evening, Jennifer walked into the modest conference room at the back of the clinic. They’d been concerned that it would be too small for comfort, but their fears were unfounded. Helium balloons bobbed on the ceiling, their strings hanging down to form a forest of movement. Fairy lights twinkled and glowed as they crisscrossed the room, creating a soft ambience that tempered the excitement buzzing in the air.
“This looks amazing, girls,” J
ennifer exclaimed to Tanya and Janet, who were standing at the door to welcome everyone.
Janet handed her a white helium balloon with a small envelope tied to its base. “This is your lucky door prize,” she said. “But don’t open it yet. We want to wait until everyone is here and then we’ll open them at the same time to see what everyone got.”
“You might want to write your name on your balloon,” Tanya said, handing her a marker. “If it gets away from you, it’ll head for the ceiling with all the others. The lucky door prizes are the only white ones so we can find it if it gets away.”
“Just don’t take your balloon outside,” Jennifer joked. “Or your wonderful prize might disappear into the heavens!”
She went to the center of the room and decided to tie her balloon to one of the chairs that were arranged in a circle. It would be safe there until it was time to open the prize.
Everyone chatted for a while, and then Belinda got their attention by tapping a fork on a plate.
“We are thankful for ten years here at the clinic,” she said. “And we hope that we have many more productive and happy years here. The food is almost ready and thanks to the caterers, it looks delicious. But before we eat, let’s take a moment to be seated and check out our lucky door prizes.”
Everyone took seats in the circle and looked to Belinda for further instructions.
“Let’s start with Christine,” she said, looking at Carl’s wife. “Then we’ll go around the circle clockwise.”
Christine opened her envelope. “It’s a grocery voucher!” she exclaimed. “Thank you, everyone. This will be useful!”
Carl was next. He groaned when he saw his prize. “I’ve earned a pack of toilet paper,” he said with a wry grin. “Is that a comment on our line of work?”
Everyone laughed.
“The physical prizes are here,” Belinda said. “Come and see me afterwards to get them.”
While everyone was watching the next prize reveal, Tanya turned to Janet. “Did Pat …?” she whispered anxiously.
Janet nodded, a faint grin on her face.
“How …?”
“I tied a knot in the string,” Janet replied. “When he came through the door, I snipped the string above the knot so it didn’t look any different to the others.”
“Good thinking,” Tanya smirked.
The two women watched intently as the prize reveals continued around the circle. Jennifer received a curly red wig and put it on with much hilarity.
“Pat can’t keep his eyes off her,” Janet whispered.
“And Virginia is watching him like a hawk,” Tanya giggled.
Pat was the last person to open his prize. He made a great show of unfolding the paper. “Dinner with Jennifer,” he read in surprise. “At the Garden Gate in town. Because she’s the best practice manager ever!”
Jennifer looked shocked. “Who decided I should go to dinner with the winner?” she asked incredulously.
No one seemed to know.
“Look at Virginia,” Tanya hissed.
“Her face is going purple,” Janet chortled. “I’ve never seen someone trying so hard to keep their mouth shut.”
“That’s the face of fury and rage,” Tanya giggled. “Oh, we’ve been naughty! But it was so much fun. Worth every second.”
As everyone began to mill around the food table, Tanya and Janet continued to watch Virginia. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, Virginia made her way nonchalantly to Pat’s chair, where his balloon was tied. She quickly examined the balloon.
“She’s trying to see if it’s different to the others,” Tanya whispered. “That way, she’d know if it was deliberate that Pat gets to take Jennifer out for dinner.”
“Lucky you were clever enough to think ahead,” Tanya chuckled. “Watching this unfold has been hilarious!”
“Shhh! She’ll hear us. Let’s go get some food before we become suspects.”
“We already are suspect,” Tanya giggled. “If I go to Office Jail, will you come too?”
“Of course. Partners in crime,” Janet whispered.
The two women sauntered to the food table, angelic expressions on their faces. Virginia watched them closely, but could see no reason to suspect that they were involved in this heinous development. In fact, neither of them looked capable of plotting anything devious. Virginia gave up and decided to go home early.
As Pat left the party that night, he found himself looking forward to dinner with Jennifer. The voucher expired in two weeks, so it would have to be soon. He enjoyed her company; behind the serious, reliable neat freak was a warm, caring and sweet woman with a good sense of humor. And it didn’t hurt a bit that she was easy on the eyes.
He wondered how she felt about him and sighed. Virginia’s arrival in his life had been a seismic shock to his world that had left him reeling. He’d withdrawn from most social situations as he grappled with the reality of working with her every day. Not to mention the fact that she’d all but ruined any chance he might’ve had with Jennifer. The other staff had told him that she was spiteful towards Jennifer at times, but he’d only ever seen her being polite. He had to admire Jennifer for her ability to ignore it and focus on her work. Not for the first time, he wished that Virginia had just stayed in New York. Who knows how things might be different now? Instead, he felt as if he were walking on eggshells all the time, not knowing what Virginia might do next, and trying not to upset Jennifer.
But for now, he would look forward to his date with Jennifer. He wondered if it could be called a date when neither of them had agreed to it. Whatever it was, he was determined to enjoy it. Would she feel the same way?
“That was amazing food!” Jennifer exclaimed as they lingered after dinner at the Garden Gate Chinese restaurant.
“It’s been amazing company, too,” Pat said quietly, his blue eyes meeting hers.
She felt her heartbeat quicken. “I’ve enjoyed dinner with you, Pat,” she replied.
“I’m not sure I’m ready to go home yet,” he said. “Would you like to go for a walk?”
“Sure,” she said lightly. “I need to walk off all that food!” She was glad she’d dressed casually for dinner and had left her heels at home.
As they set off down the street, Pat took her hand. His was warm and smooth around hers; it made her feel safe. They wandered along historic Main Street, admiring the stately old buildings and reminders of the past.
“Have you seen the New Hampshire State House?” Jennifer asked.
“No, I haven’t,” Pat replied. “Is it far away?”
“Only a few blocks, if you feel like walking that far. It’s worth seeing.”
“I’d like to see it,” Pat said, squeezing her hand.
A few minutes later, they stood at the pathway that led to the imposing building. Its towering golden dome was lit up like a beacon while softer lighting invited them to follow the path to its base.
“That’s some building!” Pat exclaimed.
“Want to get closer?” Jennifer asked.
“Of course!”
Pat led her down the path with its softly glowing lanterns.They stopped at the bottom of the steps, gazing up at the huge pillars stretching up to the second story of the magnificent old building. The lanterns on the grand front porch cast a friendly light over the face of the building, beckoning them to climb the steps.
“She’s a gracious old lady,” Jennifer whispered, although they were entirely alone. “A reminder of the past.”
Pat looked at her. “I’m kind of thinking of the present,” he replied. “You, me, here in this wonderful place …”
“What are you trying to say?” Jennifer asked.
He turned to face her, then stepped forwards and slipped his arms around her, drawing her against his chest. He looked into her eyes for a long moment, and she felt her heart pounding in her ears. He had such amazingly long eyelashes. Why hadn’t she noticed them before?
“This,” he whispered in reply to h
er question, as he lowered his lips onto hers.
His lips were tentative at first, lightly brushing over hers. They were firm and smooth, his kiss gentle rather than demanding. Jennifer felt herself melting into his embrace as she allowed the sensation of the kiss to flow through her entire being. At last, Pat drew away, and stood looking down at her.
“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” he whispered, his voice husky.
“How long?”
“Ever since the day that you cried because I turned out to be a man.”
She groaned. “Don’t remind me!”
“It was the best thing that ever happened,” he said. “I thought it was quite funny afterwards.”
“Yes, I can see the funny side now,” Jennifer said. She paused. “I’ve wanted the same thing for a long time, too,” she admitted. “Almost as long.”
Pat’s eyes lit up. “I was hoping you would feel the same,” he said.
“But what about Virginia?” she asked as he drew away and took her hand.
Pat shrugged. “I’ve told her it’s over but she doesn’t seem to get it,” he said. “She won’t be happy about it. We’ve already caught her playing a prank on you. Are you ready for the consequences?”
“What if we kept it to ourselves for now?” Jennifer asked. “Perhaps in time, Virginia might get the message.”
“That’s probably best,” Pat agreed. “I could tell she wasn’t happy about us going for dinner together. Do you know if someone set us up?”
“I have no idea if it was random good fortune or it was planned,” Jennifer replied. “If someone set it up, they did an excellent job of covering their tracks.”
“I’m glad,” Pat replied. “This has been a wonderful evening. Let’s not spoil it by speculating about what others will say or do. Let’s just enjoy the moment, here and now.”
“I agree,” Jennifer said. She grinned up at him. “A wise man once told me to let tomorrow’s problems find us then,” she said.
“Really?” he asked. “Who might that wise man be?”
“Someone special,” she said, leaning her head against his shoulder as they started to walk back.
