Juliette breezes in with a big smile and a hug, “Leigh, welcome home, congratulations.”
Leigh looks Juliette up and down, flicks her eyebrow up in distaste and says, “I see you’re still dressing like a college student.”
Juliette flippantly responds, “This isn’t Downton Abby, I’m not dressing up for dinner at home with Mom and Dad.”
Turning to an average height, average build, and balding guy in his forties, Juliette reaches her hand out, “Hi, I’m Leigh’s sister, Juliette.”
Mr. Middle age reluctantly shakes her hand.
Leigh gushes, “This is John.”
If Juliette is twenty-five and her sister is two years older, this guy has to be at least fifteen years older than Leigh. Juliette said the family knows practically nothing about him; her parents only met him once when they visited Leigh in New York. This will be a very educational dinner. Juliette introduces both Leigh and John to me as her mom serves everyone wine, while we wait for her dad to show up with her grandmother.
Juliette asks, “Did you go on a hike with Mom and Dad this morning?”
Leigh disdainfully raises her eyebrow. “John and I stayed at the Four Seasons in San Francisco last night. We met friends of John’s for lunch.”
Knowing Leigh is in fashion I ask, “John, what do you do?”
“Finance.”
This is going to be a long dinner if this guy’s answering in one word sentences. As I respond, “New York’s the place to be if you are in finance.”
Leigh starts gushing, “John’s just so modest; he runs this really big fund. All these big names on Wall Street always want to meet with him.”
Now I know why some average guy in his forties attracted a pretty women in her twenties, though I wouldn’t say the guy’s modest. It’s obvious that he’s decided that none of us are important, what with his one word answers and all.
The stilted air is broken by Juliette’s dad coming in with her grandmother. Her dad walks into the living room and Leigh gives him a great big hug. Leigh is a lot more affectionate with her dad then she is with her mom or Juliette. Her grandmother introduces herself to John telling him he should call her Shirley.
Her grandmother’s a crack up as long as her unfiltered conversation isn’t focused on you. “John, I hear you’re in finance in New York City. Were you one of those fellows that brought down the economy back in 2008?” she asks.
He pales. “It’s much more complicated than you’re making it out to be.”
“Oh, that’s just what you finance guys like to say to us seniors when you’re stealing all our money.” Turning to Leigh, Grandma adds, “You know, you really don’t want to marry him if he’s a crook.” Then she points to me. “Now, Nate’s a doctor. Nate, did I tell you about my friend Betty’s latest surgery?”
Juliette interrupts, “Grandma, no one wants to hear about your friend’s medical problems, and Nate doesn’t work on old people, only athletes.”
Of course, this doesn’t deter Shirley. Juliette’s dad interrupts, “Mom, stop interrogating Nate. We’re here to meet John and celebrate the engagement.”
Juliette jumps in, “Leigh, you need to show me your engagement ring.”
Getting the first smile from Leigh, she lifts her hand and shows off a huge rock; the stone must be five carats.
Juliet looks at it, her eyes get big, “How can you even lift your hand? That ring’s huge. Aren’t you afraid of losing it?”
Leigh coyly smiles in reply.
Juliette’s mom jumps in, “Leigh, have you decided where you’re going to have the wedding?”
“Well, not here. Of course it will be in Manhattan.”
Shirley pops back in, “One of my friends had money with Bernie Madoff. Her sister lives in Manhattan and told her he was safe and conservative. Nothing, she’s left with nothing. Now he was a great big financial crook.” Turning to John “You’re not like Bernie Madoff?”
Leigh gets angry, “Grandma, I bring my fiancé here to meet my family and you call him a crook. You owe John a big apology.”
“Well, John, are you a crook like Bernie Madoff?”
It’s obviously that John is not taking the crazy grandmother seriously; he seems more bored then anything, as he looks out the window.
Surprisingly, the dinner goes downhill from there as John remains annoyed that he’s here, Leigh goes from bored to annoyed, and Shirley moves back to asking me medical questions. And so on….
On the way home, Juliette says, “You can’t complain. I was trying to spare you from my family. You’re the one that wanted to meet everyone. Tomorrow will be even worse since all the friends and the rest of the family are showing up.”
***
Actually, Sunday’s better since the rest of the family and friends are normal and we don’t need to hang out with Leigh and John. But I avoid the living room, where Shirley’s planted herself, as she and the other seniors loudly discuss the price of prescription pills.
Chapter 33 – Dinner with Jamie
Jamie: Dinner, just you and me.
Me: What’s up?
Jamie: I need to talk to my brother.
Good, maybe she’s breaking up with Tyler. We meet. I can tell she has something on her mind. I make sure she’s had a beer and some food before I broach the subject. “What’s up?”
“Mellissa called me.”
“Really? What’s with that?”
“She told me she saw on Facebook that Mariana is now working at Leland. What’s going on? Have you seen her?”
I push away from the table annoyed. “Nothing’s going on. I’m still with Juliette.”
“Still?”
Taking a deep breath, “Mariana wants me back.”
“What! Please tell me you’re not thinking of doing that.”
I shrug, “We were engaged. I love her.”
“Love her, not loved her? Shit, Nate. Does Juliette know?”
“Of course not.”
“Oh, that sneaky little bitch. Yeah, big coincidence, she shows up at the same hospital as you, just when you finally move on and are happy with a new girl.”
“How would she know?”
“Really? I saw the pictures you posted in Tahoe. Anyway, you have lots of mutual friends in Rochester.”
Shit, now I’m really glad I hardly ever post anything on Facebook. We sit in silence for a few minutes, “Is Mariana stalking me? Why?”
Jamie rolls her eyes, then says, “You need to tell Juliette.”
“Juliette doesn’t need to know.”
“And when Mariana introduces herself to Juliette and tells her about the two of you working together. How do you think sweet Juliette will take that?”
“Shit, you think Mariana would blow up my relationship?”
“Then you’ll be free to go back to her.”
“Shit!”
“You wouldn’t consider going back to her, right?”
I shake my head. “Shit, what do I want?”
“Nate, just think about it. What if Juliette’s old love was blowing up her phone and she didn’t tell you he was back in town. What would you think?”
“How do you know she’s blowing up my phone?”
“Really? That psycho. You know if you go back to her, she’ll do it again. You’ll think everything is wonderful and without notice, she’ll leave. I bet she just did that with her last boyfriend. People have a very consistent MO.”
As I drive home, I debate what to tell Juliette. Jamie’s right. If I found out her old boyfriend was in town, she saw him, and didn’t tell me, I would just assume…I would assume exactly what I’m thinking. The old Clash song plays in my brain. “Should I stay or should I go now? If I go there will be trouble, if I stay it will be double….”
Chapter 34 - Luke
I’ve run into Cassie’s boyfriend, Luke, at Juliette’s place at least fifteen times and the guy still doesn’t ever give me more than a disinterested nod. I’m not looking for a new best friend, but he’s
such a dismissive ass it’s actually weird.
Not surprisingly, Luke shows up at work to deal with an injury. As I come in with the attending, I introduce myself by saying, “I’m Dr. Lombard, though we already know each other.”
Luke gives me a blank stare, “Were you here last year for my surgery?”
“No, our girlfriends are roommates.”
He just says, “Oh, yeah, I thought I had seen you before.”
I’m now wondering if he has neurological problems or Prosopagnosia. I’ll have to talk to the attending about testing for this. Then again it could just be his personality. He’s even a dismissive ass to Cassie. But, it’s none of my business as long as he doesn’t cross the line. I’ve seen some of his interviews, they shine a camera on the guy and he all of a sudden shows a personality. Though I have to admit he has a very photogenic face and maintains the kind of profile companies just love.
I never wind up talking with the attending. Three days later, I’m sitting on the couch checking my messages as I wait for Juliette.
Luke comes in, sits down and says, “Hey, Nate, I’ve been doing the standard RICE treatment for my muscle contusions.” Grabbing a hold of his thigh, he adds, “The ACL feels like it’s holding but I’m not sure if the leg injury is past contusions and actually has some tears.”
I guess my first take was correct; he’s an arrogant prick who didn’t think I was important enough to remember. Even so, I talk him through what he’s feeling and see how restricted his movement is. This turns into a regular gig. I’m now starting to wonder if he and Cassie are showing up at her place more often just so he can talk about his injuries and post season training schedule with me.
After my dinner with Jamie, I’m now plagued with doubt. Should I tell Juliette? When did I become this much of a wuss? Why can’t I just tell Mariana to fuck off? Why is she still in my head?
At Leland I find myself running into Mariana way too often. She’s all friendly and sexy. Juliette is great, but Mariana…she just gets my blood rolling. But Juliette, we have so much fun together. We like doing the same things; she’s easy, and friendly, considerate, and practical. Juliette is like a stroll on the beach, while Mariana is the biggest, baddest rollercoaster. My brain wants the stroll on the beach while my dick wants the rollercoaster.
Back at Leland, as I prep for surgery alone in a semi-dark room reviewing my patient’s images I hear the door open, I smell her, as I turn around she closes the door. Mariana looks at me with that steamy smile that registers right to my dick. I try acting officious. “I’m busy. Not a good time,” I say as I look back at the images.
“Nate…coração.”
My chest constricts as my dick twitches from the sound of that voice. She moves close and puts her hand on my shoulder.
I roll away from her and shake my head, “Mariana, it was over when you left a note on a script pad in our kitchen.”
She moves closer, damn, how do I continually let her box me in? She puts both hands on my shoulders, leans over, plants a warm, sensual kiss me on the lips. At first my entire body stills. Then my entire nervous system buzzes as my lips respond. I get into it for about twenty seconds, finally my brain kicks in.
I grab her wrists and move her away from me, “Mariana…shit.” I get up and leave. As I walk down the hall, chills run down my spine. I want her so damn bad.
Chapter 35 – Chris
My childhood friend, Chris, comes into town, he’s still playing professional hockey. I make sure to get tickets for his game. This time he’s not flying out until the next morning. We make plans to meet up at his hotel. Juliette joins me. She’s fun to take since she gets into watching the game and asks good questions, mostly about strategy.
“Do I root for our team or Chris’s?” she asks.
Looking at the player bench only feet from where we sit, I tell her, “You root for our team, unless Chris has a good play. Then you root for Chris.”
The attending sitting next to me talks mostly about the guys that are his patients. I’ve worked with him now and have met some of the players. The game is fun. Chris still looks strong. But they play him like a veteran, to anchor the young guys.
Afterwards, Juliette and I head over to his hotel to meet him in the bar.
Chris comes down limping a bit, but looking strong. We fist bump, then guy hug. I introduce him to Juliette.
Looking at his leg, “What’s going on? You looked strong on the ice.”
“This is a young man’s sport,” he says as he applies an ice pack on his leg. “All these years of being checked into the boards has taken its toll. I’ll work it out more after we talk.”
“How’re the boys?”
He scratches his face, “The boys are good—three and five.” He pulls out his iPhone and shows me some pictures. Then he shakes his head, “Julia’s taking me to the cleaners. Man, I should have waited to get married. The travel schedule, I’m gone the whole season. It’s just too hard on a marriage. You know too many distractions.”
“Yeah, but you’ve made a lot.”
He nods, “But, these are my big earning years. Once I retire….” he shakes his head. “I’m looking into my next act. Dude, I only have a GED. I was too busy playing hockey to attend classes.”
“Have you thought of what you’ll do next?”
“I have investments. Half the investments I had before…. But, I’m thinking of going back to school. I’d like to become a trainer. With all my injuries, I’ve learned a lot. And you?”
“I’ve got a year and a half left to my fellowship.”
Chris chuckles, “Yeah, I’m now the old man getting ready to retire and you’re the young guy just starting out. Funny how at the same age we can be in such different places in our lives.”
I nod.
On the way home I think about roads not traveled and the choices we all make.
***
The next day, after our run, as Juliette looks at her phone she asks, “Who is Mariana Castro?”
“What?” I say as I feel my body stiffen.
“Mariana Castro left me a message on Facebook. She says, “Can we meet in Palo Alto to talk about Nate? Do you know who she is and why she’s contacting me?”
I breathe slowly to control myself. Jamie warned me about this. “Mariana’s my old girlfriend.”
Juliette lowers her phone. Looking surprised she says, “The one from Minnesota? The one you lived with?”
I slowly nod my head.
“She’s in town?”
I nod again.
“...and you’ve known about this?”
I nod my head again as I watch every muscle in Juliette’s face trying to gauge her reaction.
“Have you seen her?”
I nod.
“Have you slept with her?”
“No!” I emphatically say.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
“Nothing’s going on. She showed up, that’s it.”
Juliette’s voice gets low as I see the blood run out of her face, “And you didn’t tell me about her because…?”
“There’s nothing to tell.”
Juliette bites her lip as she stares at me.
“If your old boyfriend, the one you lived with in London showed up, what would you do?”
She frowns, “Run in the other direction.”
“What if he chased after you? Said he was sorry, that he wanted you back?”
Her eyes get big, she gasps, “Wow, what a fantasy. First, I’d just enjoy getting that level of satisfaction—you know closure. But, I’d never go back. I don’t want him in my life. I don’t even want him in the same town. That story is over.”
I just nod and say, “Yeah.”
She then gets a horrified look on her face, “I’m not responding. Will she start doing weird stalky things?’
I shake my head no as I think, how far is Mariana going to go…?
***
After talking about Mariana with Juliette, m
y mind spins. The next day I stop at Jamie’s.
She answers the door, “What’s up?”
I hand her the small velvet box as I come in and sit down on her sofa. She follows me, frowns at the box, and then opens it up. “An engagement ring? You’ve only been seeing Juliette for what six months. Don’t you think you’re going to freak her out if you propose so soon?”
“It’s not for Juliette.”
Jamie gets a wild look on her face and a big smile, “For me? Oh, Nate, have you turned into Caligula?”
“Oh gross, don’t even say shit like that out loud.”
She then skeptically says, “Was this Marina’s ring?”
“Yeah, it was grandma’s diamond. I think you should have it. I’d never give it to anyone else.”
“So you and Mariana?”
“That was over a long time ago.”
“Do you still love her?”
“A piece of me will always love her. But, she’s not my future. I don’t want that ring. I’ve moved on.”
***
A few days later Juliette says to me in this serious way she has, “I’ve now received four messages from her. Does she text you?”
I don’t have to ask who she’s talking about and I’m not going to lie, “Yeah, she spends way too much time blowing up my phone.”
Juliette is now looking down, her head to the side.
Shit, I was afraid of this, she’s been dwelling on Marianna. “Hey, Juliette, I don’t engage with her. When she first came back, I thought about it. But then I realized, Mariana and I are over. We were over a long time ago. She’s no longer who I want to be with.”
Juliette slowly nods.
I reach out and pull her into my arms. “I had a choice, I chose you, and you’re who I want.”
Nate (The Princesses of Silicon Valley - Book 4) Page 12
