Pursuit For Lucidity (Crashing Waves) (42 page)

Claire,

How about lunch today?

Mark Kohler, M.D.

Orthopedic Surgery

Downtown Memorial Hospital 

I thought he would have figured out by then that he was the last person on earth that I would have lunch with.

Dr. Kohler,

I am very busy during lunch today and every other day that I work here.

Claire Morgan, MHA

Administrative Assistant to

Walter Wells, CEO

Downtown Memorial Hospital

I didn’t receive a response after my email to Mark.  There was never a dull moment with that man.  No matter how much someone rejected him, he kept trying to get what he wanted.  I wondered if he ever got tired from doing that.  He thought he was God’s gift to women, but he was very far from that.

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That night after ballet class on my drive home, it began to rain.  We had more rain that year than I recalled ever having in California.  I was glad to have gotten the Halloween costume shopping out of the way, so I wouldn’t have to worry about it.  As soon as I got home, I showered and tried on the costume.  It fit perfectly and I had a lot of fun with it, trying on different accessories.  After I was done playing around with the costume, I took it off and put it away, so that it didn’t get ruined before the Halloween party.

An
other thing on my list was to figure out what to wear to the fashion show I would be going to with Laura.  I noticed the beautiful dresses that Alex had bought for me on his birthday.  My decision came down to one of the chocolate brown Nicole Miller dresses that Alex had purchased for me.  It was the perfect color for the season and not as short as the other dresses.  It would be the perfect match with my patent leather nude peep toe Christian Louboutin shoes.  It wasn’t too much and not too little.

I heard the rain pouring down hard outside and was thankful to be indoors and not driving.  I made myself a warm hot cocoa with a lot of marshmallows on top and enjoyed that while I listened to the rain.  I checked the forecast for the following days and it looked like more rain was ahead.  I
hoped it would clear up by Saturday like the meteorologists predicted.  I wouldn’t want to freeze in a tiny dress at a fashion show on a cold and rainy day and I definitely didn’t want to have to wear a heavy coat.  I headed for bed after flipping through every single channel on television and not coming across anything I really wanted to watch.  It took a long time for sleep to find me, most likely from the hot cocoa that was still in my system.  After a long and hard fight, sleep finally found me.

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I awakened early the following morning, since I knew traffic would be heavy from all the rain.  I made it to work safely and described my dress for the fashion show to Laura to get her stamp of approval.  She said it sounded perfect and she was going to wear something similar, not too fancy and not casual.

“
You’re going to have a lot of fun, Claire.  I’ve been going with my mom and sister for years,” she assured.

“
I’m looking forward to it.  Let me know if you can go to lunch today,” I replied.  I still hadn’t received an email from Mark after my last response.  I was glad I hadn’t heard from him and hoped he would give up.  Lunchtime came quickly and Laura and I went to the Cuban deli to eat.  Laura mentioned that Walter seemed very stressed the last few weeks.

“
It’s like he’s not himself.  I wonder if all CEO’s are completely stressed out like he is.  I think I would rather make a little amount of money and keep my sanity,” she said.

“
I agree.  I guess you and I are in the sane income category,” I laughed.

“
Yes, we are.  Sanity is important these days with all the crazy people surrounding us,” she said.

I had a big appetite that day because I hadn’t eaten much the day before.  I knew I would have to fill up on healthy foods to make it through Stefano’s hip hop class that night.  Laura and I finished our lunch and walked out of the deli.  As we entered the hospital, I noticed Alex standing near the elevator, his back to us, speaking to someone on his cell phone, “I’m trying to help you
, but you won’t let me.  I don’t want to get a phone call from the police one day to let me know you’re dead,” we heard Alex say to whoever was on the other end of the phone.  Laura and I looked at one another wide eyed.

We continued to the elevator and Alex noticed we were there.  He finished his conversation quickly and hung up.  He looked very agitated and uncomfortable.  I pressed the button to the elevator and waited quietly with Laura.

“Hello, ladies,” he said.

“
Hi, Alex,” I replied.  Laura just smiled without saying anything.

“
Coming back from lunch?” he asked.

“
Yes, we are.  You too?” I asked.

“
No, just forgot something upstairs.  I was on my way to the clinic,” he replied.  Just then the elevator doors opened to our floor and Laura and I stepped out. “See you later,” he said.

“
Yeah, bye,” I replied.

“
Aw, Claire.  He’s so in love with you.  It’s written all over his face.  He has puppy eyes when you’re around.  It’s so obvious he’s been such a complete mess since you two broke up.  He’s beginning to look like a caveman.  He needs a haircut and a clean shave.  Poor guy,” she frowned.

“
Oh, stop, Laura,” I giggled.  “But you’re right about the caveman thing.  He looks pitiful, doesn’t he?  He’s just not the Alex that I knew.  I can’t help but think what goes around comes around.  He wouldn’t have been in this situation if he hadn’t done that to me,” I replied, bitterly.

“
I’m a big believer in karma, too,” she replied.

“
Let’s go back to work and stop talking about Alex.  I’d rather talk about work than Alex,” I said.

I felt so drowsy the remainder of the day.  The weather wasn’t helping at all.  The rain had lightened up
, but it was so overcast outside that it brought down my mood.  I looked out the window next to my desk and noticed how hazy it was outside that I couldn’t even see the buildings I could normally see on any other day.  The beautiful view had been altered due to the weather.  I was desperate for a pick me up, so I grabbed a cup of coffee to get me through the second half of the day.  Otherwise, I didn’t think I would be able to make it to dance class.

Looking outside into the overcast day made me real
ize that I couldn’t live somewhere like Seattle where it was almost always dreary.  I loved California, especially for the perfect weather we had almost year round.  I would just have to be patient until it cleared up.

The time finally arrived and I changed into my dance clothes before heading for the parking lot.  I
noticed Alex backing out of the parking lot while I walked to my car.  I wondered why he hadn’t been parking across the street in the clinic parking lot.  He slowed down when he saw me walking and rolled down his window.

“
Another dance class?” he asked.

I just nodded without saying anything.  He must have noticed that I was in no mood to have a conversation and just wanted to leave.

“I’ll see you around.  Drive safely,” he said and drove away.  I continued to my car and sat inside for a few minutes before I started the engine.  I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly and began to drive to the studio.

Julietta was sitting at the reception desk speaking to one of the dancers.  Her face lit up
as she saw me enter the studio.

“
The beautiful Claire is here,” she announced with a big smile.  “How are you, my dear?” she asked.

“
I’m doing pretty good, Julietta, thank you.  How are you doing?” I asked.

“
Well, you know, this weather makes my joints ache.  You will know what I’m talking about when you’re my age, dear,” she replied.

“
Oh, I’m sorry.  I hope you feel better,” I replied and headed inside the studio.  Stefano was upstairs in the loft area and waved to me to join him.  I waved back and took the stairs up.

“
What’s up, buddy?” he asked, smiling.

“
Hello, my friend, nothing much.  How are you?  I don’t like the weather one bit to be honest and neither does your mother,” I noted.

“
Yeah, I know, she has arthritis.  So, you’re really not going to tell me what your costume is, huh?” he asked.

“
Of course not.  Don’t you want to be surprised?” I asked.

“
Okay, give me a hint.  Is it sexy?” he asked.

“
Why does it matter if it’s sexy or not?  I’m not your girlfriend, remember?” I replied.

“
Don’t tell me it’s something gory.  Please don’t tell me you’re going as the bride of Frankenstein or something,” he pleaded.

“
Oh man, Stefano, you completely ruined it,” I said.

“
Really?  You’re going as the bride of Frank?” he asked.

“
No, silly.  Hmm, I didn’t know you disliked gory costumes.  Now I have to find something else, thanks Stefano,” I joked.

“
Let’s go downstairs.  You’re going to be late for class and I do not tolerate tardiness, young lady,” he said as I followed him down the steps.

Stefano really made me sweat during class that night.  He must have had a lot more energy than I did because I could hardly keep up.  The other dancers were complaining of the same.  Aft
er class, Stefano came to me, “This weather is really wearing you out, isn’t it?  How come you’re having a hard time?” he asked.

“
I really hate this weather.  I just want to go home and curl up on my couch with some hot cocoa and call it a night,” I complained.

“
You sound like my mother,” he laughed.

“
I should head home before the storm kicks in,” I said.

“
Let’s do something this weekend.  Do you have any plans?” he asked.

“
I’m going to a fashion show on Saturday with my friend.  Just call or text me if you want to hang out on Friday night or Sunday,” I replied.

“
Got it.  I’ll talk to you later,” he said.

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That Friday, Laura was constantly talking about how happy she was that I would accompany her to the fashion show, since her mother and sister were unable to make it due to a business trip.  She was talking a mile a minute about the dress she was going to wear and how good the food was going to be.  It sounded to me like Laura needed more girl time.  I thought maybe she was with her fiancé most of the time, so she craved her space and time with the girls.

The weather had cleared up and the sun shined brighter than ever.  Warm and sunny weather was expected for that weekend and I knew my mood would shine along with it.  We plugged away at our work and before we knew it, it was time to go home.  Stefano called me a few minutes before five o’clock asking me if I wanted to join him at the pub for a drink.  I didn’t have any plans and knew I would just mope around at home
, so I took his offer.

I drove to the pub, which
wasn’t too far from the studio.  Stefano greeted me just outside the pub and we walked inside together.  We took a seat at a corner booth and Stefano asked what I wanted to drink.

“
Uh, iced tea,” I replied.

“
That’s not a bad idea,” he said.

“
No alcohol for me.  I have a fashion show to go to tomorrow,” I said.

“
Oh, yeah, that’s right.  I’m not going to drink either.  Let’s eat something.  I’m starved,” he replied.

Stefano ordered the same appetizers we had eaten on Sunday.  We were both very hungry a
nd devoured every bite.  He wanted to hang out the next day after the fashion show and also on Sunday.

“
Stefano, that’s not a good idea.  We really need to find you a girlfriend.  How are you going to find someone if you’re constantly hanging out with me?” I asked.

“
I will find someone at the Halloween party, don’t worry,” he said.  “Or I should say you will help me find someone at the party,” he corrected himself.

I wasn’t sure if Stefano kept asking me to hang out with him because he thought my feelings for him would grow or if he really wanted to spend time with me as a friend, simply platonic.  I didn’t want to lead him on
, so I was adamant about the constant reminder that we were just friends.  There was no way I was going to use Stefano as my rebound guy.  He was just too nice and sweet to be used like that.  After a few hours of eating great food and laughing until our abdominal muscles were sore, we had to call it a night.