Jamie

by I D Johnson

  “That’s such a relief. I can’t thank you enough, Doctor…?”

  “Joplin,” Jamie supplied. “Dr. Jamie Joplin.”

  She smiled and then shyly offered her hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Eleanor Whitfield, but my friends all call me Ellie.”

  Still confused about the nature of Ms. Whitfield’s relationship with Tommy, Jamie tentatively took her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you. If you want to wait here, I can make sure someone comes to get you as soon as Petty Officer Whitfield is awake.”

  Exhaling loudly, Ellie shook her head, “Yes, thank you. I’ll wait as long as I need to. If I left my big brother at the hospital all alone, my parents would kill me.” Her eyes widened and she sort of giggled, like it was a joke that she would even think of such a thing.

  At first, Jamie was so happy to hear that she was Tommy’s little sister, he almost missed the fact that the polite thing to do would be to also laugh, but he caught on just in the nick of time. “Right. You certainly wouldn’t want your parents to think you’d abandoned him, especially after you were sweet enough to drive him in to begin with.”

  “For certain,” Ellie agreed, settling into an awkward silence that Jamie allowed to linger for a moment before she cleared her throat and peeked up at him beneath her long eyelashes.

  “Well, I’ll go let the nurses know. If you have any questions, you can have them call for me.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate that,” Ellie said, smiling, and for a moment Jamie thought he saw a hint of interest in her eyes, though he couldn’t be sure. She was certainly a beautiful girl, and it was hard for him to imagine she wasn’t already in a relationship. Asking just now seemed ridiculous, though, so he nodded at her and turned to go.

  He’d taken about four steps before she called, “Dr. Joplin!”

  Jamie turned, his eyebrows raised, and stared at her for a moment as Ellie seemed to ponder what it was she’d wanted. “Yes?”

  “Uh, I’m not sure I said thank you. So… thank you. For fixing my brother.”

  “That’s what I do,” he replied, smiling and thinking about how adorable she was. When she seemed content with his response, he turned and left again, but something told him he wouldn’t soon forget Miss Eleanor Whitfield.

  A few days later, Jamie was in the middle of his rounds when he was called to the nurses’ station. He approached cautiously, as he could see from Hildy’s face that she was displeased, and getting on her wrong side was still something he was trying to avoid. “Is everything all right?” he asked her, his eyes glued to her ruddy face.

  “Yes, Doctor. Everything is perfectly fine. That is, except for the fact that this young lady insists on seeing you, and even though I’ve told her a hundred and ten times that this is a hospital and you are very busy, she told me to go ahead and call the MPs if I wanted to.” She nodded her head sharply in the direction of the waiting room, and Jamie turned to see Ellie standing there. Part of him thought he should address Hildy’s ridiculous statement, but he was lost in the eyes of the gorgeous blonde.

  Taking a step forward, he asked, “Ellie? What are you doing here? Is your brother okay?” Since he’d been discharged already and should’ve been well on the road to recovery, Jamie was a little concerned.

  “Oh, yeah. Tommy’s fine,” she assured him, the nervous look she’d held dissolving a bit as he approached. “I just… I made you this.” She held out what appeared to be a covered baking dish.

  With eyebrows arched, Jamie took it. “What is it?” he asked.

  “It’s a pie,” she explained. “I work at the diner down the street part-time while I’m going to school.” Sort-of rolling her eyes and exhaling, she said, “My dad thought it would be a good idea for me to get a taste of what it’s like not to have a college degree,” before she got back on track. “Anyway, it’s my specialty. Coconut cream. I hope you like it.”

  “Wow, Ellie. That’s so nice,” Jamie said, staring from the package to her face and then back again. “Yes, I’m sure I will. Thank you so much.”

  “Sure,” she said with a shy smile. “It’s the least I could do after how well you’ve taken care of my brother.” Once again, she was batting those long eyelashes at him, peeking between them, and Jamie felt his heart catch in his throat. Stepping forward, she practically whispered, “I’m sorry I made the nurse so angry.”

  “Oh, no it’s fine,” he assured her. “She’s always that way.”

  “Really?” Ellie asked, leaning back away from him just a bit. “Because… I get the impression that she hates me.”

  He chuckled, but he wasn’t sure he could disagree. “She hates everyone.” He winked at her, and she turned slightly pink in the cheeks.

  “Well, I don’t want to take you away from your patients,” Ellie said, lightly brushing her arm down his sleeve before she took a few steps backward. “I just wanted to say thank you.”

  “I really appreciate it.” He wanted to say more, but the words were stuck in his enclosed throat.

  “And if you ever stop by the diner, maybe I’ll see you there. If I’m working. At the time when you come in.” She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes again, and Jamie got the impression she was having a little bit of trouble forming sentences as well.

  “Something tells me I will be visiting the diner soon,” he said. “When’s the best time—you know—to visit?”

  “Uh, well, personally, I think the early morning is the best time. Maybe between six and ten. Every day but Wednesday and Sunday.”

  Jamie was sure his smile was so broad his back teeth were showing. “Well, I will have to check it out for myself sometime very soon.”

  “Great,” Ellie said, returning the smile. “See you soon, Dr. Joplin.”

  “Goodbye, Ellie.”

  She turned and walked toward the door, and he didn’t move until she was outside, and just before she stepped away, she turned and smiled at him, giving a slight wave. There was a pretty good chance the coconut cream had just melted.

  Jamie did his best to wait a few days to visit the diner so as not to seem overly anxious, but the truth of the matter was, he was completely smitten with Ellie. Not only was she gorgeous, she was so gentle natured and just a little socially awkward, which was how he tended to think of himself most of the time. He hadn’t been in a significant relationship since Kit, which seemed a lifetime ago, even though he’d dated a few there women, including Maryann. It was time to put a little more emphasis on his personal life. With that in mind, he decided to go ahead and pay a visit to the diner the next Friday morning before he went in for his shift at the hospital.

  Not too much was going on for him personally, though the news from Europe wasn’t good. He’d spoken to Jordan off and on recently, not only about what might happen if Jamie was sent closer to the action but also about the growing Vampire problem in the area, and that morning, Jordan had called him before he awoke, so he’d called him back, and now it was just a game of phone tag. Luckily, with these new mobile devices, he could take the phone with him, though he’d have to be discreet about what he was doing. He hoped whatever it was Jordan wanted to tell him it wasn’t pressing.

  He walked into Layla’s Diner at a little past 8:00, thinking it might not be too crowded since most people would be on their way to work by then, and looked around for Ellie’s familiar face. He didn’t see her, so he approached the bar and took a seat. There were lots of empty booths but, he figured he’d wait to see if she was working before he made himself too comfortable.

  As he got closer, he saw the back of a man’s head that looked familiar, and realized he was talking to a woman whom Jamie couldn’t see because she was on the other side of him. The woman’s voice sounded like Ellie’s, and the hint of an Irish accent had the doctor swearing out loud.

  At the sound of the curse word, the man turned and looked at him, a malicious smile on his handsome face. “Well, if it isn’t Dr. James Joplin in the flesh,” Aaron said. “Fancy meeting you here.”


  “You two know each other?” Ellie asked, stepping around from the barstool where Aaron was sitting. “Get out of town!”

  “Oh, we know each other all right,” Jamie said, shaking his head at his bad luck. While he certainly didn’t dislike Aaron as he had when they’d first met, the fact that the impossibly handsome man was talking to the girl he’d been thinking about for a week made him more than a little irritated. Nevertheless, he bit back his feelings and offered Aaron his hand. “How are you?”

  “Great. Just got in last night. Jordan call you?” he replied, shaking Jamie’s hand.

  “He tried. Good to see you.”

  “You, too. Ellie was just telling me about this incredible doctor who saved her brother’s life.”

  “That’s right, he did,” she nodded. “It’s so nice to see you, Dr. Joplin.” Despite Aaron’s good looks and charm, Jamie thought he still saw a hint of a sparkle in her eyes when she was talking to him.

  “Please, call me Jamie,” he said, thinking it only fitting outside of the hospital.

  “All right. I’ll try to remember that,” she smiled. “If y’all want to have a seat at the booth back there, I’ll bring you some menus. Might give you a better chance to catch up.”

  “I detect a little bit of an accent, Ellie. Where are you from, originally?” Aaron asked, standing.

  “Georgia,” she replied, gushing a little bit, showing her pride in her Southern upbringing. “We moved her when my brother was stationed here. My father started a communications company when he was younger and sold it recently, so my folks could retire here and be closer to Tommy. Naturally, they wanted me to come, too.”

  “Naturally,” Aaron agreed.

  “What are you studying?” Jamie asked. “I know you said you were taking college courses.”

  “Oh, yes. I want to be a teacher,” Ellie said, beaming once again. “I just think it will be so rewarding to work with young children.”

  “You will make an excellent elementary school teacher,” Aaron said, smiling at her as he moved toward the booth Ellie had pointed out.

  “Oh, stop,” she said swatting at him. “I’ll be right there with the menus.”

  Jamie took a deep breath and followed along, trying to keep the forced smile plastered on his face. They sat down, and he weighed his words. “So… here you are.”

  Aaron chuckled. “Don’t worry, Jamie,” he said, glancing at Ellie and then meeting the doctor’s gaze. “I’m still not dating.”

  “Good,” Jamie said, “but still… she’s… that doesn’t mean she won’t want you to be dating.”

  “She likes you. Practically the first thing she said to me was that some brilliant doctor had saved her brother’s life when he was dying from an appendicitis.”

  “That doesn’t mean….” Jamie had to stop talking because Ellie had their menus.

  “Let me go check on that table over there, and I’ll be back to take your orders.” She smiled at both of them, but Jamie did think her eyes lingered on his a little longer than Aaron’s.

  Clearing his throat, Jamie waited until she was gone and started again. “That doesn’t mean that she won’t find you devastatingly handsome and wish you’d ask her out. Why are you here, anyway? You don’t even eat. How did you know I’d be here?”

  “I eat. Sometimes,” Aaron said, a little defensively. “I have my sources.”

  Jamie just shook his head. “I didn’t realize I was being spied on.”

  “No one said you were. Maybe it’s all a grand coincidence.”

  “I don’t believe in coincidences.”

  “Well, maybe you should. Maybe you should also believe in thank yous.”

  “What’s that now?” Jamie asked, his forehead crinkling, but Ellie was coming back over and Aaron just winked at him.

  “Sorry about that. We’re a little bit busier than usual.” She had her pad and pen in hand. “Did I give you enough time.”

  Aaron interrupted the end of her sentence. “Yeah, it really is just too bad, Jamie. Maybe some other time. I think we’re ready, Ellie.”

  “Too bad about what?” she asked, looking confused. Jamie wished he could help her out, too, but he had no idea what Aaron was talking about.

  “Oh, Jamie was just saying he would like to go catch a movie at the cinema tomorrow night, but I was telling him I already had plans. It’s too bad I can’t go with him. And he hasn’t really lived here long enough to know anyone else except a bunch of stuffy old doctors.” He made a face like all doctors were elderly and boring.

  “That is too bad,” Ellie agreed. “The cinema’s great. It’s relatively new. You should check it out. If you can find someone to go with you, that is.”

  The expression on her face made him slightly hopeful. Aaron didn’t make a sound but he did give him a look that let Jamie know what he needed to do. “Well, actually, Ellie… I was wondering… would you, maybe, like to go with me?”

  “Me?” she asked, holding her hand to her chest. “Oh, Dr. Joplin, uh….” She looked at Aaron and he smiled at her encouragingly. “Of course, I’d love to. I mean, so long as you don’t mind hanging around with a silly college girl.”

  “I actually graduated from medical school very young, Ellie, when I was fifteen, so I doubt I’m that much older than you.”

  “You don’t say?” she said, smiling. “I didn’t think you looked old enough to be a doctor. You must be awfully smart to have done all that.”

  “Only about medicine,” Aaron chided.

  Jamie narrowed his eyes at his so-called friend. “I’m sure we’d have a fine time, Ellie.”

  “Okay. Sure. I’d love to. Thank you for asking.” She put her notepad in her apron and turned around and walked away.

  Amused, both men stared after her for a moment before Aaron said, “I guess it’s a good thing I don’t eat.”

  A few seconds later, Ellie came back. Rolling her eyes, she said, “I forgot to take your order.”

  “That’s okay,” Aaron assured her. “The excitement of dating such a dashing doctor would have that effect on anyone.”

  Jamie fought the urge to kick him in the shins. They both ordered their breakfast and stared after the cute blonde as she headed back toward the counter.

  Over breakfast, they caught up with each other. Jamie told Aaron all about the new facilities that had been built and the ones that Janette and Jordan were still planning. Aaron mentioned that he’d gone on a few dates recently but hadn’t met anyone interesting enough to make him go back on his decision to stay completely faithful to his deceased wife. They also discussed some of the Vampiric activity in the area, and Jamie learned that Aaron had been reassigned there specifically because of the lack of trained personnel on the island. Jordan was hopeful they could get things back under control before the US entered the war in Europe, which they agreed had to be coming soon.

  Once finished, Ellie brought the check, which Aaron insisted on covering since he’d stuck his nose in where it didn’t belong—although he didn’t tell the waitress that—and Jamie got Ellie’s address so he’d know where to pick her up the next night.

  “I’ll see you around,” Aaron said to Jamie as he stood, and patting Ellie on the shoulder, he said, “It was good to meet you, Ellie. Have a good time tomorrow night.”

  “I’m sure I will, thank you,” she replied, smiling at Jamie. The doctor felt relieved that her eyes were still on him as Aaron walked away. “I guess I need to get back to my other tables,” she said, still lingering next to Jamie’s table.

  “That’s understandable.” He scooted to the edge of the booth. “I have to go anyway. My rounds start soon enough.”

  “It’s so crazy that you’re a doctor, and you’re really not that much older than me. How old are you?”

  Jamie hesitated before saying, “Only seventy-five.”

  Ellie started laughing hysterically and a man at another table tapped his coffee cup with his spoon. “You’re so cute,” she said, patting Jamie on the shoulde
r. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Doctor.”

  “Goodbye, Ellie,” he said, tossing a few more dollars on the table, despite the fact that Aaron had already left a pretty nice tip, and headed out of the restaurant. “At least I haven’t had to lie to her. Yet,” he muttered as the bright morning sun had him reaching for his sunglasses. Aaron might be a pain sometimes, but he’d done a good thing today, orchestrating the date. Otherwise, Jamie might not have ever been brave enough to ask such a beautiful young woman out, and he had a good feeling about Eleanor Whitfield.

  Chapter 27

  Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USA, 1941

  “We can’t decorate a palm tree,” Jamie insisted as Ellie stood in the corner of his apartment, moving a chair out of one corner and across the room in her excitement. “Why can’t we just get a fake tree?”

  “We can’t get a fake tree! We need a real tree. This one’s perfect.” She had her hands up in the shape of Ls moving them around at different angles, looking at the tree between them. It was a potted palm tree, one she’d bought while Jamie was at work, and had had hauled up to his apartment, which though she didn’t technically live in, she spent about eighty percent of her time there if she wasn’t in class or at the diner. It was early December, but she was already in the Christmas spirit, and Jamie wasn’t about to argue with her about whether or not a palm tree made a good Christmas tree, now that he could see how excited she was about the idea. He couldn’t help but giggle at her.

  “What about decorations?” he asked, still standing back a bit and observing.

  “Oh! I brought a box over from my parents’ attic,” she said, spinning around so quickly her light green dress did a little twirl. She clapped her hands together and rushed into the adjoining kitchenette. She was back in a flash with a medium-sized box, which she set on the coffee table. She took a seat on the sofa and opened it up, and Jamie moved to sit next to her, still smiling at her enthusiasm. Over the last six months, they’d spent as much time together as possible, and he was more than a little enamored with sweet Ellie.