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I heard my name being paged and I glanced at my watch, “That’s great, Charlotte. I wish I could talk more, but I have to go.”
“That’s okay, I do too. It was nice seeing you again.”
I almost reached out to touch her, but forced myself to step around her, “Take care, Charlotte.”
She turned as I began to walk away, “You too, Doctor Young, and thank you again for all your help before.”
“You’re welcome,” I told her and then hurried away before I did something stupid. When I got around the corner, I paused, and put my hand on the wall to steady myself. Jesus, she was beautiful. When she smiled, it was like turning on a switch inside my chest, and suddenly I had wanted to pull her to me and beg her to keep smiling.
As I got myself under control, I headed to the elevator. I wasn’t sure if Charlotte working here would be a good thing or not, but a little voice inside of me was praying she got the job.
I was busy for the rest of the day, but every once in a while, she stole into my thoughts again. I was getting ready to head out for the day when I ran into Bruce at the main desk in the emergency department.
“Hey, about time I ran into you. Jersey has asked me like four times if I told you about our end of the summer barbeque this weekend. Any interest in coming?”
“When is it?”
“Saturday afternoon and it starts at two.”
“I get off at two, but I can stop by after.”
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll let Jersey know.” He waved and was gone, and immediately I began wondering if Charlotte was going to be there. The last conversation that I’d had with Jersey four months ago whispered through my mind. Maybe now that some time had passed, and Marisol was no longer considered one of my patients, I could entertain the idea of getting to know Charlotte better.
That had me grinning as I went to change and head home.
* * *
Saturday afternoon, my shift ran longer than expected when we had four juvenile victims come in from a car accident. While it took a while to deal with it, they luckily weren’t critical.
I didn’t get to Bruce’s house until after four and hoped that I hadn’t missed Charlotte. As I parked, I could hear children giggling in the backyard, and two kids around nine or ten came running around the corner with squirt guns. I grinned at them as they rushed past on a mission, their words, not mine.
My siblings and I had many water gun battles growing up, and it brought back many wonderful memories. As I came around the back corner, I found myself in the direct path of a hose, and little Adam laughed as he blasted me. I guess I hadn’t needed to take that shower at the hospital after all.
“Hey, you!” I shouted playful as I lunged toward him to stop the rush of cold water. He laughed harder, dropping the hose and running out of my reach. A small giggle reached me as I snagged the hose off the ground, intent on spraying Adam if he came back toward me.
“Run! Doctor Young has the hose! Run!” Adam shouted as he took off.
I turned quickly, and my eyes landed on a happy Marisol, her eyes bright, her hair cut short to blend in the new hair growth, and her smile so much like her mother’s that it gave me pause.
“Are you going to spray me, too?” I asked her.
She giggled again and squirted me with her water pistol.
“Oh, no!” I turned the hose on but didn’t spray it directly at her. Only the very edge of it hit her, and she squealed and raced away. One of the older kids had come around the other side of the house and ran towards me. He was already wet, so I didn’t feel bad turning the hose on him when he sprayed a long stream at my face.
“Tuck! Don’t get him all wet.” Someone said from the other side of the patio. I cut my eyes that way and saw several people sitting around a table. Smoke from the grill wafted my way, and I brought my attention back to the little boy who I assumed was named Tuck.
“You get me, I get you,” I told him and sprayed him in the chest. He chortled loudly and raced away.
“Okay, enough getting the adults wet,” Jersey called out, and I dropped the hose to the ground and shook my head to get the water out of my hair. I glanced down to my white shirt, it was wet, and sticking to my chest. Not much I could do about that.
I kissed Jersey on the cheek as I reached the porch, “Sorry, I’m late.”
“I was worried you might not make it.”
“But alas, he did,” Bruce said as he handed me a beer. “Now the party can officially begin. Can we eat now?”
The crowd behind him gave an excited yes, and Bruce returned to the grill. I followed him toward it, skirting my gaze to the table. At the far end, my eyes paused. Charlotte was laughing at something another woman had said, and I absorbed the sound. Even at this distance, it did funny things to my heart rhythm.
