Twist of Love (2 page)

“Heh. Maybe when my schedule gets lighter. Whenever that'll be.”

“She'll bake you some apple pie. You always love that!”

“Tempting offer, George. You might just get me to visit sometime soon!”

Josie smiled at George and walked briskly by. George was always great perk to her day and it would be nice to chat. But she knew she still had a lot of work to do.

“Hey there, Milla. What's up?” Josie greeted Milla, the receptionist. She was an attractive young woman with a very slim figure. Josie was just a little envious of Milla's looks, even though she was pretty much a looker herself.

“Hey, Doctor Steele. I'm great! How are you doing?”

“I'm great, too!” Josie was about to hurriedly move on as she had with George, but Milla stopped her.

“Doctor Steele, you've got something here for you,” Milla said. She was smiling brightly at Josie.

“Hmm. Really? Why are you smiling?” Josie asked. She felt a little uncomfortable that Milla was smiling at her for so long.

“Check this out!” Milla took out a huge bouquet of flowers and handed it to Josie. It was big, but the reception desk had hid it from Josie's view. There was a small note tacked to it. It read:

'From Blake.

Thank you so much for taking care of Mom.'

“A tall blonde guy dropped it off here for you, doctor.” Milla said. The description matched Blake perfectly.

Milla leaned towards Josie.

“I think he's hot!” She whispered.

“Heh. Heh. I'll keep that in mind.” Josie said. She smiled at Milla and walked towards the elevator. Josie barely made it before the elevator closed. She was packed in with other passengers, and she was still holding the very conspicuous bouquet. Some of the passengers stared at the bouquet.

'Cute. And a bit flashy. But I've got no time for flattery or men.' Josie thought.

5. Skipping a Beat

Blake buttoned his shirt and tied his necktie. He stared at himself in the mirror.

“Man, I am so hot!” He said. He flashed the thumbs-up sign at his reflection.

“Conceited, as always! I hate to admit it, but I raised a narcissist!”

Blake turned around at the familiar, loving voice. It was his mother. He smiled and embraced her.

“Hey, it's not showing off if it's true!” Blake said, playfully.

“Oh, come on! Don't push it!” Mrs. Ingram said.

“You're looking at the Heartbreaker of Fallston!” Blake said.

“Keep it up, and you'll really believe the hype. And I know it's just not true.”

Mrs. Ingram still had just a little hint of annoyance when people talked about Blake being something of the town's playboy. It was just not fair. It was true that he had had several girlfriends and none of them lasted. But it was only because Blake had never found the right one to settle down with. He had never cheated on any of them, and he’d really tried to make them all work.

“I'm just fooling around, Ma. We both know all those stories about me are just downright silly.”

“Exactly! So you shouldn't even joke about it. You know it's just not true!”

Blake hugged his mother again. He didn't mind if she often nagged him. He knew that she cared so much for her little boy. And he was more than grateful that she was recovering very well. It was almost as if she’d never had a minor heart attack.

“Ah, don't be too serious Mom.”

“Somebody's got to be serious around here,” Mrs. Ingram said sternly.

“And speaking of girls, how's that cute Doctor Steele doing?”

Blake shrugged his shoulders. “I sent her flowers and a note at the hospital a few days ago. I also had a calling card inserted with them but she never called me.” Blake said. He wanted to at least get to know Josie. She seemed pretty interesting. But she’d never tried to contact Blake, and he was fast losing interest in her.

“Why don't you try to contact her again?” Mrs. Ingram was more than insistent with Blake. She really wanted him to settle down. Just like any good mother, Mrs. Ingram wanted someone to take care of Blake. And Mrs. Ingram was not kidding herself. She knew that she had just had a very close brush with death. She knew that she could not cheat death forever. And she was not getting any younger. Nor was Blake. Getting a partner would be more than ideal for Blake. It was about time.

“I don't know. She's a doctor with a million things on her mind. If she didn't contact me, it's probably because she's really not interested.”

“And you actually believe that? You're a man, Blake. You see a girl you want, you get her. Get Doctor Steele. She's good for you.”

Blake scratched his head. His mother could really be persistent, when she wanted to be.

“All right. I'll see what I can do.” Blake said.

“That's my boy! Have a great day at school. Your students are lucky to have you as a teacher.”

“I hope so. For their sakes!” Blake said.

He smiled at his mother and entered his car. He still had a few minutes before his opening class. He decided to stop by the coffee shop for a quick cup.

***

Blake was still feeling a little sleepy as he parked his car in front of the coffee shop. He was looking forward to a good cup of coffee, maybe a good tuna sandwich, and a morning paper. This was the usual morning routine for Blake, and today, there was really no reason for that to change.

He exited his car and walked to the coffee shop. It was still early in the morning, but it was already teeming with people. The little town of Fallston could sometimes seem like such a big place. This morning was one of those times for Blake.

“Business is picking up.” Blake said as he approached the barista.

“Hey there, Mr. Ingram! Will you have the usual expresso latte?” The barista cheerfully beamed at Blake.

“You read my mind, Chase.” Blake said.

The barista smiled again and started to make Blake's cup of coffee. Blake fumbled for his wallet in his pocket. He took it out and was getting his money ready, but something, or someone, caught Blake's eye. He recognized the long, dark hair. And he remembered the soft voice from the hospital. She was talking over her cellphone while sipping coffee. It was Josie. And Blake's heart skipped a beat.

6. Expresso Latte and the Heartbreaker of Fallston

It was Josie and she was in the same diner as Blake! What were the chances of that happening? Blake knew that this had to be some kind of crazy coincidence, but crazy or not, he would not let it pass.

Blake left his coffee cup, paper, and sandwich on the table. All of a sudden, expresso latte and the morning news didn't seem so appealing anymore.

Josie leafed through the paper. Her eye was on an article about a man who’d been married for 5 years. He’d suddenly shot his wife and kids while they slept. Investigators were determining how he suddenly went insane. 'You just can't trust anyone anymore these days,' thought Josie.

“Hey there! Fancy meeting you here!” Blake said, suddenly.

“What the hell?” Josie was startled and she almost flew off her seat. Blake's heart immediately sank.

'Oh shit. That didn't sound so good. I didn't want to do that!' He thought. Blake immediately tried to do some kind of damage control. “Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. I was just so surprised to see you here.” Blake said.

“Heh. Well, you did...” Josie said. She felt more than a little annoyed now.

“Sorry. Are you on the way to work?” Blake asked.

“I'm wearing my white overcoat. I've got my medicine bag here, and I have my hospital ID tacked on, too. Goodness, where else would I be going?”

Blake was feeling a little uneasy now. This was just not going right. 

“Hey, sorry I startled you. Let me make it up to you. Allow me to buy you a new cup of coffee?”

“It's all right. No harm done. And I was on the way to work anyway.”

“I was on the way to work as well. Come on. Maybe we can still chat a bit? Life's too short to just work, work, and work right?” Blake asked. He winked at Josie, trying to look cool. But he just ended up looking even more awkward.

“I really have to go. Say hi to your mom for me.” Josie said, with finality. She hurriedly left the cafe and continued her drive to the hospital.

“Man that was just cold. I feel for you, dude.” It was Chase, the barista. He walked over to Blake and cleaned off Josie's table.

Blake shook his head. But he was still smiling.

“This isn't over, Chase. The heartbreaker of Fallston doesn't give up so easily.” Blake said.

7. A Persistent Stalker

Josie walked down a long and dark corridor. She looked around for any kind of distinguishing features in her surroundings, but there were none. The area was very unfamiliar to her. It wasn't the hospital corridors that she often worked late nights in. This was somewhere else.

“Where am I? This isn't anywhere I know...”

Josie stumbled around the long corridor. It was a bit dark, but not dark enough not to see anything. Josie could barely make out the right way to walk. But the dimly lit area itself, and its unfamiliarity, gave the young doctor a sense of dread.

“I want to get out of here.” She said.

Josie wandered on and on. But the area seemed to go on forever, like some coiling serpent. No doors led anywhere, and it was a place that never seemed to end.

Then she saw a dim light at the end. It was faint at first, but it seemed to get brighter and brighter. Josie was filled with a sense of renewed hope. If she could just reach the light, perhaps she could find a way out of here.

Josie moved towards the light. It was getting brighter and brighter now. She was so close to the light that she could almost touch it. This filled her with a great sense of relief. Josie reached for the light.

“I've got you. Take my hand.”

A hand suddenly stretched out from the light. It was human and very reassuring.

The voice was also a familiar voice that Josie somehow recognized. She reached for the hand from the light without any hesitation.

“Don't be afraid. I've got you.”

She looked up at the man now holding her. It was Blake.

“B...Blake?”

Josie opened her eyes. She found her head plopped on her folded arms. They were on top of her desk. Piles of cluttered papers lined her desk, and the computer monitor was on. She squinted from the monitor's bright light and rubbed her eyes.

“Just another dream...” she said sleepily. “I really should slow down. All those long nights doing patient rounds. Walking long hallways... damn. It's all getting to me.”

Josie reached for her mug. She saw that there was still some coffee in it. She drank the remnants. It tasted cold and lifeless. She almost spat it out again. There was just no perk left in the drink.

“What time is it..?” Josie looked around. Her desk clock read 10:30am. It was late in the morning and Josie had fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion.

Slowly, Josie stood up from her office chair. She put on a new pair of shoes and walked out of the office. The nurses' station was the first thing she saw.

A few nurses smiled at Josie and she smiled back. It was time to do her rounds. But just as she was about to walk to the rounds, a nurse stopped her.

“Doctor Steele, Milla says someone wants to see you at the reception desk.”

Josie stopped at the nurses' station.

“Really? Who wants to see me?”

“She says it's Blake Ingram. You handled his mother's case, a few weeks back.”

Blake again? Josie felt a mixture of amusement and annoyance at the news. You had to hand it to him. He was really persistent.

“Minor heart attack. Yeah, I know Ingram.” Josie said.

“Won't you talk with him?” The nurse asked.

She was now smiling the way Milla had smiled, when Josie had received the bouquet. It was really starting to annoy Josie.

“Fine. I'll talk to him for a while. But he better not take up a lot of time...”

Josie rushed to catch the elevator to the ground floor.

Blake caught sight of Josie as she exited the elevator.

“Hey! Josie! How's it going?” He asked as he waved to her.

Josie tried hard to contain her irritation. She walked towards Blake and forced a smile onto her face. “I'm doing great. Just a whole load of work to be done. How's your mother doing?” She asked.

“She's doing wonderful! I think she's really gonna be okay. I'm really grateful to you for your help.”

“Ah, it was nothing. Just part of my job.”

“Don't be modest. If it weren't for you, I'm not sure if my mom would be alive right now.”

Josie waved off the compliment. She was already getting tired of talking with Blake, and it was starting to show. “It's nice to hear that your mom's getting better. You know I ought to...”

“Boy. You're always so busy and on the go. I wonder how you manage with such a job. The pace at the High School is much more relaxed.”

Josie couldn't help but frown. She didn't like how Blake had cut her off.

“You know I do have a lot of patients waiting on me. I have to get going.” Josie said.

'Ouch.' Blake thought. This was getting painful. “Well, maybe we could meet again sometime?” Blake said.

“Ahhh... you're really persistent, aren't you? A lot of stalkers aren't as persistent as you.”

“Hey, stalkers have to work harder to be like me. They got nothing on me...” Blake said. It was a rather sad attempt at humor and saving face.

“I really have to get going.” Josie said.

She started to walk away from Blake. Perhaps she could still catch the elevator and somehow get Blake off her back. But Blake just wouldn't give up.

“Hey, don't you have any days off?” Blake asked. 

Blake felt a trickle of sweat fall from his forehead. He noticed that he was already slightly panting and catching his breath. How was Josie walking so fast? Blake could hardly keep up.

“I don't have many in this job.” She said.  Blake noticed with much disappointment that Josie had reached the elevator. She squeezed into it with the other people.

“Maybe we can...” Blake didn't finish his sentence. The elevator doors slid shut and Josie was gone.