by Marie Jem
“I have to say, Alex, I’m very impressed. You really love to make a difference in people’s lives. That’s a great quality,” I complimented.
I apologized for my reaction the night before. I didn’t want there to be tension between us. I really enjoyed talking to Alex and spending time with him. I wanted to see where the relationship could go and he deserved a chance as well as I.
“No apology needed, Claire. I was wrong to have pushed you too far and should have known my limits. Did you want to hang out today?” he asked.
“My dad and brothers are coming with a moving truck today to help me finish the move. Maybe after we are all done, we can go for some coffee. I will call you, okay?” I said. Alex seemed to like the idea.
My father arrived with Kyle and Calvin, disassembled my bedroom furniture, took apart the entertainment system and loaded it into the moving truck. They were surprised how much I had moved the day before. Thanks to Alex, I didn’t have much left to do.
Kyle and Calvin had not seen the new condo yet and they absolutely loved it. They asked my father if they could have one also, after they finished graduate school. My father laughed and said it might be a possibility. My bed was assembled in my new home and my entertainment center was ready to entertain. I was ready to start a new chapter in my life, in my new home.
Chapter 3
I texted Alex after my father and brothers left to notify him that my move was complete. He sounded very eager to see me. “I’m just going to take a quick shower and I will be there within an hour,” he said quickly. I decided I would take another shower and wash my hair this time. I thought I should apply some makeup because I didn’t want him to notice my puffy eyes from sobbing the night before. I dried and styled my long brown hair and slipped into a summer dress. It was another very hot day in the Valley.
The guard at the front gate called to notify me of Alex’s arrival. I really liked my new gated and secure home. It made me feel safe and would keep unwanted and uninvited strangers away. I accepted and asked the guard to please let him in. I took one last look in the mirror to make sure I looked all right and waited for Alex.
Alex arrived in a much different car this time. It wasn’t the large black Ford truck. It was a black Porsche Carrera turbo. Boy did he look amazing in that car. It suited him very much. He made his way out of the car gracefully, slowly removing his sunglasses.
“Hi, gorgeous. Wow, you look really beautiful today,” he held a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a large gift in the other.
“Hi yourself, and thank you. What is all this, Alex?” I asked.
“It’s nothing. It’s just a small housewarming gift. Did you think I was going to come empty handed on my first real visit here?” He asked, smiling. His teeth looked even whiter that day. He handed me the flowers and I went to look for a vase.
“Claire, before you put the flowers in a vase, please open the gift first.”
I unwrapped the beautiful package and exposed a Tiffany box. I looked up at him, wondering what he had gotten from there. I opened the box and found a beautiful crystal vase. How perfect it was. My flowers were going to look even more beautiful in that vase.
“Oh, Alex! It’s beautiful! You really shouldn’t have. It’s so thoughtful and sweet of you. I love it!” I thanked him.
“It’s not as beautiful as you, Claire. I hope you like it,” he said as he hugged me, giving me a kiss on my cheek.
I put the flowers in the vase, added water and admired them one more time. What a sweet gesture, I thought.
“Claire, are you hungry? I’m starving. I barely ate anything today,” he complained.
“I’m so glad you said that Alex because I haven’t had a bite to eat today. I’m starving too,” I laughed.
We decided to have sushi. I was so glad Alex liked sushi because I couldn’t live without it. We were so hungry that we ended up ordering half of the food on the menu. We laughed when we realized we had so much leftover food.
“I have a surgery really early tomorrow morning. As much as I don’t want this night to end, we both need a decent night sleep.” I agreed with him and he drove me home. He walked me inside, gave me a hug and a kiss on the lips, but nothing more. “I had a great time, Claire. I really like spending time with you,” he kissed me again and walked to his car.
“Thank you for the beautiful vase and flowers, Alex, and thank you for dinner. Drive safely,” I said as he drove away. I sighed. This man really knew how to take my breath away.
<><><>
The next morning was very busy at work. Walter had many meetings scheduled for the week, so he needed us to help him prepare his presentations. Laura was still training me on the things I hadn’t learned my first week at the hospital. She even showed me how to assist the nursing payroll department, as they needed help often.
“Claire, could you schedule a meeting for Wednesday, early in the morning with the surgical team? That department has been patiently waiting for a meeting to discuss their issues and needs. Please do not forget to invite Taryn Simmonds, the Director of the Post Surgical Recovery Unit,” Walter asked, standing next to my cubicle. “Laura will show you how to book the conference room and order breakfast. That department will not attend a meeting in which they are not fed,” we all laughed at his remark.
Laura showed me how to book the meetings, how to invite the guests via email and gave me a laptop, as I would take notes from the meeting and document all the important facts. She even gave me a recorder in case something was missed, I would be able to use that as a reference.
This would be the first meeting where Alex and I would be in one conference room. I was very curious if he would be able to attend or if he had another surgery that morning.
“Oh, Claire,” Laura began, “not all of the surgeons will be able to make it to the meeting because some of them have surgeries booked on that date and time, so don’t be alarmed if less than half the staff the accepts the invitation,” she said.
“Oh okay, thanks Laura. I hadn’t thought about that,” I replied.
Laura was right, quite a few surgeons declined due to a booked procedure, but Alex wasn’t one of them. He accepted the meeting invitation via email and a text soon followed.
Will the lovely Claire be attending this meeting?
She will be attending and taking notes.
Then I will enjoy every minute of it. Would you like to come over to my place on Friday night? I want to cook for you. I promise I won’t poison you. I actually know how to cook. Please say yes.
Hmm, that sounds nice, actually. Will you have time to cook after work? Won’t it be late?
I’m only working in the clinic until noon on Friday. I just have a few pre-op and post-op patients.
That sounds great, Alex. I look forward to it.
Perfect. Can’t wait.
He cooks, I thought as I put my cell phone down. I was still looking for flaws. Wasn’t there anything wrong with him? He seemed too good to be true. I had to stop looking for the bad in people and just absorb the good, and I saw a lot of good in Alex Blake.
<><><>
On the drive home, I called Katherine to fill her in on all that had taken place since the last time we had spoken. I told her about the incident the other night when the kissing got out of hand. “Claire, you have to talk to him. He seems like he’s crazy about you. That was really nice of him to apologize and want to see you again and again. Promise me it won’t be long before you talk to him and tell him your story.”
“But what if he doesn’t understand or doesn’t want to see me anymore or thinks that I’m weird or stupid or…”
“Stop, Claire. You’re doing it again. If he doesn’t understand, then he’s one big jerk just like James was and he does not deserve you. Honestly, I think this guy is really crazy about you,” Katherine assured.
“I hope you’re right. I miss you, Kathy. Let’s get together soon,” I replied and continued to drive home in the horrible traffic. It took much longer t
o get home that day. It must have been the usual Monday traffic.
My cell phone rang shortly after my conversation with Katherine. It was Alex, “Hi beautiful, what are you up to?” he asked.
“I’m just driving home in this crazy traffic. What about you?” I asked.
“I’m still at the hospital, just finished the last surgery for the day. There have been so many unexpected emergency surgeries this week. I’m exhausted, but I wanted to hear your voice. That always makes me feel much better. I’m really looking forward to cooking for you on Friday,” he said.
“And I’m looking forward to eating whatever it is that you will be cooking,” I replied. Alex told me he would call me after he got home.
After what seemed like eternity, I finally made it home. I couldn’t wait to take a warm bath, surrounded by scented candles. My new condo included a very large Jacuzzi tub in the master bathroom. I didn’t have that in the old place, so it was a real treat. I loved soaking in the tub at my parents’ house. After my bath, I realized my refrigerator was empty, and so was my pantry. I found a few things to snack on and made a note to myself to stop by the grocery store the next day to stock up on food. I wanted to do yoga so badly, but was too tired to move. The past weekend had been very draining with the move on Saturday and Sunday and staying out late the night before with Alex. A new text message arrived from him.
Go to lunch with me tomorrow. I will be done with my morning surgery by noon. Will you meet me at Bradley’s Diner?
I will let you know how my schedule is tomorrow. It’s been very busy and Walter has a lot of meetings scheduled for this week.
Let’s play it by ear. I hope you had a good day today. I have an early morning surgery, so I’m going to turn in now. I miss you already. Goodnight, beautiful.
Actually, I kind of miss you too. I’ve been getting used to hanging out with you. Goodnight, Alex.
He was so sweet, so gentle. I was still looking for flaws, but couldn’t find any to save my life. I surrendered to sleep quite quickly that night, but was awakened by the same nightmare I’d been having for years, the white van and the shadow of someone chasing me. I was running as fast as I could until it caught me and I collapsed and woke up screaming and covered in sweat. It took hours before I fell asleep again and was awakened by the alarm too soon. I noticed I had received a text from Alex at five in the morning.
Good morning, beautiful. I’m about to leave for work now. I just wanted to say good morning and hope to do lunch today if you’re free.
I was hoping I could meet him for lunch as well. As soon as I arrived at work, Laura began to talk a mile a minute. The information was overwhelming and my head began to spin. The deadlines were getting tighter and tighter. I decided I would grab some coffee and start working right away, not wasting any time. Hours passed like minutes, it was so busy. By the time it was noon, I had completed almost an entire days’ work. I was very happy with myself. Now, I could text Alex and let him know I could meet him for lunch.
Hi Alex, I might be able to meet you for lunch after all.
That’s great! I was about to text you to confirm. Meet me there in 15 minutes.
I told Laura I had some personal errands to run and she understood. I got to Bradley’s before Alex and looked around to make sure nobody from work was having lunch there. I didn’t notice anybody familiar. A few minutes later, Alex arrived.
“Hey, you look really good, as usual, Claire. I missed you yesterday,” he frowned. I missed him too, but I didn’t want to open up that quickly.
“Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself,” I winked. We ordered the usual right away, so we wouldn’t waste time.
“Claire, I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about you that’s so captivating. I can’t get my mind off of you. These feelings are new to me, as I don’t normally feel this way about someone I have just met. It’s like I’m a teenager again. It’s difficult to explain,” he confessed.
“Really? But you don’t even know me, Alex. You just know my name, where I live, where I work. That’s all you know. And I hardly know anything about you. At least you know where I live. I don’t even know where you live and I’m coming over for dinner on Friday night,” I laughed.
“Malibu. I live in Malibu, not too far from where we had our first dinner date. Now we’re even,” he smiled. We finished our lunch and he walked me to my car and planted a kiss on my lips. His kisses were getting more passionate, if that was even possible. “I have a few patients to see in the clinic and I’m done for the day. Maybe we can get together after you’re done,” with one last kiss, I drove back to work.
<><><>
It was five o’clock before I knew it. I recalled I needed to stop by the grocery store on the way home if I didn’t want to starve. Alex called while I was driving and I asked him if he wanted to come have dinner with me, since I would be buying at least a week’s worth of food. He liked the idea and told me he was on his way from work. I had gotten a rotisserie chicken and would make a green salad. After the amount of sushi we had consumed the other night, we vowed to eat light all week. Alex arrived about an hour after we spoke. My new furniture had not arrived yet, so we would have to eat in the kitchen bar area, since I already had the bar stools.
“This is perfect, Claire. I really don’t care if we have to sit on the floor and eat as long as I’m spending time with you,” he expressed. We were in the middle of dinner when the guard called to notify me that my parents were outside by the main gate. I started to panic and Alex noticed. I covered the receiver and let him know that my parents were outside, but he didn’t care. “I would love to meet them,” he said comfortably.
“But they should have called,” I said.
“They’re your parents, they don’t have to call. Besides, they own this place, remember?” He reminded me.
I asked the guard to let them in, but I was so nervous. I wasn’t ready to tell them about Alex yet. It was too soon and I didn’t want them to get too excited or jump to conclusions or what if they didn’t like him. So many thoughts ran through my mind. The doorbell finally rang and I answered the door and let my parents in.
“Hi honey!” my mother exclaimed.
“Hi mom, hi dad, come in…I uh…wasn’t expecting you guys. Is everything okay?” I asked. My mother noticed Alex standing there in his scrubs first. My father turned to look in the direction my mother was facing because her jaw was on the floor. Alex started to walk over to them and put out his hand to shake their hands. “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan. I’m Alex, I work with Claire at the hospital,” he said. My mother’s mouth was still hanging open. I wanted to tell her very badly that she needed to close her mouth because she was embarrassing me. My father took a good look at Alex then put out his hand to shake his hand. “Good to meet you, Alex,” he said.
“Oh yes, hello, Alex, very nice to meet you,” said my mother. She was almost lost for words.
“Alex helped me move on Saturday,” I reminded them.
“This is who helped you with the move? How sweet of you, Alex. Thank you for doing that for Claire. She mentioned she was going to have help, but left out the good parts,” my mother laughed.
“Mom,” I looked at her with my eyes wide. I was mortified.
“It was so good to meet you both, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan, but I should get going now. I have to get up very early tomorrow morning. We have a big meeting,” Alex got up to leave.
“We just came to drop off some mail that had gone to Claire’s old condo since we were there today. Don’t let us intrude. Please finish your dinner,” my father expressed. My parents started to head out, shaking hands with Alex again. My mother looked at me as if she couldn’t wait for the juicy details. I had a feeling they liked him.
“Alex, you should join us for dinner one night when Claire comes over,” my mother said.
“I will definitely take you up on that offer, Mrs. Morgan,” Alex looked excited.
My parents left and I turned to Alex
and took a deep breath and then exhaled.
“Claire, your parents are really great. I can tell how much they love you and care about you. I think they kind of like me also, don’t you think?” he grinned.
“What’s there not to like, Dr. Blake?” I winked at him.
“I was serious about accepting your mother’s dinner offer. I would really like to have dinner with you and your parents someday,” he replied. He was definitely a keeper.
“They would love that, especially my mother. I think she liked you,” I said.
We finished eating and it was time for Alex to go home and get some sleep, so I could turn in early as well. He gave me a very long hug and it felt so good to just be held like that. He ran his fingers through my hair and softly kissed my lips and whispered, “Goodnight, beautiful.”
<><><>
Right before I climbed into bed, I called my mother because she had texted me a dozen times asking me to call her after Alex left.
“Claire, why didn’t you tell us about this handsome Alex? Did it say plastic surgery on his scrubs? Your father and I apologize for just dropping by like that, but had we known you had company, we would never have showed up like that, honey. So, tell me everything and don’t leave anything out.” I told her the whole story, beginning with the flat tire, running into him at the new job, having no idea he worked there or was a surgeon. I told her about the dinner dates, the lunch dates, the texts, the phone calls, and even the incident from the night before.
“Claire, you have to be honest with him. Don’t push him away. Communication is key in a relationship. You mustn’t assume he is like James or other men. Everyone is different one way or another. We all have different personalities, so don’t categorize anybody with assumptions,” my mother advised professionally.
