Exquisite

Chapter Five

The next day Lena made it a point to be early and instead of going to the cafeteria she went straight up to her office. She sat down and looked at the post it’s on her desk with messages and numbers on them for call backs. She hadn’t slept well at all. Once she’d finally managed to doze off she’d woken up in the midst of the same gut wrenching nightmare she always had. She knew she needed to talk to someone about it, or at the very least get a shrink, but the whole idea of sitting down and confessing to someone that she was an emotional wreck made her want to jab her eyes out with a hot poker. Just as she was about to get up and grab a coffee her phone rang. She glanced over, saw Shelly’s extension and picked up the phone.

“So? Are we feeling nice and relaxed today?”

Leaning back in her chair Lena shut her eyes and thought back to last night. “No. I didn’t sleep well at all.”

“Oh?”

“No, there is no oh, like I did anything exciting. Just the same old, same old.”

“What do you mean the same old? I picked him out, gift wrapped him and gave him to you. All you had to do was unwrap.”

Lena sighed then sat forward playing with the cord on her phone, “You did not pick him out Shelly. He barged into my life, tricked me into a date and then kicked me out after ten minutes.”

She could almost here Shelly’s jaw hit the desk. “Stay right there. Do not move. I’m coming to you.”

Before Lena could say a word she’d been hung up on.

Mason’s morning was not much different. He woke up to the sound of his phone continuously ringing. Opening one eye, he looked at the clock and noticed it was 7am. Yawning he sat up and snatched up the phone. “Hello.”

“Good morning sunshine.”

“Rachel it’s way too early to be as happy as you are right now.”

He heard her laughing on the other end and rubbed his eyes, “Why are you bothering me?”

“You know for someone who had a hot date last night you’re awfully grumpy this morning.”

He grunted at that and without acknowledging her comment asked again, “Why are you bothering me?”

“You’re really not going to tell me anything?”

He could almost see her pout at the end of that sentence. He paused then leaned back against the headboard. “Okay two questions.”

She fired her first one off so quickly he knew she’d been thinking about it. “What time did she leave or did she?”

He heard her laughing on the other end thinking she’d asked a good one. Well get ready to be shocked, he thought. “Around 15 minutes after she arrived.”

There was dead silence at the other end of the phone.

“Are you serious? What did you do to her?” she paused, “No, no wait! That is not my second question.”

Mason had to smile. They’d been playing this game since they were kids.

“Hmm. Okay let me think of a good one.” she paused then asked, “What’s her name?”

Mason answered quickly, “Lena.”

“Her whole name?” Rachel emphasized. Geez, what was it with women? Had she been standing with her ear pressed to the door last night?

“Is that your second question?” he asked avoiding her.

“You do know her whole name right?”

“No.” and with that he hung up.

Lena looked up as Shelly walked into her office and shut the door. After she was seated she waited silently and Lena was reminded of her horrible night all over again.

“What’d you do?” she demanded when it became obvious Lena wasn’t going to volunteer any information.

“What makes you think I did something?” then she mumbled, “It could’ve been him.”

“Do you forget that I was there the night he asked you out? I know he isn’t the problem here.” she paused then asked again, “So what’d you do?”

Lena frowned at her. “Nothing! I may have got a little annoyed that he didn’t know my last name.”

Shelly sat staring at her friend for a moment. Then asked, “Did you ever tell him? Or introduce yourself in between all your bitchy remarks?”

Rolling her eyes Lena shook her head, “No, but,”

“No buts Lena!” Shelly sighed loudly and sat forward, “What’s the real problem here? Because that man was hot and nice. Do you know how rare that is? And for some crazy ass reason he asked you on a date.”

“Gee thanks Shelly.”

“Oh come on you know I’m right. Even you were shocked he asked after your horrible behavior.”

“Did you know he’s dated thirty three women this year?” Lena paused, “This year! It isn’t even June yet! He’s a womanizer. That’s who you want me to open my heart to? Really?”

“How do you know he’s dated thirty three women? Did he tell you that before he kicked you out or as he slammed the door in your face?”

“He didn’t tell me.” Lena sat forward and started to flick through her post it’s. “I Googled him and that’s what came up.” She looked up at Shelly daring her to laugh and saw her friend biting her lip tight as if trying to hold back, “Oh just say it!”

“Okay. You’re an idiot. For someone who is so smart, you my friend, are an idiot.” Standing Shelly smoothed her palms down her skirt, “Now. I’m going to get to work and you and I will continue you this enlightening discussion later.”

“No we won't.”

Shelly turned when she got to the door, “Yes we will Dr. O’Donnell. See? You cant get mad at me. I know your last name.” she said sticking her tongue out like a ten year old instead of a respected doctor as she ran out the door.

Lena sat in her seat fuming at her friend’s back and cursing the fact she was exactly right. Then when those thoughts started to annoy her she yelled, “Brandy!”

Mason walked into the restaurant a bagel in his mouth and a tray of coffee’s in his hand. He made his way through the dinning room, smiled at the cleaning crew, then pushed his way past the double doors into the kitchen. He put the coffee’s down and waved at Wendy who once again had her cell glued to her ear. Making his way down to the back fridge he found Rachel taking inventory of the stock. Before he even said hi she spoke.

“So come on, confess. How’d you run off the pants suit in under 30 minutes?”

She put the pencil behind her ear and turned to face him. Mason grinned and raised an eyebrow.

“Pants suit?”

She nodded, “That’s what I’m calling her until I know otherwise.”

“Ah ha.” he took a seat on a crate inside the large walk in fridge and leaned against the wall. “She got mad because I didn’t know her last name.”

“Ha! I knew it. Come on Mase, you should know better.”

“I know. But in my own defense she never stopped lobbing insults at me long enough to ask.”

Rachel stared down at him as she squeezed a tomato gently. “So why on earth did you ask her out? It isn’t like she’s exactly your type.”

Mason grimaced, “I have a type?”

“Yeah stupid and stupider.”

“That’s not nice.”

“Well it’s true. I never understood why you date these bimbos. You’re so much more than that.” she turned back to count the boxes of peaches for her dessert tonight. “I had hope for this one Mason. You let me down.”

Mason stood up and brushed his butt with his hands, “I’m so sorry to disappoint you.” he paused on his way out thinking back to Lena’s comment about unintelligent women. “Hey? Why would she say there are thirty three dumb women in Chicago?”

Rachel snorted a very unfeminine laugh and turned to face him, a twirling pencil in her fingers.

“Now I know I like her. She Googled you. That’s the first story that pops up. How many bimbos you’ve dated this year.”

“Dr O’Donnell there’s a patient out in the waiting room and his mother is asking to speak to you.”

Lena looked over at the Sam, one of the nurses, who’d come to get her from exam room one. She’d been putting an order in for a patient who’d broken her toe while making a not so graceful landing from a piggy back ride. The little toe had swollen up so much she couldn’t put a shoe on it. Finishing up the order she hit send and made her way down the walkway to the front waiting area. She looked over at Brandy and she pointed out a young lady with an infant boy on her lap screaming his head off. Lena’s heart melted knowing the baby didn’t understand what was wrong with him. It always made her wonder what they would tell her if they could. Considering screaming loudly was how she felt inside, she couldn’t really blame him for making such a disturbance. Pushing her hands into her lab coat pockets she walked over to the young mother.

“Oh Doctor.” she said rocking the baby and gently cooing as she stood. “Thank you for coming out to see me.”

“That’s no problem Miss?”

“Oh. I’m sorry I’m Mrs Tipton and this hear is Robbie.”

Lena bent down and smiled at the screaming child. Reaching out she placed her palm on his forehead and frowned. The little guy was burning up.

“What seems to be the problem with little Robbie here?”

“He’s been crying like this for the past 8 hrs. Finally when nothing, tylenol or a cool bath, would calm him down I decided to bring him in and I’ve been waiting and waiting and he gets louder and,”

Lena grinned quickly then it fell away, “Yes I can see he has a loud voice, don’t you little man. Anyway lets get him into a room right away and see what it is he’s trying to tell us.”

Mrs Tipton had tears welling in here eyes and Lena felt her heart clench. “It’s ok. We’ll find out what’s wrong with your little guy.”

“Thank you.” she whispered clutching him tighter.

Lena turned around and faced Brandy, “Put them in Exam 2. I’ll be in there in just a second.”

Mason was in the process of interviewing a new dining room Hostess. Cindy, his main girl up the front, had told him her boyfriend was moving to London and had asked her to go and hey presto, he was down a hostess. He was seated in his office, or as he now referred to it, the scene of the crime and his mind kept wandering back to Lena. Had he done the right thing kicking her out? He’d gone into the date knowing up front she was prickly and grouchy and more guarded than a castle under a full blown attack. However, somewhere in the middle of flinging insults he’d started feel the need to make her smile. He’d recognized from the beginning she was smart. The fact she was a doctor was the first clue but the way she hadn’t acted like a besotted groupie around him was the second. She’d been mean and completely insulting but she fascinated him more than anyone he could think of and he wanted under that pants suit so bad he could feel it. What would it be like to have her melt for him? There was a small knock on the door and a petite redhead poked her head around the door.

“Mr. Langely?”

Mason motioned for her to come in and decided, then and there, that before the day was over he would know Lena’s last name and he would hear her call him Langley again.

Twelve long hours later Robert Tipton had been admitted to the hospital. They couldn’t get young Robbie’s fever down and after running all the blood work and labs under the sun some answers had finally appeared. Lena gritted her teeth hating this part of her job. She walked into the small room that had Mrs. Tipton next to a window and Robbie finally asleep, and stopped at the foot of the cot. Mrs. Tipton looked over at her and Lena could see the dark rings around her eyes and knew they were only going to get worse in the following weeks and months.

“Mrs. Tipton.”

“Please call me Becky.” she replied as she stood and moved closer.

Lena nodded then made a move toward her. She stopped and looked back at little Robbie then turned to his mother. “Is there someone who can come down here and be with you?”

Automatically she saw Becky’s body tense up and she bit her lip to keep it from trembling.

“His father. He’s been at work today and was going to come by if he needed to. I just thought he had an ear infection,” she said then sniffled as a tear leaked down her eye, “So I told him not to bo-th-ther.” pausing she looked from Robbie then back to Lena. “Should I call him?”

Lena reached out and took her hand. “Yes, you really should.”

Becky gasped softly and sat down on the chair almost as though her legs wouldn’t hold her, dropping Lena’s hand. Lena squatted down and reached out squeezing Becky’s fingers tightly because she knew the news she was about to deliver was going to be like a knife to the gut.

“Robbie’s blood tests came back and he has a very high white blood cell count and he’s also suffering from anemia. That, plus the fever and you had stated he’s been sick a lot over the past few months, all indicates to me a high chance of childhood leukemia.”

Becky openly sobbed now. So Lena forged on knowing it wouldn’t get easier. “I’ve sent a request to have the peds oncologist come up here and talk to you about this and what needs to happen from here, but Becky. I think you need to call your husband.”

She nodded looking up at Lena through glassy wet eyes. “Okay. Thank you Doctor O’Donnell.”

Lena shook her head, “Don’t thank me for that news Becky,” she said and paused standing tall. “You thank me when he’s well enough to go home and we’re victorious because we found it early, you hear me?”

She nodded reaching for her cell phone as Lena stepped back and walked to the door. Leaving the room and taking a deep breath she gave Becky some privacy. Standing on the other side of the closed door she looked up at the ceiling and asked softly, “Why are you so greedy? Why, when they’re so young?”

When it was apparent there would be no answer she pushed off the door and made her way back to her office.

Sitting down in her chair Lena turned to face the window and stared out at the night sky. It was clear tonight and she could see the stars from her office. They twinkled over the city like little diamonds. Lena closed her eyes blocking out their brilliance. She often thought to herself, what right do I have to even see such magnificence after all that I’ve done? Today being no different, telling a mother her child was going to have to fight for his little life for the next few years, and then having that mother thank her? No, something was terribly wrong with that picture. Not to mention how she felt about Carly. Why’d she get to go on, be successful and live out life when she’d driven Carly to the end of hers? Memories, they weren’t your friends just cruel reminders of your past and what you needed to make up for before you died. Jostling her out of her thoughts was the phone. She turned back to her desk and picked it up.

“Dr O’Donnell.”

“Hello dear.” she heard her mother say over the phone. Lena winced then picked up the post it notes again, for the third time today, hoping to finally sort through them.

“Hi mom how are you?”

“We’re good love. How are you doing?” she asked almost warily at the other end of the phone.

“I’m ok just had a really tough day today but other than that I’m doing ok.”

“Lena honey,” her mother said and paused, “Did you eat something healthy today?”

Lena thought back to what she ate then smiled as she saw a telephone message from Shelly,

Memo:

We’re not done yet. Ext 531

“Ahh I had some tomato soup.”

“That’s it? In how many hours?”

Lena sighed deeply, her mother the meddler. “In about 13 hours.”

“Magdalena O’Donnell please look after yourself.”

Lena smiled and asked softly, “Is that why you called? To grumble at me?”

“No I called to see if,”

“Yes I got the flowers.” she answered quickly but instead of the heart piercing pain she expected to feel she felt a niggle of warmth thinking of the delivery man. Pushing that aside she noticed one yellow post it stuck to the bottom of a folder and pulled it out.

“I didn’t go mom.” she answered rubbing her eyes then closing them, “I just can’t bare to think of her in the cold ground. Maybe, maybe in summer.”

She heard her mother sigh and then say softly, “You’ve been saying that for the past nine summers my girl. You’ll go when you’re ready I suppose.”

“And you’ll keep trying to find out when that is.”

“Your father and I love you Lena.”

She swallowed back tears and squeezed her eyes tight. “I know mom, I know.”

“Alright I’ll let you go. Please eat something.”

“Will do.” she replied rocking forward on her chair to place the phone back. Glancing down she opened her fist to glance at the yellow post it that had been stuck.

Memo:

Dr. O’Donnell,

It’s amazing what one kind find out on Google.

Langley.

And just like that Lena found herself smiling, smug bastard.