Maia: Hope your dad’s doing great! Missing you here. Finished taking care of paperwork. All ready for you when you get back. Xoxo. Miss you.
I started to text her back but then decided to call her instead.
“Hey, Ella!” she greeted in her cheery voice. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did,” I purred into the phone.
“How’s your Dad?”
“He’s doing better.” I went on a bit about his state, and that things were more under control. With luck, he’d be out of here in a few days. The doctor is optimistic.”
“That’s awesome news Ella. Everything seems to be working so well over there at least.”
“Yeah… Not really…” I trailed off, choking up at the sound of Maia’s voice, the only one I felt comfortable talking about all the bullshit happening in my life.
“What’s the matter? Why so blue? Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, well, it’s just that… it's the doctor.”
“The doctor?” She seemed confused. “What about him? Didn’t you say he’s a superstar?”
“He's the guy I met at that party, Maia. And he has those blue eyes I told you about from my dream.”
She seemed to immediately understand. “Why didn’t you call me to tell me this sooner? What did he say when you guys met?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing?”
“I mean we haven’t spoken a word about that night apart from acknowledging that we’ve met before,” I snapped and immediately regretted it. I took a deep breath to keep my aggression in check before calmly continuing to explain myself. “But I know he remembers me. He’s alluded to that night out of context, like he’s trying to make me react.”
“Well, that’s good, isn’t it? Maybe you just have to bring it up at some point,” Maia suggested. “He could just be waiting for you to confirm that you’re still interested. And can I hear a ‘hell yes!’ from you?”
At that point I heard the door latch click.
“Oh, gotta go. I'll call you in a few.”
“Okay, babe. Get some rest.”
“I'll be fine. And thank you,” I said before ending the call.
“Are you in there?” I heard Armand’s somber voice call out.
“Yes” I called out, and then remembered my state of dressing. “Wai…”
But before I could finish my statement, Armand walked right in. Our eyes met, and his then went directly to my body. Just then I remembered I was wrapped in a towel, and I reflexively crossed my arms around my chest.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should’ve waited.” He had a sincere apology on his face.
“Don’t bother. It’s not like we haven’t been in a more intimate situation before.”
I watched his eyes flicker with something, but instead of taking my opening to talk about that night, he cleared his throat. “Hope you slept well?”
Why was he avoiding the topic? He’d stated he was a different man at work, but surely that didn’t stop him from acknowledging it, or at least telling me we’d talk about it outside work.
I didn't dignify his question with a spoken response, just a slight nod. “I thought you were coming around last night?”
He bobbed his head. “Yes, just to update you on your dad’s health. But I finished so late that I decided it was better that I let you rest instead of disturbing you. I know it can be hard on patient’s families. Just normal procedure.”