Hadrian's Wall (69 page)

Nik said, “Oh...I get it.”
He stared at me with a thick raised eyebrow. “You’ll owe me one for
this, you know.”

“Whatever!” I gave him a little smile.

Narrowing his eyes, he
placed his mug on the counter and pushed through the sea of people
crowded around the bar and the tables. Feeling apprehensive and
excited, I turned to the bartender and ordered another Coke. When I
looked in that direction again, I saw that Nik had already
approached Abby with his handsome Mediterranean smile. Evaluating
him critically, he was a good-looking guy—olive skin and
ultra-white teeth made him look like a movie heartthrob. I smiled
to myself. His looks were impressive and Abby was not immune to his
charm. I think she considered his arrival as a relief to escape the
depression. She accepted the Nik’s hand and followed him meekly to
the dance floor.

Now it was my turn to sit
back and watch from the bar. It wasn’t long before Dwayne saw Nik
and Abby dancing animatedly. That was enough for him to lose
interest in the fidgeting boa constrictor performance. Naturally,
Violet noticed the sudden change and stopped squirming.

Blonde and all steamy-looking in her red
dress, Abby definitely stood out. Nik was the perfect partner
because the contrast between them was something beautiful to
behold.

When he realized that
Dwayne was watching them, Nik put his arms around Abby’s waist.
Despite the fast music, the two moved in harmony.

I stretched a bit to look
over everyone’s heads to see Preston’s reaction. Even in the dim
oscillating light, I could see the look of surprise on his face.
There was no doubt—he was annoyed; however, he quickly recovered
and put on a poker face.

Point for Abby! I thought while I making my
way back to our table. When I arrived, I realized that Delilah was
frowning at Abby and Nik on the dance floor, but the object of her
annoyance was not her friend. She seemed to be staring into
space.

“Do you want me to shout for help?” I asked
wryly.

“Huh?” She frowned, not understanding.

“If I yell for help,
Stephen will appear quickly. If you want, I’ll yell.”

Delilah pressed her lips together.

“You can be sure that he’s
here somewhere.” I paused to drink my Coke before it lost all its
fizz. “You know, he does not want to appear to be,
but he is watching you!”
I hummed brightly.

She turned to face me, but her eyes were
darting around.

“He’s always around my
perimeter, dear,” I explained patiently. So I’m sure he’s watching
us right now. So enjoy yourself! Get a partner, get on the dance
floor and show him what you’re made of.”

“Excuse me?”

How hard is that to
understand?
I rolled my eyes.

“Make Stephen feel jealous.
Don’t let him think that you’re only interested in him.”

Suddenly, two guys
approached our table. I was so surprised that I almost spilled my
Coke. One of them was the guy who I’d made fun of in the hospital
lobby. He waited patiently for me to look at him before he extended
his hand, but then he suddenly withdrew his hand. Perhaps, he
noticed that this wasn’t the place for formalities or perhaps he
remembered me. He took a deep breath and to my relief, he simply
introduced himself.

“I’m Jonathan Gibbs. This
is my friend and colleague, Troy Anderson.” The other guy gave me a
friendly nod. “We were wondering how two girls as beautiful as you
two are
sitting alone.
So I asked Troy, ‘What’s wrong with the guys in this town?’
We decided it would be unforgivable, if we didn’t ask, so, do you
want to dance?”

Delilah and I gave each other a
conspiratorial glance. This was her chance.

“Sorry, I can’t...” I
started to say...and then I saw Jonathan’s disappointed look. Out
of nowhere, I heard my guilt-filled explanation. “I recently
suffered an accident and broke some ribs. The doctors advised me to
avoid risky activities and for me, dancing is definitely a risky
activity.”

Jonathan’s face immediately
lit up. “Thank goodness!” and then quickly added, “Please don’t
think I’m happy that you had an accident. I was just relieved to
know you weren’t trying to get rid of me.”

Hmmm... He was straightforward.

Troy asked Delilah to
dance. She hesitated, but accepted. Before she stood up, she threw
me a complicit look that said, ‘Well, let’s see what happens’ and
then followed Troy to the dance floor.

I smiled to myself and
scanned the room, trying to locate Stephen. Turning my head, I saw
than Jonathan was staring at me. His look was so intense that it
made me avert my eyes from him to my almost empty glass. He said
nothing, which compelled me to face him again. After a few seconds,
were both looking into each other’s face. I was feeling
embarrassed, while he seemed too at ease to suit me.

“May I?” he said, pointing
to Delilah’s empty chair.

“Sure!” He had good
manners. I have to admit, I was the rude person here. Better do
something about that.
As I watched him
sitting there in front of me, I realized that
he was cute. At least, my second impression was positive.
When he’s older, I’m sure he’ll turn the heads of a lot of
nurses.

“This is a perfect opportunity for you to
apologize,” he said abruptly.

Hmm, I guess I’ll have to
revise my second impression
...

“For what, exactly?” I asked, innocently
widening my eyes.

“For laughing at me in the
hospital, remember? I didn’t forget...”

I stared at him for a moment, feeling a bit
worried, but when I saw the twinkle in his eyes, I realized that he
was joking with me, so I decided to join in the fun.

“You’re right, it is a
great opportunity! I’m sorry I laughed at you. It wasn’t polite,
but I think I need to explain. Actually, I wasn’t laughing at you.
I was laughing about everything that was happening to me! My life
was...and still is...somewhat turned upside down. When I saw a
sleepy, disheveled-looking guy,” I gestured toward him, “...fall
flat on his face and then look around to see if anyone had caught
you being clumsy, losing your ‘almost-a-doctor’ pose, I couldn’t
help myself. I had to laugh. It was awesome!”

He nodded, giving me a wry smile.

“I deserved
it—‘almost-a-doctor pose’ I mean.”

“Doctors have ‘poses’ you
know.” I raised my eyebrows. Did you ever see that movie with
William Hurt?”

“Oh, I know, I know...I’ve
got it.” He shook his head. “But today, it’s not so.”

“It’s not?”

Suddenly I found myself
enjoying his expressive face. Jonathan’s eyes were large and deep.
His eyebrows formed an interesting frame—angular, broken forms,
like two soft triangles. They were thick, but not exaggerated,
complementing his straight nose. However, his square jaw suggested
a determined personality. I remembered that his brown hair was
full, but tonight it was combed differently, a more “well-behaved”
cut, but still retained a hint of defiance.

Yes, he’ll melt some
hearts in the near future, if he isn’t already
...

“Do you know that we live in the same
house?” he asked, crossing his legs.

“Yes, I know.” I watched him put his arm on
the back of the empty chair next to him. “I saw you in the
cafeteria.”

He shook his head. “I
hardly ever go into the cafeteria. To be honest, I eat most of my
meals in the hospital cafeteria. The rest of time I stay buried in
my books. From library to hospital, from hospital to classroom.
It’s brutal!

“So I’ve heard.”

He raised his eyebrows curiously.

I cleared my throat. Once again, I found
myself compelled to explain. “I heard that the medical school here
is brutally difficult.”

He gave me a big smile. “So, do you have
interest in attending medical classes? Or...do you have interest in
someone who attends medical classes?”

“I know one of the residents,” I answered
reluctantly.

His smile faded a little. “Do you? Who?” He
kept his tone light.

I couldn’t say, ‘Oh, you
don’t know him’ because everyone knew this particular resident, so
I decided to drop the bomb and wait for the result.

“Adrian Cahill.”

Until then, he’d been
leaning slightly over the table. Upon hearing Adrian’s name, he
said nothing, but he leaned back in his chair. I was trying to
assess the size of the impact, but to my surprise, he didn’t seem
impressed or scared...only thoughtful.

“Ah, yes, the senior
resident. He’s pursuing some postgraduate studies.” He looked me in
the eye. “Between us, the fellow is grim. The few times our paths
crossed, I couldn’t hold his gaze. He gives me chills!” Jonathan
smiled. “Imagine an old lady passing the cemetery around midnight
when suddenly someone like Adrian Cahill appears in front her. I
bet she has a fulminating heart attack and dies.” He uttered a
sinister-sounding chuckle. I managed not to make a face, since he
was watching me intently.

“I doubt it,” I said. “Adrian is a doctor.
He would revive the old lady.”

“Just to scare her to death
again! All she’d had to do is open her eyes and see that face. And
those glasses...they’re absolutely surreal!” Smiling, he waved to a
group of acquaintances who passed near our table. I was
concentrating on what he’d said and didn’t look up to see who they
were.

Jonathan turned to me, the
smile dying on his lips. “Don’t misunderstand me. The guy is
good-looking—at least that’s what the ladies think. I got tired of
seeing nurses drooling when Cahill was around.

I narrowed my eyes. Jonathan Gibbs was very
close to crossing the line between witty comments and tasteless
insinuations.

He rubbed his chin and turned to stare at
me. “Are you dating him?”

“That’s none of your
business!” I said impulsively. Then I wondered if I had be too
rude, but he just laughed.

Sure it is.
I’m interested in you, so I need to know if
you’re dating or hooking up with someone. I don’t want to play the
second string guy and I also don’t want to waste my
time.”

Hmm... Straightforward
again
.

“I don’t know yet if I’m
hooking up with him...” Since honesty seemed to be the order of the
day, I decided to be as direct as he is.

“Excuse me?”

“The situation isn’t clear
yet,” I said reluctantly.

Jonathan rejoiced. “Then I can try!”

“No, you cannot because I
think I’m in love with him.”

Jonathan stared at me for a few seconds. I
thought I noticed a look of disappointment in his eyes, but
whatever it was, he disguised it very well.

So far, I’d noticed two
positive things about his temperament: First, he wasn’t afraid to
give a straightforward answer, to say exactly what he thought; and
second, he assimilated the blows head on.

“No problem,” he said
finally. “So you think you’re in love...”

“
Humph!
” I snorted
derisively.

“Have you ever kissed him?”

“This...”

“I know...is none of my business.” He shook
his head. “I just want to prove my point.”

“That would be...?”

“I’ll get there if you
answer my question.”

“Actually, yes...I’ve
kissed him.” He was starting to annoy me, for real.

Jonathan shook his head,
drumming his fingers on the table. Now he was acting like a
completely poser doctor—investigating the patient’s symptoms to
prove the diagnosis that he had already decided on beforehand,
regardless of the evidence. It satisfied me to think that he didn’t
seem very happy. Well, I wasn’t the one who started the
game.

“Sure,” he finally said. “And you were
floating on clouds...when you kissed him, I mean.”

I gave him my most wicked smile. “Beyond the
stratosphere.”

His eyebrows joined in a frown while he drew
an imaginary circle on the tabletop with his index finger.

“Right,” he said again. “And he also floated
to the...stratosphere?”

I froze. He stared at me,
as if waiting for a revelation. I think my confused look told him
all he needed to know. I couldn’t know if Adrian felt the same as I
did. In fact, unlike me, he had regained control very quickly. My
legs felt wobbly for a long time after.

“So, I think now you understand my point,”
he said, this time without any presumption.

I nodded. I understood all too well.

“And while you don’t know
what’s going on in his head, there’s no reason for me to lose hope,
don’t you think?”

* * *

For the rest of the night, Jonathan Gibbs
was my constant companion. We had a long conversation and had fun
together, but nothing romantic. He made a point of being clear
about that. He seemed resigned to just talk to me.

Surprisingly, we had many
things in common. He didn’t seem to think my conversation was
boring and didn’t hesitate to put forth his own views as usually
happens when boys seek to win a girl’s heart (and vice verse). But
the whole time I had the feeling that our paths would not cross
again. When I decided to leave, I thought,
Well, this is it!
However, he
offered to accompany me to McPherson House.