The other doctor is Caleb Perkins. He’s thirty-two years old and we have a lot in common, like our taste in food, music, and art. I ran into him at one of the local art museums and ever since then, we just clicked. Not to mention, he’s very good looking with his blonde hair and bright blue eyes. All the nurses love him, but he likes to work with me. Our relationship has always stayed professional, at least for the most part. There have been times we’ve flirted with each other, but after those two days with Brennan, things between me and Caleb haven’t gone anywhere beyond friendship.
I grab my Tupperware of spaghetti out of the refrigerator and pop it into the microwave. Caleb sees me and waves me over. Once my dinner’s done, I carry it over to his table. Dr. Graham shakes Caleb’s hand and smiles at me. “Have a good night, you two. I’m headed home.”
“Take care, Dr. Graham,” I say, smiling back at him.
Caleb grins up at me and pulls the seat out next to him. “Have a seat.” I set my spaghetti down and he breathes it in. “Did you make that? It smells amazing.”
I brush off my shoulders. “What can I say? I’m a good cook.” Looking over at his plate, I can’t help but be impressed. “Kind of fancy, don’t you think?” On his plate was a half-eaten steak, a baked potato, and asparagus.
Caleb shrugged and smirked at me. “What can I say? I’m a good cook too. Maybe one day it’ll make someone happy.”
“I’m sure it will,” I reply. Usually, I’d come back with a quip, but my heart’s not into it, it’s somewhere else.
“So,” Caleb says, nudging me in the arm, “you rooting for the Celtics tonight? It’s already a good game.”
Out of all the televised sports, basketball is one of my favorites. I glance up at the TV and the Celtics are ten points ahead of the Lakers. “Heck yeah. You know I love my Celtics.”
The sound of chairs screeching across the floor caught my attention and I look back to see Jeannie and Marie cleaning up their table. They wave at us and leave the break room.
“We should go to a game one night,” Caleb suggests. “That is, if we’re ever not working.”
“Exactly,” I laugh. “Tonight’s my last double for a while. I think I made up for calling in sick those two days.”
Caleb nods. “I’d say you made up for that and then some.”
We only have thirty minutes for lunch, but it was nice being able to eat and watch the game. When we were finished, I grabbed both of our Tupperware containers and rinsed them out in the sink.
“So, what do you think about Brennan McLean?” he calls out.
The air whooshes out of my lungs and I jerk around. “What do you mean?”
Chuckling, he points to the TV. “Brennan McLean. What do you think of his music?”
My eyes drift to the TV and there he is at the game, sitting with a beautiful red-haired woman who is awfully close to him. On her other side is Jack Nicholson, but she pays no attention to him. It’s obvious she’s there with Brennan.
“Natalie?” Swallowing hard, I turn to Caleb who stares at me curiously. “You okay? You’re acting like you saw a ghost.”
Much worse than that, I think to myself. I just saw the man I’m falling for with another woman. I shake my head and smile. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
He nods at the TV again. “I listened to one of McLean’s songs the other day and I really liked it.”
“He’s very talented,” I say, wishing my heart wasn’t breaking. I look up at the TV and it shows Brennan again with his date, talking and laughing. “I thought Brennan McLean was dating Rayna Reynolds?” I know he’s not, but it’s the only thing I could think of to say.
Caleb shrugs. “Rayna’s beautiful, but from what I’ve seen of her, she’s a bitch.” He points up at the TV. “I watched an interview with Halle Fulton the other day on the news. She’s new to Hollywood. Her first movie comes out this summer.”
The more he says, the more I don’t want to listen. It just goes to show that there’s no way in hell a relationship with Brennan will work. We live in different worlds.
Caleb stands and stretches. “Looks like our dinner break’s over. You ready to get back to work? I’m taking the night shift with you.”
Forcing a smile, I take one last look at the game. “Yep. I’m ready.” Anything to get my mind off Brennan. Unfortunately, nothing helps.
The night dragged on, but I made it, no thanks to the internet. When I typed in Brennan’s name, there were a gazillion pictures that came up of him and Halle at the game. Caleb asked if I wanted to go to the coffee shop for breakfast, but I told him I already had plans. I change clothes at the hospital before making my way to Emerson’s apartment. Stomach growling, I can really use those pancakes about now.