by Eric Asher
“No it’s not that. I am doing surgery tomorrow and wanted to know if you want to observe. Sometimes Bev has come in and observed and been there if I need anything. I just wanted to see if you wanted to – at least that way you can see what is involved. I know you don’t like needles but what do you say?”
“Erm yeah that could be good, something different anyway. I’ll get to see you in action then Dr Whyte” I smile at him.
“Yes you will. Up close and personal.” He winks at me. I wish he would stop doing that – it does funny things to my insides. “Now come on I am taking you out this evening if you are free.”
“Well as a matter of fact I am free Dr Whyte. Where are you going to take me?”
“We are going on a foursome tonight. Seamus is meeting Janie and he wants some back up. We are going for a drink and then going to the cinema.”
Why does Janie need back up – she’s not shy. “That sounds like fun. Shall I meet you in town? What time?”
“I’ll pick you up.” I give it to him.
“OK I’ll see you later, about seven thirty is that ok?”
“Perfect, see you then.” He watches me get in the car and then I drive off.
When I get home I run around trying to find something to wear. Some of my clothes are too big as I’ve lost more weight, so I am happy that I went shopping the other day. I find the black jumpsuit that I bought. It has fitted ankle cuffs, with tapered legs and it has a plunge neck that goes into a V. It really is nice and when I put it on after my shower, I feel very comfortable and a little bit sexy.
I have dried my hair straight, for a change, and used the new make up that I bought with Bridie. I’ve just come downstairs when the front door bell rings.
I open the door “Hi Toby come in while I get my coat and bag.”
He walks in and looks around “I love the wallpaper, your dad is good.”
I smile at him “yes he is. Come on then let’s go!”
He walks out first so that I can lock the door behind me. He opens the door for me to get in his car, and then after he has closed it he walks around the other side and gets in himself. “We are going to meet them in the Morgan Hotel for a cocktail and then we are going to the Dublin Screen in D’Olier Street.”
“I’ve never been to that cinema before.”
“It’s very small and intimate but it’s never that busy so it’s a good one.”
He drives into town and then when we get to D’Olier Street he drives into an underground car park. “I didn’t know there was a car park here!”
“This is the car park for my apartment building. I live here.”
“Wow, this is certainly in the centre of things here. Why do you even have a car? You can walk to work from here.”
He laughs. “I might be able to walk to work but I can’t walk everywhere, if I didn’t have a car I wouldn’t have been able to pick you up would I?” He manoeuvers his car into a parking spot and then he jumps out of the car and opens my door for me. He is a real gentleman. “Madame” he says winking at me. He takes my hand to help me out.
He steers me in the direction of the lift and when we are inside he presses the button for street level. Neither of us says anything whilst we are in the lift, we just look at each other.
When we get out onto the street I step closer to him, it is really busy. “I never tire of being in the city at night time, it is always bustling with people and there are lots of tourists, especially down in this part of town.”
“That’s why I love the City Faith, you never get lonely because there are always people around. New York is very much like that and when I was moving back here I wanted to feel like I was in New York again.” He takes my hand and helps me cross the road.
“You’ll have to tell me about your time in the States Dr Whyte. I think I’d find that very interesting.”
He doesn’t let go of my hand like I thought he would once we are on the other side of the road. I don’t take it away either. We walk down Temple Bar until we come to the Morgan Hotel and he lets go of my hand and opens the door for me to walk inside. When we do I spot Janie and walk over to her and give her a big hug.
“Faith, how nice to see you. I didn’t think I would see you until Friday. Oh I’m so happy you’re here.” She takes my hand and brings me over to Seamus. “Seamus you remember Faith don’t you.”
“Of course I do, how could I forget a beautiful woman like Faith.” He smiles and then turns to face me “how’s your new job going?”
Janie hears him “oh my god have you got a new job already? I knew it wouldn’t be long before someone snapped you up.”
“Well it’s not quite a new job.” I say smiling at Toby. “Janie, do you remember Toby?” She nods. “Janie this is my new boss, well for this week anyway.”
“Wow really?”
I nod. “Yes really. I’m only helping him out of a tight spot but I’m enjoying it. He’s not bad to look at either” I say blushing.
Toby laughs “it’s nice from my perspective too.” He smiles at me and I blush even more. Janie giggles.
“So what does everyone want to drink?” Toby says moving towards the bar. We all tell him what we would like to drink, then he has the server bring them to our table.
We have a couple of drinks and a really good laugh before we go to the cinema. Seamus and Janie are actually a really well suited couple. It’s fascinating how two people meet by pure chance and are actually meant to be together.
Janie and I go to the toilet before we leave the hotel. “Oh my god Faith, you kept Toby quiet. I thought you were just friends.”
“We are just friends Janie.”
“Well you could have fooled me. You could cut the sexual tension with a knife it’s that thick.”
I laugh. “Don’t be silly. He is a lovely man and someday he will make a lady very happy but that won’t be me. I am not in his league, but I like him, he is a good friend.”
“Whatever you say hun” she says giggling.
I walk out of the toilets and Seamus and Toby are waiting for us. Janie walks up to Seamus and puts her arm through his and turns and winks at me.
Toby leans in and offers his arm for me to take. I hesitate for only a moment and then I link arms with him. He leans in close and whispers in my ear “see those guys over there.” I look in their direction and nod. “They were watching you when you were sitting with Janie and they couldn’t take their eyes off you when you went to the toilet.”
They are good looking men, I wonder why they were looking at me. “They probably wondered what I was doing here.”
He stops and turns to look at me, he has taken his arm out from under mine. He puts his two hands on my two arms and says “Faith, please don’t keep putting yourself down. You are a beautiful and a very sexy woman and they can see it, I can definitely see it, so why can’t you?”
I’m speechless; I don’t know what to say. I look down to the floor. He reaches out and puts his finger under my chin and raises my face to look at his. Our eyes meet, I can feel my heart beating really fast and I stop breathing for a second. He is really beautiful, if I can use that word for a man. He leans down and kisses me on the cheek. “I want to claim you, I don’t want them to look at you like that, I want them to be jealous and think you are mine.” He stands upright and smiles at me. Then he takes my hand and we leave the hotel.
Seamus and Janie are waiting outside and they didn’t see what just happened. I actually don’t know what just happened. I know he was telling me about those guys because he wants me to believe I’m sexy the way I am. I know that really they were looking at me because I’m bigger than everyone else in the place.
We get to the cinema, get our tickets and we see they sell wine. Oh my god I am going to have a bad head in the morning and I remember that we need to be in for eight o’clock. When we sit down I say to Toby “I just remembered that we need to be in surgery for eight o’clock, I shouldn’t drink anymore.”
“You don’t h
ave to come in then if you don’t want to. You can come in later if you need to. Honestly it’s fine” he says while giving me another glass of wine. He smiles at me and then leans over and whispers in my ear “let yourself go Faith. It’s the only way you will relax enough to see what’s in front of you.”
I don’t know what he means by that but I take the glass of wine from him and take a sip. He makes me feel all warm inside, I really like him. He is really good to me.
The movie is good, but I spend most of the night sipping my wine and looking at Toby. I think he knows I am looking at him because he keeps turning and smiling at me.
The movie is over. I think I’ve had too much to drink. I stumble. Toby helps me and then he says goodbye to the others. “Toby I need to get a taxi, I should have gone with Janie, I could have shared with her.”
He smiles. “Janie isn’t going home, she is going to stay with Seamus.”
“Oh I see.” I don’t know what to say.
Toby laughs, “come on lets get you home.” He flags down a taxi and when it pulls up he opens the door for me to get in. I do and then he surprises me by sliding in next to me.
“You don’t need a taxi, you only live there.” I laugh pointing at his apartment building.
“I know, but what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t make sure you got home safely. I’m not that type of guy Faith.”
“I know.” I whisper.
The taxi pulls up outside my house and I start to get some money out, but Toby waves me out of the car. He pays for the taxi and then he follows me to the house.
“Toby I erm …. I erm … are you coming in?”
“Yes” he laughs “I need to make sure you are ok. I can call a taxi later when I need to go home.”
He follows me into the house. “I’ll make some coffee Faith if that’s ok? Take a seat.”
I can feel myself drifting off and I am vaguely aware of the smell of coffee, the feeling of being as light as a feather and then the smell of Armani Code. It is becoming one of my most favourite smells.
The alarm wakes me up, it’s the beep beep which drives me crazy. I slowly open one eye, not too bad. I open the other, alright this could be ok. Then I try and sit up, not bad at all. I must have just been tired last night. It was a really good night, I had a lot of fun. Toby is really good fun. I realise that I am still in my jumpsuit, I’m sure it doesn’t look as sexy this morning.
I go downstairs to get some coffee to get me moving this morning. It’s an early start and I am excited because today I am going to see what the surgery is all about.
I see a note on the table, strange. As I approach the table I remember that Toby brought me home and I must have fallen asleep.
Faith,
I carried you to bed, I hope you don’t mind but I didn’t want you to sleep on the couch all night. I made sure you were all right before I left you alone.
If you don’t make it in early for the surgery, that is not a problem.
Just so you know I really enjoyed last night and would love to do it again.
See you later
Toby xx
I can’t believe he carried me to bed, he must be really strong and that’s kind of embarrassing. Now that very sexy man knows how heavy I am. Urgh!
I drink my coffee and then drag myself upstairs and into the shower. I don’t have time to dry my hair and after doing my makeup I jump in the car and drive to the clinic.
I get in there with about ten minutes to spare. Toby is already there and is surprised when he opens the door to see me there. “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it” he says smiling at me while he holds the door for me to go in.
“I’m still running on fumes I think.” I laugh.
He makes coffee and then he takes me through to the operating room. He is explaining what everything is and what he wants me to do. The doorbell rings. I go and open the door and let his patient in. I notice that it is Poppy. I can’t remember what work she is having done. She is perfect the way she is – why is she having work done?
I watch Toby while he is settling her in, he is doing all her general observations – blood pressure, pulse, bloods etc. He does it all himself, I don’t think he really needs me here. When she is in her gown and on the bed, he administers the anesthetic and she slowly falls asleep. “Right Faith are you ready for this?”
“What is she having done? She is perfect the way she is.”
He chuckles “the one thing I have found in my job is that no one is ever satisfied. I have carried out a few different surgeries on Poppy and she is never happy, there is always something else to be done.”
He starts to undo her gown and then he pulls it all the way down to her waist, revealing everything from the waist up. I gasp.
He looks at me “she is having another breast enlargement. She is never satisfied.”
“Wow, I never really thought about laying here on the bed, and you seeing everything like that.”
He laughs. “How did you think I would do it all Faith?”
“I don’t suppose I had thought that far really.” I’m embarrassed to think that when I have my breast enlargement he will have to see my breasts and then he will have to touch them. It makes me feel warm inside and also jealous that he is now touching her breasts, right here in front of me.
“I don’t suppose you had.”
I watch him for a while, he is cutting the tissue when the phone rings and to be honest I am happy for the distraction.
I disappear in and out during the next hour while he is performing the surgery and I am fascinated, he is truly amazing.
When he is finished and Poppy is in recovery he comes out to see me in reception. It has been busy with phone calls so I haven’t seen him for a couple of hours. “How did it all go?”
“It went well, she will be pleased with results, but she will be back for more.” He then goes back to see how she is doing.
It’s closing time when I see him again. “I’m going home Toby I am really tired. Thank you for last night, I really appreciate you looking after me.”
“I’ll always look after you Faith.”
“Do you need me tomorrow Toby?”
“I do if you want to come in.”
“I’d love to. I am going out though tomorrow night with Janie and the old gang. I think Seamus is meeting her, do you want to come?”
He smiles and his eyes light up. “I’d love to. What time? Where? Is it a special occasion?”
I laugh, he sounds like a young boy. “Good. Eight O’clock. Bruxelles. It’s Jakes birthday.”
The smile slips off his face. “I’m not sure I should go with you if it’s your old work friends. Especially if Jake is going to be there. I know how you feel about him and don’t want to stand in your way. I have my own opinion of him and I know that you don’t agree with me.”
“Toby I want you to come with me, I like you, we have fun together. Please?”
“I’ll see.” He turns and walks back down the corridor. “See you in the morning Faith, enjoy your evening.”
I leave and drive home. I feel like something is missing, I don’t feel happy. What did I do to upset him? I thought he would want to come out with me. Maybe I read the signs wrong, I thought he liked me as a friend.
I don’t feel up to eating anything and I am really tired so I have a shower and climb into bed. I am just dropping off when my phone beeps with a text.
“Sorry” It’s Toby.
“It’s ok. I don’t know what I did to upset you but I’m sorry too.”
“Just remember I still have the rest of the week to make you realise how beautiful you are.”
“It will take longer than a week Toby and I don’t have that much time remember.”
“I’m sorry. See you tomorrow x.”
“Night. X”
Today was a bit strange. Toby was more distant than he has been all week and I don’t like it. I have got used to him being nice to me and being there, but today he kept away
from me. I don’t understand and it makes me feel sad.
I didn’t even see him at lunchtime, I went to get a sandwich and ate it in the park near work. He is busy though so maybe that is what has kept him occupied.
There is an hour left in the day before I can go home when he comes out to reception and smiles at me. His smile makes all the hurt I have had today disappear, because he has been so distant.
“I know you won’t like this but I promised myself that I would do everything I could to help you realise your true self. So, I have booked an appointment for you at Hermans Hair Salon to have highlights and a new haircut.” He holds up his hands in mock surrender. “I had booked it earlier in the week before I knew you were going out tonight, but it’s a great opportunity for your friends to start seeing the new you.”
“Toby … I can’t let you do that. I have to get dressed and all of that, I don’t have time.”
“Well you are leaving work now, there isn’t much to do anyway.”
“but ….”
“No but’s Faith. You promised me and I will be really upset if you don’t do it.” He looks at me with his downturned mouth and I start laughing.
“OK, ok what time is my appointment?”
“Erm you’ve got fifteen minutes. I will collect you from your house at eight o’clock and bring you back into town when you are ready. Then we can go together.” He smiles at me and all is forgiven.
“I think you’re a bit of a bully!” I say laughing.
“Not at all, just trying to prove a point.”
“Well I will be late so I had better go. See you later.”
I leave and go to the salon. They treat me so well, I get a coffee and a head massage when they wash my hair. I get a footrest and they talk me through different cuts and colours. I tell them that I don’t know what I want and can they decide what would look best.
When I leave there, I am amazed by the woman who looks at me from the mirror in the car. Who is she? She isn’t me, she can’t be! She’s beautiful. After they did my hair, they were all so delighted with the way it had turned out, they did my makeup and my nails too. I can’t believe how it makes me feel. I feel like someone else.
