Foreign Threat

by Mitchell Goldstein

  “I can’t remember,” replied Sweetpea. “Sometimes it seems like we haven’t talked in so long that maybe something changed. And quite frankly, that asshole chief resident sounds interesting. I mean, we could just talk about him forever. It seems he always gets himself into some sort of trouble. I just figure there would be some new story you could share about him or some of the other surgeons you work with. From what I can figure, you always have some good story to tell me about one of the different surgeons you work with.”

  “Alright,” said Steve. “I see your point. It just so happens

  there is a good story I can fill you in on.”

  “See, what did I tell you? I just knew it. And it probably

  has to do with that jerk chief you have that… Dr. Douglas, right? I bet I’m right!”

  Steve started right in. “Alright, miss smarty pants. I do have a great one for you, and you’re right, it does pertain to Jake Douglas. Jake had told me to help scrub on a big esophageal case today, but I was a little torn because I had to be at the lecture for appys. I didn’t want to act like I didn’t care about the case, but Dr. Rosberg gets pissed when the interns don’t show up at those lectures. So anyway, I was in the locker room, and from behind a few lockers, Jake pretended to be Dr. Rosberg and started to scold me for being in the operating room on a lecture day. He pretended to give me shit and threatened my butt if I didn’t make it to the lecture. Well, it turned out that the real Dr. Rosberg was in the locker room the entire time and heard the conversation! He let Jake have it in the operating room, made him look like the true dufus he is. Most everyone silently applauded Dr. Rosberg. Well, that was my Jake story for the day.”

  “I just can’t believe that asshole,” replied Sweetpea. “You would think he would get it after a while. But when you’re that stupid, I guess you can’t help it. So have you seen him talking to any more creepy characters?”

  “Not really. Fortunately, I have not been doing much with Jake. Since Sally and Jake have developed this sick relationship, or what I presume to be, I really have not been interacting with Jake much. That’s just fine with me. He sometimes has this aura about him that makes him almost scary. It’s not the condescending attitude either. It’s just that he has some really different ideas or morals. Now, I know all surgeons are a little different,” joked Steve, “but this is not that. This is deeper into his personality, and I don’t care to figure it out.” He paused before typing, “So enough about my work and me. How is life in your neck of the woods? Do you think we will ever get together? I feel as if I know you already, but I would like to meet you and put a face to the conversations, if you know what I mean. I get a few weeks of vacation this year and thought it would be fun to see you. I promise I’m not a sort of weird freak who would hurt you or whatever. I just thought it would be nice to know you in person. What do you think?”

  Steve waited patiently for a reply but noticed it was taking a little longer than usual for Sweetpea’s response. He started to wonder if he had pissed her off or offended her in some way. After all, there were all sorts of strange stories about people meeting on the Internet and then finding in real life that the person they had been conversing with all that time was in fact twelve years old or an abductor or worse.

  After a few more minutes, a reply started to show up. “I’m not sure how to respond to the magnificent suggestion. There have been a few times I thought I would make the same offer, but I didn’t want to be too forward. Now that you have made the move, I’m not sure how to respond. I truly believe that you are sincere and honest and would not hurt me in anyway, but then there are those crazy stories in the news. I mean, there are good stories too like people falling in love over the Internet but not meeting each other in person for years and then they end up getting married and so on. But what if, by some weird chance, you are one of those creeps who would rape me or do whatever? I think I would rather just talk for a little while longer on the net, and then maybe we can make some arrangements to meet. How does that sound? I do really want to meet you in person, and I think that will happen sooner than you think, but for now I would like to hold off. Ok?”

  Steve understood why it took her so long to answer him in the first place. Now he didn’t know how to reply. He typed a careful response because he didn’t want to say anything that would jeopardize their relationship or offend her in anyway. “That sounds like a reasonable thing. Hey, you could hurt me in some way too, so for the time being we can just talk online. And when we do get together, we should find some neutral place so neither one of us feels threatened or uncomfortable. That sounds just fine to me. On that note, I really need to get going, but I will talk to you later. Take care.” Steve signed off.

  He thought to himself, That was strange. He understood Sweetpea’s concerns but felt they’d just had a misunderstanding like people do in person. He knew that he was taking a chance asking her, but then it was nice to know that she’d had the same thoughts about getting together. How did she know that they were going to get together sometime soon? Weird.

  Steve did a few chores around his apartment and then took out his surgery text. He started to read and soon feel asleep with the book on his chest.

  Chapter 17

  The week went well for Steve, but he spent a great deal of time distracted by thoughts about Erica. He barely knew her, nothing outside their hallway conversations, but they seemed to get along great when they interacted. She gave the impression of a laid-back person. That was a difficult characteristic to find in the medical field. Everyone else in residency had too much stress going on to show their true side, and when their true colors did show, they were usually too anal about life and medicine. Erica, on the other hand, seemed to be quite calm and in control of her life.

  Steve contemplated what they should do on their date while he drove home. He had been on-call last night for the last time for three whole days. He was looking forward to his wonderful weekend off. It didn’t occur often that a surgical resident got an entire weekend off, but Steve had a fortunate call schedule. Without being expected to take call over the weekend, Jake had decided to give Steve the entire weekend off. The intern wasn’t sure if that decision had to do with any of the conversation Jake had shared with Dr. Rosberg, but Steve was in no way going to argue about it.

  The drive home from the hospital passed in a blur as per usual the days after taking call. Tonight was especially blurry with Steve so deep in thought. He didn’t even remember turning on the highway, and now he was pulling into his driveway. He turned off the car and left the keys jiggling in the ignition. He glanced at his watch and then placed his hands on the steering wheel, resting his head across his hands. He let his weary eyelids close and started planning his night.

  He needed to shower and change first. Last night was a

  rough night for call with three trauma codes in the ER. With the stress of each code, he sweated like a pig and then didn’t have time to change his clothes or shower during the day. Without a doubt, the first thing to do was a shower. He continued to keep his eyes shut, planning where to go for dinner with Erica and how nice or casual the place should be. He thought about the movie and where to go afterward for drinks.

  Steve smiled to himself, thinking about all the planning that had to be done including reservations. Oh shit, he thought to himself Reservations! He had forgotten to make reservations at a restaurant. He jerked himself up in the car and made his way to his apartment as quickly as possible. How could he find a nice place to eat on Friday evening without reservations? He ran through his place trying to find a phonebook. He flipped through the Yellow Pages: Mexican, Chinese, Italian, Indian, whatever. He paused thoughtfully and then decided that Mexican would be a nice dinner. Most places were not too formal but just right to grab a drink and dinner before a movie. He turned to the section for Mexican restaurants and reviewed the places to which he had been before. He had not realized there were so many Mexican restaurants in town. Finally, he saw a familiar place:
“La Cantina.” He had been there as a student with some friends after one of the many tests they had in medical school. He remembered it being a nice place and dialed the number. As he spoke with the receptionist, he let Pudge outside.

  The receptionist laughed when he asked for a reservation. “I don’t think calling two hours ahead of time on a Friday night would give you much of a chance for a table, but let me go through the list real quickly. Could you please hold the line?”

  “Sure” responded Steve. While waiting, he poured Pudge his dinner, another helping of wonderful dog food. He let the dog in and went back to the bedroom to sort out the clothing situation.

  “You’re in luck, sir. I have a table for two that is available at seven. Would that work for you?”

  “Absolutely! That will be perfect. I can’t thank you enough!”

  Lucky, lucky, lucky, thought Steve. Nothing bad about being lucky. He glanced at the time on his way to the shower. Realizing it was already fifteen minutes to five, in addition to the fact that reservations were a little behind schedule, he thought he owed Erica a call.

  “Hi, Erica, Steve here. How’re you doing?”

  “Just fine,” she answered. “Let’s see. A surgical resident calling fifteen minutes before he’s supposed to pick me up. Let me guess: you’re a little late?”

  “Wow,” said Steve. “You’re good. But I’m not only late with you; I kind of forgot to make the reservation for dinner. But not to worry! I was able to get a reservation at seven at La Cantina.”

  There was a short pause on the other end of the phone. “Uh, great, Steve. There is one small problem. I really don’t like Mexican food.”

  How could someone not like Mexican food? Steve thought, but he said, “Oh shit, I’m sorry. I really didn’t know. We could go someplace else. What kind of food do you like?”

  “Hey, Steve, settle down,” laughed Erica. “I was just joking.

  That sounds great. I actually love Mexican. When should I expect you?”

  Relieved, Steve replied, “You little shit! You got me good.

  I’ll remember that. Let’s say I’ll be there in about one hour, maybe 5:45.”

  “Great, Steve. Why don’t I just meet you down in the lobby?

  I’ll be looking for you. See ya then.”

  Steve hung up the phone and laughed to himself. What a shithead, he thought, but Erica had a great sense of humor. She really seemed quite different from other people he had dated. She was so much more confident and secure with herself, and because of that, she didn’t hold much in. Of course, there could be disadvantages to that as well, but he continued to think fondly about her while he rushed to get ready.

  Steve hadn’t had any serious relationships over the last few years, but something about Erica made him consider the possibility. He found himself thinking about her all the time, like a kid in high school with some puppy love girlfriend. He would catch himself daydreaming about her during rounds, hoping that their paths would cross in the hallways. He constantly watched for her at lunch times. He didn’t doubt that a few of the residents had noticed moments when he had been aloof. They probably wondered if he was burned out on the residency like so many others who left the program due to the long hours and the grueling schedule. Steve would assure them that everything was ok, but still they would wonder.

  Steve was still thinking about their date as he stepped into the shower. The warm water felt good after a long day. The intern didn’t have too many days off, but he had learned to enjoy the free time when he did. Since starting residency, he had missed his long showers. Medical life never allowed time for those luxurious, self-indulgent activities such as washing at a relaxed pace. With the reservation made for seven, he took time to unwind.

  Steve made sure to pick up Erica on time. When he arrived at her complex, she was waiting outside. He was amazed by her beauty as he drove up. She had a pair of blue jeans on with a white blouse and dark blazer. She let her hair down, something Steve had never seen at the hospital. As he got closer, she flashed a simple yet gorgeous smile that glowed. He noticed her lipstick and makeup. Never did she ever have this on at the hospital. Steve thought she was very attractive at the hospital with her everyday appearance, but he realized he was not going on a date with Erica the Internal Medicine resident, but rather Erica the beautiful young woman.

  Erica gracefully slid into the car and never was there a silent moment. “So you finally made it here,” laughed Erica as she shut the car door. “I thought maybe I should just stay near my phone for any other important calls, like your car won’t start or your dog ran off with your keys or all four tires are flat or-”

  “Alright, alright I get it. I really am sorry for the delay, but I’m sure this won’t ever happen again.”

  “Again?! Are you kidding? You think I would go through this again. Next time you probably would just stand me up.”

  Steve wasn’t sure where to go with this. She had every right to be upset.

  “Carmichael, just relax. I was just joking. I mean I would never let myself get set up like that again. Next time I would just turn you down from the beginning.”

  Steve looked down guiltily and continued to drive.

  Erica reached over to grab his hand. “Hey, seriously, I really did look forward to this date. I’m just trying to break the ice, but maybe I should take it easy on you. After all, you are a very sensitive and caring surgical resident- or wait, do they even exist?”

  They both laughed but continued to harass each other on the way to La Cantina. Erica gave Steve grief for being late, and he returned the favor by amusing himself with internal medicine residents. After a few minutes of joking about, the mood simmered down. They were much more relaxed by the time

  they arrived at the restaurant.

  The restaurant was as busy as Steve had remembered. Waiters and waitresses were running in all directions. Bus boys moved through quickly with trays balanced above their heads with dirty plates and glassware. Young girls with cantina garb were trying to seat the most impatient customers.

  Despite this hustle and bustle of the cantina, the place maintained the same pleasant vibe. The authentic nature of La Cantina was superb, transporting diners from Minnesota to Mexico. The aroma of Mexican food was everywhere. The sweet smell of sizzling fajitas was tremendous.

  Just as Steve was about to comment to Erica about the place, a waiter dashed through with margaritas.

  “I have never been here before, but so far it seems like a great place!” remarked Erica. “And I could really use a few of those.” She pointed to the drinks.

  Steve motioned to grab the margaritas from the waiter’s tray, but Erica slapped his hand. He smiled at her as they tried to make their way to the hostess. “Hi. Steve Carmichael, I have a reservation for two.”

  The girl scanned her seating chart. “Oh, yes. Mr. Carmichael, your table is ready for you. Won’t you please follow me?”

  Steve turned to smile at Erica. “See? No problem. I told you that I had a reservation.”

  “Yeah, and by the looks of how busy this place is, you

  were pretty lucky too.”

  A basket of chips and a bowl of salsa were placed on the table as they were seated. “Enjoy your meal,” said the hostess as she turned around joyfully and made her way back to the front entrance.

  “This is quite the cantina, huh?” mumbled Erica.

  They both had their menus in hand, but neither opened them. They quietly observed the crowd instead to soak in the atmosphere. They continued to look around until a waiter came by and offered to take their drink orders. “Anything from the bar tonight for you two?”

  Erica didn’t hesitate. “I’ll have a margarita.”

  “Make that two, please,” said Steve.

  The two of them spent the first thirty minutes of dinner sipping on their drinks and learning about each other.

  “Well if that waiter comes by one more time and we’re not ready to order, I think he will call out the m
enu police,” said Erica, pointing out that neither had glanced at the menu.

  Steve looked up from his menu after a minute and caught Erica gazing at him. It was an awkward moment. They both silently turned red but slowly smiled as they went back studying the menu. Despite his embarrassment, Steve felt a warm feeling rush through his body. Before that moment, he was not sure if his feelings toward Erica were mutual, but now there was no question.

  “What are you going to order to please that patient but empty stomach?” asked Steve.

  Erica giggled. “I’m not sure, but I think the chicken enchiladas look good.”

  “They are, but their fajitas are the best. They must have a special recipe because the taste is so different from any other fajita I’ve ever tried.”

  “Wow, a real-life fajita connoisseur. I have never met one

  before, but I’ve heard stories about them. I do feel privileged to finally have met one. Would it be possible for you to kindly sign my menu? I mean, for my kids, of course.”

  Steve replied, “Sorry, I don’t sign menus. Is there a picture or something else that I could sign? Menus tend to get misplaced and then there you have it, my signature would be lost and probably in the hands of a young person who would never appreciate the worth of that menu and signature.” They both giggled as the waiter approached. Despite his apparent frustration with Steve and Erica, he asked to take their orders.

  “I wonder if we will ever see our dinner tonight. You really seemed to piss off that waiter!” Erica teased.

  “Me!” exclaimed Steve. “What about you? You were like a third grader with the giggles. You know, if we keep this up, he may have to split us up.”

  “If he does, I will still enjoy my meal while thinking of you.”

  Steve was left speechless as he considered what she had said.

  Erica stood up and brushed her hand over his shoulders as she made her way in the direction of the ladies’ room. “If we are going to share dinner together, then there are a few things you will come to know about me. One is that my bladder is very small, and the other is that I’m a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.” As she leaned down and whispered into his ear, “So please don’t take advantage of me.” She smiled as she walked away.