Karen sounded really excited about the game we were going to watch. At first, I thought it was because her younger brother was on one of the teams, however, the more we talked, the more it became clear that she would have been just as enthusiastic if her brother wasn’t playing. The teams were playing each other on the greens near the center of the town that evening. It was clear that Karen was a big fan of soccer.
I couldn’t say the same thing about myself. The only soccer player I knew was that pretty one called Cristiano, and my admiration for him was more about his incredible physique and downright attractiveness than his sporting talent. But as I listened to Karen rambling on about the goals and the tackles, I realized I was the only one not excited. The only sports I enjoyed were baseball and netball. The latter because I had played it back in high school. I wasn’t that good at it, but I wasn’t exactly a terrible player either. If it were down to me, I would have spent all that time set aside for netball on studying the biology textbooks in our library, but I had taken on the sport because I had heard some of the girls sniggering when someone saying I would look awkward playing the game.
“Does she ever do anything apart from burying her nose in those fat books?” One of the girls had giggled.
“She doesn’t do anything else, and I don’t think that will change anytime soon, so I guess we will never know,” another girl had replied.
I had silently taken up the challenge and had gone straight to the netball mistress to put down my name for the team. Miss Katie had shot me a surprised look when I told her I was interested in the team.
“Why, Fran, I never expected this.”
Neither did the gossiping girls when they saw me standing with the group when it was time for netball practice. There was no fairy tale ending though. I didn’t end up becoming the next netball superstar after being so underrated by everyone. That natural talent was lacking, but I made up for that by being determined to be a good player. I ended up being good enough to make the school team in my final year of high school, although I spent more time on the bench than on the pitch.
I navigated the car to where the match was to take place. I had driven past this building many times but I had never gone inside. I’d never had any business here before.
“Yes, I can’t wait to see Ben and the boys take to the pitch,” Karen said as she alighted from the car.
There was something I liked about Karen and it was her infectious enthusiasm. It was the reason I had chosen to get close to her out of all the staff at the hospital. She was even making me enthusiastic about a game I had no interest in. I got out of the car and followed her to towards the small gate that secured the entrance of the small stadium.
We got inside and Karen took me to what she said were vantage point seats. I took my seat, and allowed my eyes to stray over the field where the two teams were getting ready for the match to begin. Ben, Karen’s brother, was on the team wearing red and white striped uniforms. I hadn’t met him before, but I easily saw the resemblance: the bright red hair, the round face and plump figure.
“Sit tight, doc, it’s only a few minutes to kick off,” Karen said, with her eyes glinting. You could tell she was so passionate about soccer. I wasn’t sure I had ever come across a woman who liked soccer this much.
What Karen called the kick-off was the guy in black and shire at the center of the pitch blowing two notes from his whistle, followed by someone from Ben’s side kicking the ball. After that, the players on the field began to kick the ball back and forth and everyone seemed to be in chase. I wondered what Karen found so fascinating about this game. Some minutes into the game and I was already yawning. I could not believe that I had allowed myself to be talked into watching a soccer game. I guess I had agreed because I didn’t want to sit at home and think about Gilbert.
I stretched my arms up as I watched the ball bouncing around the pitch and men chasing after it. “I’ll be back in a minute. I want to take a walk around the stadium.”
Karen’s response was an absent nod. She was too engrossed in the game to pay much attention to me. I quietly stood up from beside her, bending my head slightly so I didn’t obstruct the view of other spectators behind me. I hurried out of the stands and stepped out of the stadium. Watching soccer was not really my thing, and this game tonight hadn’t changed how I felt towards the sport. I dug my phone out of my pocket and saw that it was only a few minutes past five. The evening still stretched out in front of me. I was not sure I could sit through the ninety minute soccer match without drifting into sleep. I needed something to do.
I thought of calling Gilbert and getting things back on track with him, but I rejected that idea almost immediately. Settling things with Dr. Finch was not yet part of my plans. I preferred to keep him away for now, which wasn’t so hard to do when he wasn’t making much effort to get in touch anyway. Okay, I would admit it was hard staying away, but it was worth it to protect my heart.
There were a few people standing around outside the stadium. I suppose a good number of them were like me, people who saw nothing so great about soccer. I wasn’t sure of any other reasons that could make one stay outside when the action was going on inside; there was enough space for everyone inside.
I was still standing outside, wondering if I should just tell Karen I was bored and had to leave, when I became aware of a distinct male scent behind me. I turned sharply and came face to face with someone I saw almost every day at work. It was the handsome nurse whose name always managed to slip from my memory.
“Hello, doc,” he greeted me, and his face lit up with a smile that reached his eyes. I could see that he had dimpled cheeks and a dimple on his chin.
“Hi,” I replied. I would have said his name but I wasn’t sure if he was Jackson or Joe.
“It’s Joe,” the nurse said as if he knew that I was struggling to remember his name.
“Okay, Joe. I certainly won’t forget anymore,” I said, flashing him a gentle smile. “Have you come to see the game too?”
“No,” he replied with a chuckle. “I brought my kid sister to the fish stall over there. I was just waiting outside when I saw you and decided to come over and say hi.”
“That’s nice. Thank you.”
“You are welcome, doc,” he said. “Do you … er … like football?”
“I came here with Karen. She is the soccer fanatic.”
“Oh, yes, she is,” Joe agreed.
Joe and I stood there talking about random things until his phone buzzed and he checked the screen.
“That’s my kid sister,” he informed me. “She’s probably done and wondering where I disappeared to.”
Joe said his goodbyes and left hastily. It was all I could do not to keep my eyes fixed on him as he walked away. Joe sure was eye candy. And maybe, he could be the alternative option I needed for a good time in this town. It was clear that Gilbert didn’t really care about our friendship and there would be no getting together with him. Joe was just the man to fit into what I wanted right now.
Chapter 5: Dr. Finch
I set my cup down on the kitchen table and headed to the living room of my cottage to pick up my coat and put it on before heading out to the hospital. The TV set, which I had finally been able to fix after weeks of waiting, was showing the news and I quickly switched it off. Nothing good is on the television these days, I thought. If you took the time to listen to the news, most of it was bad anyway. It did not mean positive things weren’t happening. It was just that people fixated on the ugly things. There seemed to be a craving for bad news in the world today.
After adjusting my coat, I was out of the house. I ran my fingers over my keys as I walked towards my car. I was ready to face whatever the day threw at me. I could work for as long as was necessary to provide our patients with the good health that they sought. I slipped into the car and started the engine. My eyes drifted, through one of the side mirrors, to my neighbor’s apartment and I saw someone there for the very first time. There were two people in
fact, a portly man holding hands with a petite lady. I watched them for a second, surprised to see people there, then pulled away.
The road was especially busy with pedestrians this morning. Tourism was indeed booming in this small town. I nosed the car through the town, careful of the crowds of tourists, and arrived at the hospital in good time.
I hurried up the small steps that led up to the entrance and walked in. In the waiting area was the head nurse and Dr. Faye, the locum doctor who only came in at specific times of the week to attend to specialist cases. When the head nurse saw me, she beamed and informed Dr. Faye. I had only met Dr. Faye about three times before. Most times when he was here, I didn’t see him as I was busy with my patients. We only spoke if he wanted to dig deep into a patient’s medical history and maybe discuss some details that could not be easily accessed.
Dr. Faye was several inches shorter than I was, and his complexion was a deep rich brown. He liked to laugh and he was great at what he does if the reports about him were anywhere near the truth. I reached out for his hand and he grabbed it in a firm handshake.
“How do you do, Dr. Faye?”
“I’m fine, doc,” Dr. Faye replied. “Trying to keep up with things here.”
“I see. Well, have a good day,” I said, nodding at him as I moved away from the waiting area. Before I left, I scanned the room for patients, surprised that there weren’t any at this time. Honestly, it was a welcome situation. It meant I would get a few minutes to properly settle into work before I began to see patients. It also meant Francine would be free at the moment. Was this a chance for us to finally have a conversation? I wanted to ask if her phone was faulty or something. She hadn’t replied to my calls and texts. It was really very strange.
I walked swiftly into my office and pulled on the white coat that was hanging on the door before sitting at my desk, checking that everything was just as I had left it before I went off duty the previous day. I always locked the office before leaving, but there was a spare key so that the nurses had access to the office if needed.
After a few moments, I left my office, not even sparing a thought for the beautiful snow-capped mountain that usually held my attention. I was busy thinking about Francine, about how our friendship had degenerated over the past few days. Our communication was down to zero. Something needed to be done about that.
I headed to Francine’s office, rapping on the door once and pulling it open. Francine looked very attractive, her white coat on over a smart outfit. However, she was not alone. She was seated opposite that male nurse who almost never stayed where he was meant to be. Okay, that was not true. Joe wasn’t one to leave his duty post needlessly, but I didn’t understand why he was seated so comfortably here, as if he was conversing with a friend and not taking instructions from a superior.
“Dr. Finch?” Francine called as if querying why I had entered her office and was now watching her and Joe without speaking.
“Yes, Dr. Walters,” I said. I wanted to tell her that I was there to speak about us, about the breakdown in our friendship. However, I wasn’t ready to say all of that with Joe seated there, a smug smile on his lips.
“I know you want to speak to her alone, but I’m not going to leave,” his eyes seemed to say.
“I … I just wanted to say hi,” I continued.
I did not wait for her to answer but breezed back out and closed the door behind me. My legs felt a tad heavy as I dragged myself back to my office. Was Francine going to replace Karen with Joe now? It was just so painful to watch her smiling at that young man. What the hell did Francine think she was doing?
Relax. Deep breaths. Relax.
I felt my sense of calm restored after I inhaled and exhaled with great deliberation. I soon left my seat and walked to the window where I could see the white tops of the mountains. It was soothing to watch them. They took my mind off the glaring fact that Francine no longer wanted to be associated with me. The powdery peaks made me forget everything …
I must have been staring out of the window for several minutes when I heard a knock on the office door. I didn’t turn when the knocks sounded on the door, and I retained my static position even as the office door swung open. I thought it might be Francine, finally ready to speak to me again.
“Sir, there is a patient here for you,” the voice behind me said.
I heaved a sigh, looking away from the white peaks after a few seconds. I turned to see Nurse Karen still standing there, waiting for my response. I was disappointed that it wasn’t Francine as I had imagined, but it was a good thing that I had a patient to keep me occupied. I would be able to focus on their problems and forget mine.
“It’s fine, please send them in,” I told the nurse.
Karen quickly walked out of my office and I waited the arrival of the patient. While waiting, I quickly arranged my pad and everything else I had to put in place. After about a minute, the door of my office swung open again. The patient walked in and I was quite surprised to see that it was the same big man I had seen in the house next to mine that morning. The reclusive neighbor had come for treatment. Nurse Karen came in shortly after to confirm that his medical report and details were on the system and that the hard copies were on the way.
I offered my neighbor a seat and adjusted myself as he balanced in the seat. I was ready to begin my work.
The drive from the hospital to my cottage took a rather short time today. I hadn’t driven fast, hoping to drive through different streets and just forget about the disappointment of seeing Francine getting close to Joe. I knew it wasn’t a big deal that she was having what had seemed like an engaging conversation with him behind closed doors, after all, they were colleagues. What burned my heart was the nonchalance with which she had looked at me, as if she gave no fucks, as they say, about what I thought about the situation.
I grit my teeth as I parked the car, getting out almost immediately. I walked briskly towards the front door with my coat folded over my left arm. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for the rest of the evening, but I decided to just get inside, whip something up in the kitchen and think about something to do next. It wasn’t like me, but I felt a call from the hospital to attend to an emergency would actually be welcome tonight. I just needed to take my mind of anything to do with Francine.
There was no doubt now that she was no longer interested in the chats we had had after work. She didn’t think it was important to return my calls and texts. She must have seen them. Francine Walters was ignoring me, and I had no idea why.
I unlocked the front door of the house and stepped in, heaving a sigh. I didn’t know why Francine ignoring me was causing me so much discomfort. Could I just not ignore her as well? Act like she didn’t exist? Look away when I saw her talking to her new friend, Karen, or when she walks side by side with that Joe guy? Maybe I would have to do that eventually. I hate this kind of situation.
I dropped my coat on one of the chairs and kicked off my shoes and socks after that. It took only a few moments for me to change into my favorite loungewear, a dark green T-shirt and black shorts. I hurried into the kitchen and scanned around for something to eat. There wasn’t much to work with. I needed to stock up on more groceries soon. I found a pizza in the freezer which I quickly cooked and I took to the living room to wolf down while I watched the news.
When I grew bored of the news, I flipped to a sports channel and found I was tuning in just in time for a bike race. The race took my attention for some time, but my mind soon drifted back to Francine. I wondered what she was doing at the moment. She had still been in the hospital when I left. It was usually that way, I always finished there before her. As I thought of Francine, I imagined Nurse Joe sneaking up to behind her while she was bending over to treat a patient, and grabbing her by the butt.
I chuckled at the stupid thoughts that crossed my mind. The truth was that I wasn’t happy at all about the way things were between Francine and me, but she seemed eager to keep things that way. It felt like she w
as spiting me with her friendships with Karen and Joe. I was torn between making another attempt to fix things and repaying her in her coin by ignoring her, and getting close to one of the other nurses. There was one of them, Susan, who always seemed to smile at me longer than necessary. It would be quite easy to get close to that one, and see how things turned out. But I suppose that made no sense. I wasn’t attracted to Susan, and definitely not interested in playing the make her jealous game with Francine. All I wanted was for us to get back to being friends.
“Christ!” I muttered under my breath as my attention returned to the TV where one of the bikers had fallen off his bike after a terrible collision. These sports could go from being fun to scary when you paid attention to the accidents that happened to many athletes. It was a good thing that the bikers were wearing strong helmets.
I continued to enjoy my pizza until I had finished it. I got off the couch and went into the kitchen to clean up the plate. When I walked back to the living room, I saw that the bike race was still going on.
Francine.
That was the headline thought in my mind. I didn’t know how I had gotten close enough to her that a few days of not talking to her, like we used to, would make me feel this way. My mind flew to my last visit to the art gallery where I had met the artist who sold me the painting. It was strange that I didn’t know his name. Maybe I would ask him the next time I went there.
I got up from the couch and went to the corner of the room where I had placed the painting. I knelt in front of it, and stared at the figure trying to reach for heart-shaped fruit on what I called the tree of love. Over the past few days, I had been feeling the longing, the stirring, deep within me to love again, but unfortunately, the woman I wanted wasn’t even talking to me for some unknown reason.
Dr. Finch (Healing Hands Book 4): A Steamy Workplace Romance Page 4
