by Wood, Lauren
The after-party was about as good as any one that I could remember. Latica’s aunt from out of town took the baby and then as soon as the priest left, everyone got down. It was what I had expected out of such an event. The longer I was there, the more I noticed Liz. She paid no attention to me, but she danced with as many men as she could.
Liz was a different sort of creature. She came across as the easiest going woman that I had ever met. She wasn’t though, not in the least bit. She was high maintenance. Liz was spoiled from rich parents. She never had to work for a living. She lived carefree, not realizing she was spending six figures every year. Because of her carefree nature, she was an enigma and pulled everyone in around her. I was one of those people being pulled in and I tried to ignore her as best as I could.
“Do you want to dance?”
When I had my backed turned, Liz had come up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. Her voice jolted me, and I realized who it was.
“Why would I want to dance with you?”
“Because it’s tradition. We’re the godparents after all.”
“It’s just in name.”
“Latica takes it seriously. Are you really going to tell me no?”
She had a grin on her face I could have done without. Always with the games. Liz knew she had me and I took her hand, knowing that it wasn’t going to end well for me.
“Fine, one spin around for tradition.”
Liz smiled liked she didn’t know that I wanted to refuse her. She hid it well, almost convincing me, until her fingers played with the hair at the nape of my neck. Two could play at that game, and I pulled her closer, making sure that my body ground against her.
“Just like old times, huh?”
Her body melted against mine, and she gasped as other parts of me started to become known. She pushed me away and scowled.
“Why do you have to ruin my fun?”
“Because you shouldn’t play with my head Liz.”
She scoffed and then snickered, not being able to hold a straight face.
“You’ll be okay. I wasn’t messing with your head anyways. I just wanted a little dance, for old time sake.”
The woman was gone before the dance was over. I had tried to make her see that I was the one in charge, but I wasn’t. My intentions backfired on me hardcore. I was starting to think that I had overestimated my hand.
Liz looked back once, before finding a more suitable dance partner. That damn woman, I swear, she still got to me, even after all of this time. She’d always done something to my ego and every other part of me.
Damn Liz.
Chapter 3
Liz
“Steve! Get up!”
“It’s Charles.”
“Whatever your name is, you got to get out of here. I have people coming over for breakfast and you can’t be here.”
“Damn, I was hoping that we could finish what we started last night.”
“Hardly, you wouldn’t leave me alone and then you got too wasted to leave, so I let you sleep in here. Note that your clothes are still on.”
“So then, why am I in your bed?”
“Because you passed out on it and wouldn’t wake up.”
“Oh.”
He was quiet for a moment, most likely trying to get his thoughts together with a raging headache, but I didn’t have time to coddle him. He had to leave, or I was going to be blamed for all sorts of things.
“So come on, you got to go. My brother will not like you being here.”
“Who’s your brother?”
“Mario.”
“Oh.”
That got him moving a little faster and I figured that I should have led with that. It would have been easier that way.
He was almost out the door and it was almost averted, before I heard the knock. The problem with my place, was I had converted the back into a dressing room of sorts, and the back door was impossible to get to.
“Shit.”
“Mario will be fine. We can just tell him…”
“No, you are going to leave and not say a thing. That’s what you’re going to do.”
He tried to protest, but I was opening the door and half-pushing him out of it. Charles, or whatever his name was, had caused me enough trouble, as well as took over more than half of my bed. Sleeping with someone was overrated as far as I could see. I didn’t understand what the pull for it was.
I was almost to the kitchen when Mario and Glenn walked in. I didn’t want to see either one of them. I wanted to see Latica and the baby. When I asked about them, neither guy had much to say for a moment.
“Is she coming or is this what I have to look forward to as far as conversation goes for breakfast?”
“She’s coming. She just um… has to get dressed. Who the hell was that? Was that Charles from my job?”
I could see that my brother wasn’t all that happy. I don’t know who Charles was, but I didn’t like what he was insinuating. I had just let him sleep here, that’s it. It was kind of the situation where I had been too nice, and it had backfired. That happened a lot in my experience.
“He just crashed here, no big deal.”
I could feel Glenn’s eyes on me as well.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
I didn’t want to know what he was thinking. He was a jerk and most likely had something smart on the tip of the tongue. He was better off just holding it in, because I had a strong feeling that I didn’t want to hear it anyways.
“So, get out whatever you have to say now, because if you say anything in front of Latica, I will kill you both. Okay?”
They both looked at me as if I might attack them. I was still thinking about it, considering that my head wasn’t very happy with me either.
“I have nothing to say Liz. You do you.”
I thanked Mario for his permission. Glenn, at least, was smart enough to shut his mouth and not say another word about it, because he’d seen it for the set-up it was. I was embarrassed if I was honest with myself, but I would never let them know how they made me feel. Glenn could never know how bothered he made me. It was my mission to convince him that I wasn't worried about him anyways. It could be hard at times and this was one of those times. I wanted to explain myself and how I wasn't that way, but it was no use.
Latica finally showed up and I was thankful to see her. She brought over the baby and even though Stephen slept more than he was awake I was still thankful to spend some time with him. Having a baby in the house would guarantee that I didn't have to hear anything else about my early morning visitor.
I was keeping myself busy talking to Latica. We had hit it off since we first met, and I think that she was my brother's best decision that he had ever made. She lit up every room that she was in and it was literally impossible to not like her, she just had that sort of personality.
The three of them left for the day and I stayed with the baby. It wasn't something that I normally did, but since I was the godmother now, I figured that I might as well learn something. I knew that it was just a title and in name only, but a part of me wanted to take it seriously. I knew that Latica took it seriously.
I took Stephen out on the front porch and we sat out there for a while enjoying the weather. It was nice and sunny out, but not too hot. It was the perfect sort of day and the only thing that would have made it better, would have been if Glenn didn’t come with my brother. It was bad enough that Mario had seen his friend leaving, it was even worse that Glenn saw it. I don't know why I cared so much about what he thought of me, but I did.
My brother and Latica left to do some errands together and Glenn was washing his car. I knew that he did not see me on the porch, and I liked it that way. All he needed to do now, was take his shirt off and I think I would have been in heaven. Watching him working, moving around, was the highlight of my day.
I was lost in a moment, watching my brother's best friend and I was content to my day. It was only when Stephen started crying, that the mom
ent was ruined.
“Hey, I didn't see you over there.”
I didn't say anything to him, but I sure was thinking something I was sort of glad that he could see me, because I could certainly see him and there were definitely no complaints my way. That man was built like a god. It wasn’t right that all of that, was wrapped into one guy with an ego the size of Guam and a mouth that never stopped.
It was a shame. It really was.
Chapter 4
Liz
“Yeah, I’m hiding and enjoying the beautiful day.”
“Are you enjoying the view?”
My face got hot and I looked down for a minute, cooing at the baby in my arms.
“It’s perfect. Stephen is perfect to look at, so yeah, I guess you’re right.”
It wasn’t what he meant, but now he couldn’t say anything out of the way. It wouldn’t be right.
“You have the baby?”
“Yeah, while Mario and Latica are out.”
He started to come over and my eyes were pinned to his chest. He was so damn sexy, and that knowing grin was growing on his face. It was a face that I wanted to punch, more times than not.
He leaned over the edge of the porch and touched the baby’s head.
“He is precious, isn’t he?”
“Yes, he’s adorable.”
“Does it make you want one?”
I shrugged. “One day.”
“You’re getting older Liz; you might not have forever. Life will pass you by.”
“Is that what happened to you? You’ve been gone a while.”
“I have.”
“And you’re a doctor now?”
“Brain surgeon.”
“Fancy.”
I didn’t know what else to say. His hand was still so close to me, that it couldn’t have been me he was touching instead. He was always hard to deal with, but after watching him for so long, my body was trembling, and it was hard to pull it together. Glenn could never know what he did to me. I just couldn’t let him.
“Not really, I just had to pick a specialty. You know I have always wondered how our brains work.”
“I never thought that was what you were worried about Glenn. You always seemed to have other things on your mind, when it came to women. I don’t think that you’re worried about their minds at all.”
“That is true. A woman’s mind is never to be understood. I learned that a long time ago Liz. You helped me.”
I grinned a little wider. I knew what he was referring to. I learned a lot from him as well.
“I was just cutting my teeth back then Glenn. I’ve learned a lot as well.”
“I can see that. You look good. It feels like I’ve been gone far too long.”
“How long do you plan to stay around here?”
“I don’t know. I am just going to see how it goes.”
The question was, did I want him to stay? What would it be like, with Glenn at more and more functions, running into him all the time? I had a feeling that it was going to be difficult. Whatever had went on between us before, was still between us now. It was residual and being around him too much, could prove hazardous to my health.
“Well, nothing has changed.”
“I am surprised that you’re still here.”
“It helps that my parents bought me this house. It’s their way of keeping me close.”
“How are they?”
“Same as always.”
“Yours?”
He shrugged because he probably didn’t know. Glenn was a good man, in spite of his parents, not because of them.
“I need to get him a bottle. You want to come in?”
The offer was out of my mouth before I could really think about what I was saying. I found myself wanting to talk to him and as much as I knew there was a tension between us, I didn’t want him to leave.
“Sure. But not for long.”
“I was about to get some tea. Would you like some?”
He thanked me when I handed him a glass.
“You’re good with him.”
“Do you want to hold him?”
Glenn suddenly didn’t look sure, and he shook his head. He watched me feed the baby and our eyes met for a moment. It was the first time we’d been this close to each other in a long time. I wasn’t trying to play games though, not now.
“I’m sorry if I messed with your head before. I didn’t mean to.”
“That’s okay Liz. Like I said before, I learned.”
“What did you learn?”
“Well you taught me how to walk around for days hard, for one thing.”
My eyes glanced down, and he laughed before getting up. He was getting nervous and I knew that he was going to make up an excuse to leave soon.
“But like you said, things changed.”
“It hasn’t changed that much Liz.”
He walked towards the door and I did take a moment of glee, watching him run away. Glenn was handsome and cocky, but I could still make him nervous. That made me happy. I know that it wasn’t a good thing, not really, but it felt great. I don’t know why I was always so worried about what Glenn thought.
Living with him next door was going to be complicated. I was going to have to make sure to keep my distance. It was fun to play with him once and a while, but I knew that if he wanted to, he could call my bluff and I would be the one floundering. He had done it once before, and I didn’t put it past him to do it again.
Glenn had always been complicated. Fun, but complicated. I couldn’t help but poke the bear every once and a while. But I had to learn to do it with a little distance between us. That’s all.
Chapter 5
Glenn
“Well look Mario, I have a few more hours here and then I'm going to take off to the conference. I will be back in a couple of days and we can talk about it then, if you want to.”
“Good, we are trying to figure out what kind of schedule we can have. I want to see you before we take out for the vacation. I wanted to see you before we take off.”
“Okay Mario. It will be good to see you. It's been awhile. We have both been so busy, but as soon as I get back from this conference, we will catch up and you can tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Yeah, I cannot believe how much you work. We live in the same house, but I barely ever see you. No wonder you're single.”
“I'm single, because women are too much drama for me. And besides, can you imagine me with a family? I would never see them.”
Mario told me to hold on a minute and I couldn't hear his muffled words to Latica. I had been staying with them for almost four months now and the two of them had almost given me hope that relationships could actually work. They were always happy and even though I could tell both of them were extremely tired because of the baby, it didn't seem to matter. And as much as I usually stayed away from kids in general, I had gotten attached to Stephen. It was hard not to do.
“Well, whatever the reason is, you should start your own family one day Glenn. You may even like it.”
“I don’t know about that, but I do know that if there was a Latica out there for me, I would jump on the chance.”
Mario had that good-natured laugh that was contagious. “Good enough. She is mine though. You will have to find your own and I had to go far to find her.
We talked for another moment and I hung up with him. It had been weird staying with them, but at the same time, it was exactly what I needed. I needed to feel close to someone or something, no matter how unconventional it was.
I got back to the scheduling nightmare that was on my desk and tried to figure out how the hell I was going to get everything done. I was taking over a practice from a doctor that had burned out and I could see why. He saw way too many patients and he would schedule surgeries almost twelve hours, every day. I don’t know what he was thinking, but now I was going to have to fill Dr. Foster’s shoes. I suspect that his sabbatical, was really a treatment center because he would have had to ha
ve been on some kind of drug, to get through the day.
The conference was important. It was in my field of neurology and it was a fact-based mission that sent me there. I knew that I wasn’t going to be very effective, if I was running ragged and couldn’t make conferences to better my understanding of my field.
The phone rang several times in the next half an hour, but I didn’t answer it. Instead, I was trying to manage an already unmanageable schedule, so that I could figure out a way to squeeze in a few days for the conference, at the very least.
When I was done, I had a schedule made out and I was hoping that it would do. Either way, I was going to be tired for the next few weeks, but it would be worth it. Learning was what brought me into neurology in the beginning and I knew that no matter what I saw, treated and learned, there was always more to learn.
The conference was full, and I couldn’t believe how many people had shown up. CSF leaks were not the biggest sector of our field, but today, it felt like it was. It was all I talked about and I shared information of a few patients of mine that had it. I learned a lot and the day was winding down, when I got several calls back to back. Usually, I would ignore them, but something told me to check my phone.
I excused myself from the group of doctors that I was talking to and I went to the hallway, to see who was blowing up my phone like that.
When I didn’t recognize the number, I called it back and waited for a response. I was feeling impatient and I was about to hang up, when I got an answer.
“Dorian Hospital. Can I help you?”
I knew the hospital. It was one that I sent many patients to at home. I was worried that something bad had happened with one of my own patients. I’d just done a full-frontal craniotomy this morning before I flew out.
I gave the woman my number and then asked what it was about.
“I am sorry doctor, but I don’t have any notes for you. Are you sure that there isn’t someone in the hospital that you know personally?”
