One Night In Amsterdam (27 page)

“I am not sure yet.” I shrugged.  I didn’t want to talk about my plans in front of Kyle.

“You should apply for Mayo Clinic. We can do our residency there together,” Amy said.

“Did you get accepted?” I asked.

“Not officially, but I’ve had a phone interview with the director of surgical residency and he said I have a good chance to be accepted.”

“They say that Mayo has a reputation as a great place to be a patient, but not a good place to do surgical residency. They have a very controlled environment without much trauma experience. Don’t expect it to be like a Grey’s Anatomy episode. You will get to watch a lot, but you’ll be lucky if they let you scrub in once in a while.” Chris commented instantly.

Chris enjoyed picking on Amy. They were famous for their constant arguments and their opposing views on everything. Chris never missed an opportunity to tease her. Sometimes to the point where it annoyed Amy a lot and drove her crazy, which made him enjoy it more. Everybody knew that he had a crush on her. Everybody, except Amy.

“I totally disagree.” Amy objected immediately. “You work with the best, you learn from the best.  Mayo Clinic has the best surgeons in the States and the best residency program,” she carried on.  “You are just jealous because you can’t charm your way in using your wicked smile as you always do. Maybe your smile has lost its magical power.”

“Oh, stop it Amy. I am not jealous at all.” Chris replied with a sly grin. “I think my smile still has a lot of power. Let’s see if it works,” he said, turned to Amy and smiled his famous crooked smile and winked.  Amy frowned even more. “Nuh-uh… It doesn’t work with uptight, frigid girls. I guess there’s no way to charm you Amy. You are one impossible girl.” He said laughing.

Amy flicked Chris’s forehead with her finger teasingly. “Ha-ha, very funny.” She snorted.  “If you were a bit more like Doctor Stevens, you might have a chance. He is such a gentleman and also so charming. I would have loved to go on a date with him. I wonder what he looked like at our age.”

I smiled and nodded showing my agreement; Doctor Stevens was every girl’s dream at school. He was a successful surgeon, charismatic, handsome and happily married for forty years. He had two daughters, a son and ten grandchildren. He was the perfect dream husband for every med school girl.

“If I knew you were into salt and pepper hair, and a walking stick, I would have died my hair and carried a cane with me.” Chris said after he tilted his head sideways and sipped his beer.

Amy shook her head, folded her arms over her chest, “Oh, shut up, Chris!” she chided him and asked Jackson, trying to change the subject, “How about you, Jack?”

“My top three choices were Johns Hopkins, MGH and UCSF.” Jackson replied.  “They are also the hardest ones to get accepted to since they get the highest numbers of applicants.  I think I’m more likely to be matched with UC Davis, still a great hospital.  I definitely wish I had Emma’s GPA and references. I am sure she can get in wherever she applies.” He sighed heavily.

“If I apply…” I mumbled to myself, but luckily nobody heart me. I didn’t want to talk about my plans after school just yet.

After fifteen minutes of long, boring arguments about the best residency programs, Jackson left our table and joined a group of girls doing tequila shots. Soon he was laughing loudly and clicking his shot glass with a tall blonde girl. Chris, craving for a cigarette stepped outside. Amy also left to find a quiet place to take a phone call, which left Kyle and me alone at the table.

Kyle didn’t talk much during our discussion about the residency programs since he was doing his at Columbia. Other than a few comments, he sat there and looked at me stealthily, not making much eye contact. However, now that we were alone, he scooted up next to me, standing disturbingly close. Eyeing me openly, he grabbed a strand of my hair and was about to tuck it behind my ear when I pushed his hand away abruptly.

“Emma!” He whispered, glaring at me as he sipped his drink. He had three beers already and had just switched to hard liquor, whiskey.

“What?” I answered, feeling annoyed. I couldn’t hide my grimace.

“Come on, Emma. Don’t I at least deserve a tiny smile?” He said, his voice was slurred and he looked more than tipsy, clearly inebriated.  “You should smile all the time. You have the most beautiful smile Emma. Actually, not just your smile, everything about you is beautiful.” He kept on complimenting me although I didn’t want to listen to it.

“You are obviously drunk Kyle. Maybe you should stop drinking.”

“Maybe a bit tipsy, but I am not drunk. I needed to drink to have the courage to talk to you, which I’ve been trying to do for weeks. You, Emma, are the most beautiful and amazing girl I know.”

“Please don’t talk to me like that.” I replied.

“Why? I am just stating the truth. You are gorgeous.” He muttered, and then tried to close the distance between us. “I’ve missed you Emma. I’ve missed you a lot,” he whispered.

“Why? Freshman girls weren’t enough anymore?”

“Insult me all you want. I deserve all of it. I was an idiot and I made a big mistake. I am begging for a second chance. Don’t you remember how great we were together?”

“Actually Kyle, we weren’t great together. I was just another score for you. When a new girl showed up admiring you, falling for your fake charm, you couldn’t stop yourself. You can’t love anyone Kyle, because you love yourself more than anyone else.”

“No. I loved you Emma. I still do. I was so stupid not to realize it sooner, but after seeing you with that son of a bitch, I knew it. It was always you.” He said, breathing in deeply, as if he was savoring my closeness and my scent; his face was now an inch away.

“Kyle, what we had… it wasn’t love. I didn’t love you. It was just stupid affection.” I said, knowing what true love felt like. However, he was too drunk.  I doubted he heard or understood what I said. He kept on staring at me. His eyes were feral, like a wild animal. Unfortunately, I sensed his intentions too late. Suddenly, he pulled me to him and tried to kiss me. I was able to dodge his abrupt, unwelcome move and pushed him back.

“Get a hold of yourself, Kyle! I already told you I don’t feel anything for you. I don’t even like you.”

“You don’t like me?” He looked up with a devious grin.  “But of course! You dig billionaire playboys who like to fuck every female in town.”

“You are an asshole!” I burst out. “Stay the hell away from me.”  I shouted at him, grabbed my purse and quickly rushed to the door. After all he had done, I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to talk to me like that. I was frustrated, mad and all his insulting words about Dylan brought back a flood of emotions I couldn’t control. My eyes welled up.  The tears I was holding in for weeks seeped down my face unrestrained. I opened the heavy metal door and threw myself out. I needed fresh air to recompose myself, however just then, I bumped into someone. I lifted my head up and saw that it was Sydney.

“What are you doing here?” I said, surprised, trying to hide my tears.

“I called Amy to help me with something and she mentioned that you were coming here to have a drink. I wouldn’t miss the night you finally cracked out of your shell and decided have a little fun.” She said. She then made me turn towards her and look into her eyes. “From the looks of it, you are not having fun. What the hell happened?”

“Kyle…” I stuttered and looked away.

“That asshole. What did he do?”

“It doesn’t matter. I just want to get out of here.”

“Only after I tell him what he deserves to hear.” She attempted to push the door open and go in the bar. “Somebody should kick his arrogant ass and teach him a lesson.”

I stopped her before she reached the door. “Forget about Kyle. He’s not worth it Sydney. Let’s go. I am serious. He is not the reason I am sad.”

“Okay, but you need to tell me what’s going on with you. Also, let’s get Amy too. She sounded like she wasn’t having much fun either.”

“It’s Chris. He likes to push her buttons. He’s been picking on her all night. He should just come out and admit how much he likes her, instead of acting like a high school kid.”

“Men. They never grow up!” Sydney said, shaking her head and grabbed my arm.

Amy, Sydney and I walked to the nearest coffee shop. On the way, I was quiet, wondering how I should break the news.  When we finally sat down by the window at Stonehenge Coffee House, “I need to tell you something,” I said, after I took a sip from my chai latte. “Actually, I am glad both of you are here. I didn’t want to have this conversation twice.”

“What are you talking about?” Amy asked.

“Yes, Emma. What’s going on?” Sydney repeated.

“I decided what I am going to do for next year.” I said. “I know you are both going to be against it, but I want you to understand, this is my life and my decision. So, please try not to be judgmental.”

“You are making me nervous.” Sydney muttered. “Just be straight and tell us what you are up to.”

“I signed up with MSF. I leave New York in a month.”  I finally broke the news. ‘To leave or not to leave. My hardest choice in life!’ I thought inwardly. My ambivalence and indecision had been bothering me for weeks. I felt relieved that I finally decided. Whether it was a good decision or not, I didn’t know, time would tell.

Amy glared at me with a shocked expression.  “What the hell is MSF?” Sydney asked, confused.

“Médecins Sans Frontières.” Amy spoke before me.  “Also known as ‘Doctors without Borders’. But how is it possible? I thought they only accepted doctors with a minimum two years of experience.”

“Yes, that’s usually true, but they are short staffed. Since I have done MD/PhD, they counted my additional years in research as field experience. I think they will send me to Syria first, to assist more experienced doctors. They are in urgent need of surgeons after this never-ending civil war.”

“You can’t do that Emma. You can’t leave us and go off to Syria, of all places. Is it even safe to go there?”

“It is not easy for me either Syd, however I have to go. Doctors are well-protected. Don’t worry, I will be safe.”

“I can’t believe this. Is this because you feel lost and overwhelmed with emotions after Dylan? It is, isn’t it?”

“Maybe… I don’t know. I just know that I have to leave the country for a while, use my degree and be helpful. There are a lot of children out there needing help.”

“You don’t have to go so far away to help. You can help here too. Actually, I was going to talk to you about that before you dropped this ‘I’m leaving town for a godforsaken country for an unknown amount of time’ bomb.”

“What is it?”  I asked curiously.

“I signed you up for a fundraising event. It’s for St. Mark’s Children’s Research Hospital. It’s the night of your graduation. Dinner starts at seven and there will be a live auction.”

“I didn’t make any plans for the night after the graduation ceremony. I don’t mind attending a fundraising event benefitting a research hospital.”

“Yeah, but there is more to it than just attending. Don’t object right away, hear me out first.” Sydney said hesitatingly, she pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes as if she was trying to gauge my reaction. “Amy and I were helping Brie Kemper, the event chair. She asked for our support for something a bit unusual. She is looking for volunteers to participate in date auction. She needed about ten bachelorettes to auction off to raise money for the hospital and she was short one…”

“Oh, no… Amy, Sydney! You didn’t.”

“Sorry Emma. We did. We signed you up too. It is for a great cause. You get to have a dinner date, and generally retired doctors or faculty members attend this event. It won’t be so bad. Last year I got to have dinner with Professor Gardner and he was very kind.” Amy explained.

“I am doing it too Emma. So is Amy.” Sydney chimed in.

“I can’t believe you two. I know Brie Kemper. I will call her and explain that I can’t do it.”

“But Emma, it is too late. They already have all the girls’ names for the live auction printed in the catalog.”

“You knew about this and agreed to include me ... when?”

“Last week when we had a meeting with Brie. I thought it would cheer you up. It’s kind of fun. I promise you that you will enjoy it. ” Sydney said, smiling, batting her eyes, faking an innocent look.

I shook my head, grimacing. I knew there was no point in arguing with her – she had that look on her face. I finally consented to her unreasonable request. Knowing I had less than a month in the States, I decided not to fight the unnecessary fights. I just let it go.

CHAPTER 20

DYLAN

The sky was cloudless and the water was shining clear blue under the bright, warm, almost summer sun. The beaches in Montauk were getting more crowded as summer approached, especially on the weekends, and today was one of those days. There were little kids running around, some making sand castles, some playing in shallow water.  Girls in their ‘latest fashion’ bikinis were lying under the sun and guys were playing beach volleyball, showing off their fit bodies.  I didn’t feel like joining the crowd, however, I didn’t want to waste such a warm, beautiful day indoors either. Although I still had a ton of work in the house, I took Copper out and we ran together on the beach.  I agreed to take care of Jane’s one-year-old golden retriever, Copper, while Jane and Aaron were away for the weekend.  As people raided the beaches of Long Island, from The Hamptons to Montauk, many locals like Aaron and Jane left town to avoid the rude and disrespectful city folk. I didn’t blame them. The more I stayed in Montauk, the more I found New Yorkers annoying.