by Rinyu, Beth
“Hello,” he said in a hurried voice.
“Hey dad, whatya’ doing?” I asked as I stomped on a fire ant crawling under my feet.
“Just laying some tile in the bathroom. Kat, is everything okay?” He sounded surprised to be hearing from me on a Thursday instead of our usual Sunday call.
“Yup,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t sense I was lying. But it was too late; he already knew.
“Kat, what’s the matter?” he asked, concerned.
It was if I were just waiting for him to ask the magic question so I could unload all of my emotions. I told him all about Akin and how helpless I felt not being able to save him. My dad listened intently to me. I didn’t pause once to take a breath. By the time I was done I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
“It’s a whole different world than what you are used to over there,” he said. “It doesn’t make you a bad person because you feel for these people. It would make you a bad person if you didn’t,” he continued. He had a knack for always reaffirming what I already knew deep down inside.
“Thanks, Dad, now tell me about this tile,” I said, trying to shift to a happier subject.
“Well, I was going to surprise you, but you caught me. I’m re-tiling your bathroom.”
“Oh, is it the terracotta?” I asked excitedly.
“Can we leave something as a little surprise?” he answered.
“I guess,” I answered with laughter. “What made you decide to take on this project?”
“I had a little extra time before my doctor’s appointment this morning, so I went into the tile shop right across the street from his office, and here I am laying tile.”
The tile talk had completely gone out of my mind when I heard my dad mention he had a doctor’s appointment. “I thought your doctor’s appointment was the other day?” I asked inquisitively.
“I just had to finish some tests,” he said in a dismissing tone. “Can’t wait for you to see this tile,” he continued, trying to change the subject.
“Dad, what type of tests?” I was persistent.
“Just routine blood work, Kat; nothing to worry about.”
“Are you sure that was all?”
“I promise you, that was all.”
Even though I hoped he was telling the truth, something in the back of my mind told me that there were little bits of information that he was leaving out. I felt so helpless, being so far away and not knowing exactly what was going on. Growing up, the only time he would ever take a sick day from work was to care for me when I had gotten sick. He never complained when he wasn’t feeling well, so for him to be downplaying a situation wouldn’t surprise me.
“Well Dad, I’ll let you get back to your tile, I’ll call you again on Sunday, love you!” I blew kisses into the phone.
“Love you too, Kat,” he replied.
As the line disconnected I listened to the dial tone for a few seconds before putting it back on the receiver. I was probably being paranoid but the thought of anything being wrong with my father scared me to death. I tried to put it in the back of my mind. I had to give him some credit; I’m sure if something were wrong he would let me know. I headed back to my room not paying attention, walking right into Dr. Kiron’s rock-hard chest.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I said, looking up at him and realizing how much taller he was than me.
“Are you okay?” he said, grabbing my elbow.
“Yeah, just not paying attention,” I said, somewhat embarrassed. I gave him a smile and apologized again, continuing on my way.
“Hey Kat!”
I turned to look at him with butterflies in my stomach.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“Well actually I kind of am.”
“I was getting ready to go grab something, do you care to join me?”
My head was saying, no, Kat just walk away, this is the kind of kind of guy that you traveled miles away to forget, but my heart was screaming, yes! “Sure,” I answered quickly. I was hungry after all, so what was the harm of having some company to eat dinner with? I tried convincing myself.
We walked to the cafeteria, which was the next building over. I tried to think of conversation without sounding stupid. The rain had stopped and there was a warm breeze swaying the trees back and forth. He held the door for me as we entered the cafeteria. It was a large room identical to all the others, windowless with cinder block walls. The room was filled with five large tables and four smaller ones. I scanned the area quickly, looking for Tricia and James. Only one of the large tables was occupied with five people, none of whom were them. I stood back as one of the men from the table got up and walked over to Dr. Kiron to shake his hand and introduce himself. After a brief exchange, we walked over to decide what to eat. The cafeteria was set up very much like a primitive version of the one from my high school. Except the food in my high school cafeteria was much better.
“Well this all looks so appealing,” I said jokingly.
“Oh come on, this looks great,” he said, laughing as he took a spoonful that looked like some type of meat with noodles, dropping it back into the silver pan that it was in.
“I think I will just go with salad,” he said, laughing.
The food here was flown in weekly and was anything but appetizing. I found myself basically living off the four large boxes of power bars that I had bought with me. I felt myself get in a bit of a panic when I opened up my last box the other day. Even though I was starving I couldn’t bring myself to eat that horrible noodle concoction. I was way too hungry to be satisfied with a salad. So instead I opted for one of the huge slices of chocolate cake that were out for desert.
“Wow, that’s a healthy dinner,” he said laughing. I laughed too as I licked some of the icing off of my finger. We sat down at a smaller table, located on the other end of the room from where the others were sitting. To my surprise the cake was actually pretty good.
Dr. Kiron leaned back in his chair and intertwined his fingers behind his head. He made no attempt to hide that he was assessing me up and down, making me feel a little uncomfortable. “So, how long you’ve been here for?” he asked.
“Two months,” I answered, taking a mouthful of cake.
“Well, you get used to the food after a while,” he said.
“Somehow, I don’t think so,” I said.
I began to talk non-stop, something I always did when I was nervous. We talked about where I was from, what college I had gone to and where I had done my residency. Of course I told him all about my favorite guy - my dad. After a while it dawned on me that I didn’t come up for air. I apologized for being such a chatterbox. He never looked bored by anything I was saying. He listened closely and in fact even seemed amused. I did manage to find out that this was his third time here. He had had been to an array of other countries as well. He grew up in upstate New York and Chicago was now his home when he wasn’t traveling the world. He was on staff at Chicago Pediatric Hospital, which I already knew. He had an older sister who lived in Colorado and his parents lived in Florida. The only thing he did fail to mention was his age, which I was somewhat curious to know.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” I asked taking another bite of my cake, which I had been neglecting from all of my talking.
“Sure.” he said.
“How old are you?”
“Was that all? That’s nothing personal, thirty-two,” he said, exposing his adorable dimples again.
“Wow.” I took a sip of water. “You’re only four years older than me and I haven’t achieved even one percent of your accomplishments.”
“It’s just a lot of hard work and perseverance,” he said. “Sometimes I feel like I live at the hospital, but that’s the price you have to pay. Can I ask you a personal question now?” he asked.
“Um, sure,” I said nervously.
“Where the heck does a tiny girl like you put all that cake?”
I began to laugh. “Oh, I have a massi
ve sweet tooth. I think my body has been fooled into thinking that sugar is good for it,” I joked.
I found myself captivated once again by his piercing blue eyes as he gazed at me and I wondered if he realized just how sexy he was.
“So how does your boyfriend feel about you coming here?” Geez, he didn’t waste any time finding out what he wanted to know, I thought to myself.
“Don’t have one,” I replied.
“Really?” He raised his eyebrows as if surprised by my answer.
“How about your girlfriend?” I asked. Two could play this game.
“Don’t have one,” he said almost mimicking me.
“Oh, let me guess you have three or four,” I joked.
His smiled widened as if he were entertained by my sarcasm. “Umm, no I don’t do the girlfriend thing.”
“Ohhh - so you’re gay,” I said impressed with my quick wit, trying my best to contain my laughter.
He choked on the sip of water he had just taken. “No, I didn’t say that. I just don’t have committed relationships with women.” He said over emphasizing the ‘with women’ part. “I don’t have time for that with my job.”
“Oh, got ya,” I said, getting the message he was trying to convey. Which was he just had sex with woman – no strings attached. Yes, he was just like Jake but at least he didn’t try to hide it.
“Well, I better get going,” I said, feeling a little uncomfortable with where the conversation was headed and not wanting him to think that I had any plans on being his next one night stand.
I got up and pushed my chair in while he remained seated. He was sitting back in the same position that he was in when we first sat down; leaning back in his chair with his fingers intertwined behind his head. “Good night Dr. Kiron,” I said bashfully.
“Julian,” he corrected me.
“Okay, good night Julian,” I said sounding a little more sarcastic then I had intended. He didn’t seem to mind; in fact I think he liked it. He had a look of pure amusement on his face and was staring at me as if I had no clothes on. I walked away and could feel his beautiful eyes burning into my back. As I reached the door, I couldn’t help but turn around to look back at him. He was still gazing at me, his blue eyes were intense even from across the room. I stood in the doorway for a brief moment and gave him a quick smile before exiting. Yes, Dr. Kiron was beyond handsome and made my stomach do somersaults. But my head was telling me to stay as far away from him as possible. My heart on the other hand……
Chapter 5
I woke up exactly two minutes before my alarm was set to go off. I fumbled for the off button to avoid hearing the most dreaded sound of the day. I stretched my entire body before getting out of bed. Tricia was still snoring away. I decided to be a little selfish and have some uninterrupted time in the bathroom before I woke her. It was like playing a game of Twister in the morning with both of us getting ready at the same time. I figured she would appreciate an extra five minutes of sleep anyway. I showered and dressed giving myself one last look in the mirror.
I sat down on Tricia’s bed, giving her a gentle nudge as she turned over and mumbled something incoherent.
“Wake up, sleeping beauty,” I said, laughing at her.
“What time is it?” She sat up in a state of confusion with her short spiky hair sticking up all over the place.
“It’s time to get up,” I answered.
Tricia flung her feet over the side of the bed, sitting up next to me. “What happened to you last night?” She ran her fingers through her short hair.
“I spent the whole day with Akin, I wanted to be with him when he -” I stopped as I felt a lump forming in my throat.
“Oh Kat, I’m sorry,” Tricia said, grabbing my hand.
“Well at least he’s not suffering anymore,” I said sadly.
I felt a little guilty about leaving the part about Julian out, but it was just too early in the morning to be bombarded with questions.
“I’ll wait for you,” I said as she gathered her clothes and headed into the bathroom. It was Friday, which was one of the days that we worked together. Our entire day today consisted of the monotonous duty of administering vaccines. I sat on my bed and closed my eyes, listening to the water running from Tricia’s shower. I thought about the sadness of yesterday and braced myself knowing that Akin probably wouldn’t be the last child I would see pass away while I was here. I thought about Julian and this being his third time coming here and couldn’t imagine myself ever returning to such horrible devastation. It took a special kind of person and I knew I clearly was not that type. I was so deep in thought that I didn’t even hear the water turn off. Tricia walked out of the bathroom fully dressed and running her fingers through her wet hair.
“Ready?” I asked, handing her a power bar and a bottle of water - our breakfast for the day.
“Let’s go,” she said enthusiastically.
We arrived to set up for the long day ahead. There was already a line of people waiting to receive their much-needed inoculations. The building was packed with individuals coming in and out of the medical ward. We set up at a long table near the entryway and Tricia and I wasted no time, working diligently for hours administering one shot after another. There was a little lull in the action when we were finally able to catch our breath. Tricia began telling me about the problems that she had encountered with a patient yesterday. I listened closely offering her some advice, when I looked up to see Julian standing patiently at the table. This time it was me who was checking him out from head to toe. I was hoping that I wasn’t as obvious as he was last night. He was wearing khaki-colored shorts and a black button-up short-sleeved shirt. He looked just as handsome as yesterday.
“Hey Kat, sorry to interrupt,” he said, looking over at Tricia. “But have you seen Dr. Tylo anywhere?” There was a shortage of OB/GYNs on staff and Dr. Tylo was one of the few.
“No, sorry I haven’t.” I tried to hide my reaction from Tricia kicking me under the table.
“Well if you do, can you please tell him he’s needed in 17,” he said.
“Sure, is everything okay?”
“Just that a baby is about to be born in a few hours, and the mother needs to be examined, that’s just not my specialty.”
“No problem,” I answered.
“Oh Julian, by the way, this is Dr. Tricia Aller.” I felt Tricia staring at me in anticipation.
Tricia immediately jumped out of her seat to shake his hand. For the first time since I had known her she was speechless. Julian flashed his beautiful dimples at her as he shook her hand. She looked like she was melting at his gaze.
“Well I’ll see you guys later,” Julian said, giving me an extra smile. He was whisked away by another doctor who had been impatiently waiting for him the whole time we were talking.
Tricia was stunned. I prepared myself for her interrogation. “Kat? Julian?” she said in amazement. “Did I miss something? When did you become on a first-name basis with Dr. Kiron?”
“I was going to tell you, I swear,” I said in a culpable tone.
“Well,” Tricia said, raising her eyebrows. “I’m waiting!”
“Well after you ditched me for James yesterday,” I laughed. “I got stuck in the crowd waiting to exit and then I ended up meeting him.”
“Okay and just from that chance encounter he is now Julian?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Well not exactly,” I said hesitantly. “We had dinner together last night, or should I say I had cake.” I figured I wasn’t going to get away without giving her all the details. I bit the bullet and told her ever single detail. Tricia was completely absorbed in what I was saying, asking questions every now and then.
“Wow,” she said once she was satisfied with all the information. “Well he would be a quick fix to help you forget about Jake,” she added.
“Oh please, Tricia, he only asked me to dinner because he felt bad about how upset I was over Akin.”
“I don’t know. The way he
looked at you seems to be a little more than sympathy.” She raised one eyebrow.
“Keep dreaming,” I said, turning around to help a patient who had just walked in.
The afternoon picked up with more people coming in. Tricia and I didn’t really have any extra time to further discuss last night, which I was very appreciative of. I didn’t want my little encounter with Julian to be blown up into something it wasn’t. Even though seeing him today did release some butterflies in my stomach.
“Thank God its five o’clock, our sentence is over.” Tricia put her head down on the table.
“I’m starving.” I said realizing that we hadn’t eaten anything but our power bars all day. “Let’s go get something to eat.”
We packed up all of the supplies and placed them in the lock box. James was just finishing up for the day as well and was planning on joining us for dinner when he all of a sudden disappeared. Tricia ran off to find him. I gathered my belongings and was waiting patiently for the two of them to return when I caught a glimpse of Julian entering the building. I tried my best to convince myself that the butterflies I was feeling in my stomach were really hunger pains. He seemed to be absorbed in a deep conversation with two other doctors. I could hear him rapping up his discussion as he approached me.
“You’re still here?” he asked.
“Yeah just finished up.” I couldn’t help but focus my attention on the huge raised blister on his arm. “What happened to your arm?”
“Oh, I think a spider got me,” he said looking down at it.
“When did that happen?” I asked moving closer to examine it. It was blue in the center and ringed by redness.
“I don’t know, I guess sometime today,” he said nonchalantly.
“You have to treat that, it looks like it’s getting infected,” I said with concern.
