Twist of Love (7 page)

Josie took a seat and was about to start eating when Thaddie Rossenbaum sat beside her. Rossenbaum was an old nurse at Lenora with a powerful physique. Thaddie was often asked to carry old and infirm patients who were much bigger than herself. Her arms and legs were muscular and she had a masculine appearance, including a little facial hair. Tough hospital work had turned Thad into a machine.

“Take a seat beside you?”

“Sure, Thad.” Josie said.

Josie had known Thad around the hospital for some time. They had worked together for a good number of years and were fairly close as associates, but not as friends. Thad and Josie sometimes swapped stories about their lives just to be cordial, and today would not be any different.

“So, how's John?” Josie asked.

“Not so good. We had another argument last night. In between his job as a gym instructor, and his managing our pawn shop well, I just feel so neglected.” Thad said.

A look of sadness crossed the powerful nurse's face. She gulped down her beef and potatoes. Thad was a rapid eater who gorged on food relentlessly to power her machine-like body.

“Neglected? Why is that?” Josie asked.

“I think, he's got to have more time for me. It's just not fair. He works so much. And I'm here at the hospital often as well. I think he should make more time for me.” Thad said.

Josie frowned. She didn't know what to make of Thad's situation. This was not the first time Thad had complained of trouble in her relationship. It seemed she was often getting into fights with John. Their relationship seemed to be going nowhere.

“Come on, Thad. You should try to understand John. I mean, he just wants to provide for you.”

“I know. And that's well and good. But can't we have some 'we time?' Every girl needs to feel special.”

“Then why don't you tell him that?”

“I have told him that. Many times, but John is so... obsessed with making money, making ends meet.”

“Is that so bad?”

“No. But I want some attention too. I need some attention.” Thad pleaded.

Josie took a bite from her sausage. Despite the hectic schedule at the hospital, Josie was actually a slow and finicky eater.

She tried to analyze Thad's story. She didn't know if John was really as bad as Thad described. Perhaps Thad was also asking for a little too much from her man.

“I guess you both should really talk it over...” Josie said.

“Yeah. How about you? Had any luck with finding a new partner to replace Trevor?” She asked.

Josie shook her head and smiled. Thad could be so immature.

“Firstly, I'm not looking to 'replace' Trevor. What I had with him was nice and great, but now it's done. The divorce papers were filed, and the moment it was certified in court, the marriage ended. It was great while it lasted, but it's over now. I can't replace that. Ever. I can only start again.”

Thad gulped her last piece from the beef. Her powerful hands almost bent the spoon and fork.

“That's just what I meant! You have a way of overcomplicating things!” She said.

“Hahaha. Well you ought to be more careful with your words.” Josie cautioned, smiling.

“Talking with you makes my head spin. Just tell me, do you have a new boyfriend?”

The question made Josie begin to blush. She tried to control it, but she couldn't help it. Any thought of Blake just made her feel all mushy and happy inside.

“Well...”

“You've got a boyfriend! You've finally found a boyfriend! Wow!” Thad said, excitedly.

“Yeah. Okay. I've got a boyfriend.”

“Wow! Dr. Josie Steele, Lenora's resident doctor of pain has a boyfriend! You've finally fallen again! Will the wonders of life ever cease? Who is the man who has conquered the Lady of Steel?”

Josie shrugged off Thad. She was well aware of the hospital's monikers about her. She had earned them by being a tough, no nonsense doctor who demanded everything from her associates and was totally dedicated to her job. It was indeed, probably, more than a little funny seeing her like this. Josie couldn't imagine how the ‘Lady of Steel’ looked now, preening and falling all over a man?

“Who is the guy? Come on, tell me!” Thad said, impatiently.

“His name is Blake. Blake Ingram. And he's the sweetest, nicest man I've...”

“Blake Ingram? Oh my God. You can't be serious! He's the Heartbreaker of Fallston!” Thad said in alarm.

“The what..?” Josie asked with a look of surprise.

“The Heartbreaker of Fallston! He's broken so many hearts in the town, I'm surprised you haven't heard of him!”

“What? That can't be true! I mean, he's always so nice, so caring... so...”

The words were coming out a little differently for Josie now. She felt her head spinning. She didn't want to believe what Thad was saying. It couldn't be true. Could it?

“Of course he is! Aren't all heartbreakers that way?” Thad said.

“No, I mean, yeah, but... I...”

Josie was starting to stutter. Sentences were beginning to be difficult to complete. She was having difficulty grasping the situation. This just couldn't be true. But the worst revelation was yet to come.

“I should know. He was my ex.” Thad said coldly.

The words were like a slap to Josie's face. And all her dreams crumbled.

“Y... you don't say...” Josie stammered. Josie didn't know what to say. She couldn't believe what Thad was telling her. How could such a sweet man like Blake have a reputation as such a heartbreaker?

“Sorry. I don't want to burst your bubble or anything, but that's Blake for you. He's had so many relationships around town and that's how he got his rep.” Thad said.

Josie was shaking her head. This couldn't be true. It just couldn't be.

“Josie, he's not gonna take you seriously. Blake is a heartbreaker. If I were you, I would really keep my distance.” Thad said.

There had to be some kind of mistake. Blake couldn't be that kind of guy. Or could he? Josie realized that she just couldn't take that chance.

18. Early Dismissal

“Please take a look and review your answers.” Blake said.

He passed the papers around to the students. Each student checked his or her paper. The test results were in and all the students had passed the test. Blake was not one who wanted to fail students. He was a very compassionate teacher and believed in helping students learn more through experience than in the classroom.

“Everyone just review your answers, please.” Blake repeated.

The class noticed that Blake was not focused and lacked motivation. He was not his usual bubbly self. But the class did not question his behavior. The students were more than happy to just take any day off from school and they would take this one.

Blake himself seemed to be in another place. His mind and thoughts were flying and it was clear that he didn't feel like teaching. He kept glancing at his cellphone. The inbox still registered no new messages. And his outbox registered 8 sent messages.

'What's wrong with Josie? Why isn't she responding to my texts?' He thought.

Blake was beginning to think all sorts of things. A part of him was worried that something had happened to Josie. But he immediately dismissed it as some kind of irrational thought. He knew that Josie could more than take care of herself, and besides, she was scheduled to be at the hospital the whole day. No signal perhaps? That was possible, but highly unlikely. The signal was often pretty good at Lenora. An operation? Maybe. Operations and other medical emergencies often came up. And Josie did have the heavier, meatier work schedule among the medical personnel. But Josie would usually tell him if some emergency came up. Even a brief text was often sent. But today, nothing. What was going on?

'This just isn't like her. What could be the problem?' Thought Blake.

He sent another text.

“What's wrong? Are you busy?” It read.

But even before it was sent, something told Blake she would not respond.

“I better call her up.” Thought Blake.

“Class is dismissed.” Blake said to the students.

“Whoa! Yeah!”

“All right!”

There was more than one excited voice from behind Blake. The students were more than happy to take the period off. They had already begun to be noisy. And they had good reason to be excited. Blake had dismissed the class a full 15 minutes early. There would be consequences to this, but Blake didn't care. He just had to somehow contact Josie. He turned his back on the class and held his phone to his ear. He kept dialing Josie’s number but she did not answer.

“That's it. I'm going to the hospital.” Blake said to himself.

19. The Secret Schedule

Blake drove faster than he thought and slammed his brakes in the hospital parking lot just in time to avoid crashing into another car.

“Jesus! What the hell am I doing?” Blake asked himself.

He shook his head and left his car. Blake ignored the near-hit. What was important was that he talk with Josie. He locked his car door and walked briskly to the hospital.

Blake entered the hospital and immediately saw Milla, the receptionist.

“Hello, Mr. Ingram. You seem a bit stressed today?” Milla said as she smiled.

Blake had been visiting the hospital frequently and that made him familiar with Milla and some other employees.

“You don't know the half of it, Milla. Is Josie here?” He asked.

Milla's smile turned into a frown. “I'm so sorry, Mr. Ingram. But Josie left an hour ago.” she said.

“What? But her schedule isn't supposed to be over for a while.” Blake said.

“She changed her schedule.” Milla said.

“Could I take a look at her new schedule?”

Milla hesitated for a moment. There was a moment of silence and it was clear that Milla was hesitant to answer Blake.

“I...I'm sorry. It's confidential.” Milla said.

Blake almost fell back at what Milla said.

“What? But this is a hospital. She's a doctor. Her schedule is supposed to be open to anyone!” Blake said.

“Y...yes, it should. Unless the doctor personally specifies not to reveal her schedule...” Milla said.

Blake felt like he was struck with a KO punch. His legs actually got wobbly.

“And she specified?” Blake said.

“Well, yes.” Milla said softly.

It was really getting uncomfortable and heartbreaking at the same time. Blake's mind spun. How could Josie do this to him? And why would she suddenly want to avoid him? They’d never got into any argument. And they’d been very sweet just a few days ago. How could everything change so quickly?

She shook her head and frowned. She felt a little sad, but there was nothing she could do for him. Blake noticed Milla's look of sadness. He knew she didn't want to do this and he didn't want to put her on the spot. Blake felt awful, but he had to accept this, for now.

“Man. Well, when she does show up, just tell her I'm looking for her.” Blake said.

“Of course.” Milla said.

Blake left the hospital in a daze.

“Why would she do this?” He wondered. He was confused and heartbroken. But he would not let Josie slip away. She was too special to just let go.

20. Answers

It was 7 in the morning. Blake had made a wild guess. He thought that if Josie had changed her schedule, then perhaps she had started working the nightshift. And 7 am was usually the time nightshift workers started going home. Blake had a gut feeling that this was exactly the right time to catch her. He entered the parking area in a rental car, one with a darkly tinted windows so that Josie couldn't catch him following her.

'Am I becoming some kinda stalker?' Blake dismissed his negative thought. He was no stalker. He was not that kind of person. He was just a man who wanted to see the woman he loved. Was that so bad?

'Shit... The dean is really gonna kill me for this... I'm not even sure if she's at work right now...' he thought to himself as he drove slowly, searching the parking area for Josie's car. He was well aware of the consequences of his actions. He'd probably even get fired for this. And worst of all, Josie might have taken the day off. If that were the case all this risk and all his efforts would be for nothing.

“Bingo.” He told himself as he caught a glance of Josie's gray Prius parked nearby. The sight of Josie's hybrid car made Blake's heart jump.

He backed up his car to just behind Josie's and began to wait.

Blake sighed and his face fell on the steering wheel.

'Dammit... why am I even doing this...? I'm missing out on an entire school day just to stalk my girlfriend who for some reason stopped contacting me. Am I going crazy?' Blake let out a deep sigh.

The doubts and negative thoughts returned to him. He didn't know if what he was about to do was right. He didn't even know what was right and what was wrong anymore. Everything seemed to be going fine until Josie suddenly started avoiding him. What was going on? Did he say something wrong? Blake had carefully reflected upon his past 3 dates with Josie over and over. He couldn't recall anything that he had told her that could've made Josie completely cease contacting him.

'Am I a bad person if I just want to know what happened..? All I want are answers... if she thinks I'm not the one for her, I want to hear it come from her mouth. Not like this. I don't like it when people leave me hanging... especially when it's about love. God, why do I even bother getting into relationships...?’ Blake thought to himself. Thoughts of Thad, Annie, Jenina, and all the other past relationships in Blake's life flashed before his eyes. But he immediately ignored all of that.

Just as Blake's thoughts were rolling around in his head, going back and forth, pondering about Josie, he caught her walking out the exit and making her way to her car. Blake quickly hid below the car's steering wheel, acting as if Josie would notice that he was inside. If he had used his own car, Josie would've probably noticed him, but this was a rental. Josie was completely unaware of Blake.

Blake wasn't sure what he felt in his heart when he saw Josie: was it anger, frustration, or a feeling of betrayal? All he knew was that he wanted answers, and he wouldn't stop at anything until he'd get those answers.