I'll Be Seeing You (2 page)

"Yes," I reply, as I discreetly slide my business card close to her hand.

"Will you stop by and say hello?"

I stand back and watch her chest rise and fall, her breathing becoming somewhat shallow. She’s nervous.

"Doctor?"

"Yes,” I say. “Yes, I’ll stop by to say hello." Taking her hand, noting how small it is in mine.

"Until tomorrow then," she says, taking my hand in hers, giving it a slight shake.

Slowly, albeit reluctantly, I pull my hand away from the warmth of hers and walk toward the door, my eyes remaining on her as I open it. Standing outside the café, fearful she will sense that I’m watching her, she finds my business card. Cradling it in the palm of her hand, she gently grazes her fingertips over it, and reads my contact information provided in Braille. My heart warms when she lifts it to her face, inhaling the scent of it. When she glances my way and smiles while still running her fingers over the card, I find myself smiling back at her. She can't see me, but she knows I'm here.

~.~

Leaving the café, thoughts of her remain on my mind. It must have been written all over my face because as I walk down the marbled corridor, my assistant’s eyes are on me from the moment I step off the elevator until the door of my office door closes behind me.

"Krista, can you come in here, please?" I call her through the phone's intercom.

"Yes, Doctor." There’s a fake professional tone in her voice as she opens and then closes the door. Looking at her, she’s still smirking at me as she comes to a stop in front of my desk.

"Okay, you can stop now," I say grinning back at her. "I want to order some flowers. Some really smell good kind of flowers. What kind would you say have the best fragrance?" I ask her, folding my hands upon the desk.

"Well, roses smell good," she suggests.

"No, not roses, those are too predictable. I want something more, for someone … say … blind," I mumble quietly, hiding behind a paper I scavenged off my desk.

"What? What did you say? For someone what?" she asks, leaning forward directing her ear toward me. I raise my brow at her and decide to bite the bullet.

"For someone that's blind, okay? I want to send a woman, who is blind, some fragrant flowers. There. Satisfied?" Sitting back in my chair, I fold my arms across my chest and challenge her.

She stands up straight, pretending to be taking notes.

"Well, well, well. Is she a patient? Do I know her? Who is she?" Krista scribbles on her note pad.

"No, no, and I'm not telling. Are you going to help me or not?" I ask, continuing to glare at her.

"Honeysuckle," she says confidently as she walks out the door.

"Honeysuckle? My mom grew that under our bedroom windows. I remember that. It smelled so good in the summer," I mutter out loud.

"Krista?" I call over the intercom again.

"Earth Muffin Florist has them. They will have all your floral needs as they cater to the unusual." She’s a mind reader, I tell you.

"Thanks. Hey, Krista?"

"I just emailed you the number."

How does she do that?

"Thanks." Shaking my head in wonder, I open my email to get the number and make the call.

"Good morning. Earth Muffin Florists, how can I help you?" the friendly woman answers.

"I would like to order some Honeysuckle for delivery, please," I say, sitting back all smug, like I do this every day, nodding my head in accomplishment.

"How many bunches would you like?" she asks.

"Um, what size is a bunch?" My smugness takes a hard hit

"Well, if you are sending these to your girl, then I would suggest three bunches. It's not too much, but not too little either, and the aroma will not be overwhelming, but just right," she explains.

"Perfect, that's what I want."

"Where are they being delivered?"

"Radiant Audio. Ms. Joy Johnson," I answer.

"Ah, yes, Ms. Johnson. Honeysuckle is her favorite."

They are?

"You know her?" I ask, sitting up in my seat.

"Well, yes. Ms. Johnson is a regular customer here. She likes to purchase Honeysuckle for her home. This is the first delivery we've made to her work though. I will have these delivered to her on Thursday," the woman advises.

"Why not today?" I ask, wanting her to have them today.

"Well, she’s only in the office on Thursdays, sir. Who is this, may I ask?"

I smack my forehead forgetting that Joy said this morning that she worked from home. How could I have forgotten that so soon?

"This is Dr. Matthew Davis. I would like them delivered to her home today then, please."

"Oh, absolutely, Dr. Davis. What would you like to say on the card?"

"I will prepare it. It needs to be in Braille." I say.

"Yes, sir. We create cards in Braille."

"Oh! Perfect. Then I want the card to say 'Please, tell Conrad I enjoyed our conversation this morning and can't wait to continue tomorrow'," I recite.

"All right, Doctor. I will print the card and have them delivered to her this afternoon. My name is Betty if there is anything else I can do for you. Would you like to set up an account with us?"

After giving her my billing information, I have that feeling of accomplishing something good today. Turning in my chair, I clasp my hands behind my head, look out my corner office window, the return of smugness apparent.

Getting back to work, I take the files Krista placed on the corner of my desk and move over to the sitting area. Placing them on the coffee table, I walk over to the small refrigerator for a bottle of water and get to work. Upon opening the last folder, I glance at my watch and realize that haven’t made my afternoon rounds yet. Quickly slipping into my lab coat, I head toward the elevator.

A short while later, while focused on making notes on a patient's chart, I’m startled when I receive a hard thud to my back, causing me to gasp for air.

"Damn, Jess, not so hard," I say between coughs.

"Did you do it?" he asks.

"Yep," I reply, continuing to write my notes while heading back to my office.

"Well, how'd it go? And don't make me drag every single detail out of you, or I’ll march my ass down there tomorrow, introduce myself and ask her on a date," he threatens, knowing full well he’d do it.

"It went very well. We sat and talked for about forty-five minutes and she asked me if I was coming back tomorrow. When I told her yes, she asked me to stop by to say hello. I told her I would and left." I smile, there, the details without the details. As soon as the elevator comes to a stop, I hurry out the door hoping he won’t follow.

"Are you going to ask her out?"

“I’m not sure. I think It's too soon. She's very cautious. Besides, I think I’ll be satisfied with just talking over coffee for the time being," I reply, signing off on my reports.

"Well, listen, I have a couple babes that want to meet up at the club this weekend. Are you game? You haven't dipped your pickle in a while. It's time, buddy."

"Jessie, please do not refer to my gun as a pickle. You make it sound as if I have a gherkin and I do not have a gherkin," I scoff, raising my brow at him and then glance toward Krista before we enter my office.

"Whatever it is you have, you need to dip it. You’ve been testy these past few days. Is it because of the blind girl?"

I turn to face him and scowl. "Her name is Joy."

"Joy? That's a cool name to be calling out in the dark, isn't it?" he says, pissing me off, talking about her like that. I throw my arm across Jessie's chest, stopping his entry into my office.

"Jessie, listen, Joy is not some tramp in a bar you pick up, take home and fuck. She's a good girl, and I don't want to hear you talk about her like that again." I stand in front of his face, daring him to say anything further.

He backs away, holding both hands in the air. "Hey, Matt, I'm sorry. I didn't know you felt that way about her."

"She's a nice girl and doesn't deserve to be spoken about like that, okay?" I caution, turning around to sit back down behind my desk.

"Okay. Um, how about lunch then? I'm starving," Jessie asks, changing the subject.

Feeling hungry since I skipped breakfast, I grab my suit coat, this time remembering to pull my cell from my lab coat pocket first.

"So, Mattie, you coming out with me to the club Friday? Those girls are sure things." He walks ahead of me, rubbing his hands together wickedly at the possibilities.

"I don't know. I'm thinking maybe I’ll ask Joy out."

"All right, Matthew, you need to spill the beans here, pal. I want to know what's going on with you and her."

Jessie’s my best friend, and he has an insatiable need to know everything about my love life.

"Let's go, and I'll tell you about her."

"Julia's?" he suggests.

"Sounds good," I reply, praying he won’t drill me on the short walk to the diner.

As soon as we sit down, I open my menu and it isn’t long before Jessie starts in on the questions.

"So, what's going on Matthew?" The server that comes to take our order delays my answer.

"Hello, doctors. Matthew, it’s good to see you again."

"Hello, Kathy." I reply, smiling. "I'd like the Ahi salad, a bottle of water and an iced tea please."

"I'll take the fish tacos, sweet potato fries and a Sam Adams please," Jessie says in a hurry to get rid of her so he can get my answer.

"Sure thing, Matthew," Kathy says in a fake, overly sexy voice before she leaves.

"Did you get at that, Matthew? I swear to God if you did, I'm going to kick your ass."

"Sorry, Jess, and I won’t talk about it; you know I don't do that.

"Okay, so what's got you all twitterpated today?" he asks before my cell phone vibrates in my pocket. As usual, I answer without looking, regret it as always and end up cursing myself for doing it again.

"Shit! Am I going to get the details or what?" he curses angrily at the many interruptions to his inquisition.

"Dr. Davis," I answer.

"Hello, Dr. Davis? This is Joy Johnson." I hear her sweet voice and sit up in attention. Looking over at Jessie, I do not want him knowing who is on the phone.

"Yes, hi. Hello," I answer nervously, immediately glancing at Jessie again.

"Did I catch you at a bad time? I thought if I called at lunch, you wouldn't be with a patient. I just wanted to say thank you for the honeysuckle," she says quickly, sounding as if she’s ready to hang up.

"No! Don't hang up," I nearly shout into my phone, getting up. "Jess, I need to take this call, I'll be right back." I hurry to the front of the diner and find a quiet corner.

"I'm here. I'm at lunch with a colleague, and I didn't want him to overhear our conversation," I explain. "So you got the flowers?"

"Yes. I love them. They’re my favorite. How did you know?" I hear her smile through the phone.

"I didn't, actually. I just thought you would like the aroma. It's one of my favorite fragrances," I say, nervously putting my hand in my pocket and sneaking a peek at Jessie. I roll my eyes at him because he’s watching my every move.

"And your card? Um, Conrad says he can't wait to see you tomorrow too."

Smiling at her hidden meaning, I start pacing the floor.

"That's great, Joy. I’ll see you at the same time then?"

"Yes. I’ll see you then," she says sweetly before hanging up.

I feel like a sixth grader asking a girl out for a glass of Kool-Aid.

"Spill, Matthew. You know how relentless I am. I’m not giving up because I’ve seen you like this only once." He leans over the table when Kathy brings our order.

I hear him stifle another cursive at yet another interruption.

"Here you go, Matthew," she coos, placing my plate in front of me. As she bends over to whisper in my ear, I can’t help but notice the deep cut of her blouse.

"Call me sometime. I would love to see you again." I look over at Jessie, and he raises an eyebrow at me.

"I can't, Kathy. I'm seeing someone right now, but thank you for your offer." I focus on my salad, just waiting to hear what Dr. Montgomery has to say.

Looking across the table, taking my first bite of salad, I know he’s waiting. He knows not to press me; otherwise, I will clam up and not say anything at all.

"Her name is Joy Johnson," I say simply, stabbing my salad for another bite. Jess continues to watch me as he fills his mouth with sweet potato fries.

"She's beautiful, Jessie." The floodgates open, and he knows it. He leans in for all the details.

"What does she look like?" he asks, curious. "Give me the details, Doctor," he says, sitting back with a grin.

"She has the most beautiful eyes you've ever seen. Her eyelashes have to be an inch long. Her skin is porcelain white, and her lips are full and naturally red, making you want nothing but to kiss them. She’s not too tall nor too short. She’d fit perfectly under my arm."