assured Mommy I would have
no trouble working in the hospital near Jack Weller, I couldn't help feeling as if my heart was wound in tight rubber bands when I stepped off the cable car and walked to the hospital the following day. The sky was heavily overcast and gray with rain only minutes away. In fact, the air was so humid I thought I saw drops forming right before my eyes. Sophie had already arrived. She had come early because she had a ride that brought her within a half dozen blocks and she could save the cable fare. Fortunately, Jack Weller wasn't coming on duty until midway through my shift, so for the first few hours at least I wouldn't have to confront him.
But when Sophie and I returned from lunch, Jack was standing in the hallway talking to one of the nurses. He gazed our way and smiled as if nothing at all had happened between us. I hadn't said a word about it to Sophie, so she thought Jack was just being his usual funny and flirtatious self. I went directly to the linen room. Sheila Delacrois, the young woman who I had thought had trouble with her gallbladder, did have a problem and had been taken upstairs for an operation. Afterward she would go to recovery and she wouldn't return to our floor, so I had to change her bed and prepare it for a new patient.
I was busy stacking the pillowcases and sheets when I heard the door of the linen closet close softly behind me. I spun around to discover Jack standing there, his back against the door, his hands behind him on the knob.
"Open the door," I demanded.
"I just want to talk to you privately for a moment," he replied.
"We have nothing to discuss. Just open the door," I insisted.
"Look, I want to apologize. Maybe I stepped over the line, went too far too quickly. Because of how intelligent you are, I thought you were more sophisticated. It was my mistake. I admit it. I just want to say it won't do dither of us any good to talk about this to others."
"You don't have to worry. I won't say anything to anyone. However, I did tell my mother," I added.
"Your mother?" His eyebrows looked as if they might lift right off his face.
"Yes. I don't hide things from my mother. We're very close."
"What did she say?"
"She didn't want my father to know. She thought he would come here and break your neck," I said dryly. Jack Weller swallowed hard and nodded. "I don't know what sort of a doctor you're going to be," I added, hot tears in my eyes.
"Hey, one thing has nothing to do with another. When I'm on duty, I'm a true professional."
"If you're not sensitive to people's feelings, it doesn't matter how much you know or how professional you appear," I retorted.
He smirked and shook his head. "I've seen girls like you before. Actually, I ran into your type throughout college and med school. You're too smart for your own good, know-it-alls who won't admit to their own feelings. You could have had a good time yesterday if you had let down your hair."
"I can live with the disappointment," I remarked dryly. My hot tears evaporated, and the trembling left my body. It was quickly replaced by cold anger, my fury showing in my eyes, eyes that glared down Jack Weller's arrogant smirk.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself." He opened the door. My heart was pounding and my hands were clenched into small fists. He paused in the open doorway, checking first to be sure no one was close enough to overhear his remarks. "I feel sorry for the poor jerk who makes love to you the first time. He'll probably feel as if he's just had a medical exam," Jack added and closed the door behind him.
The tears that had been kept in check under my eyelids poured free. How many men would accuse me of the same thing? I wondered. When would I find someone with whom I truly wanted to be affectionate and warm? Was I too cold, too impersonal, too analytical for my own good? Every boyfriend I'd had eventually deserted me, and now someone I thought was sophisticated and knowledgeable had accused me of the same crime,
no trouble working in the hospital near Jack Weller, I couldn't help feeling as if my heart was wound in tight rubber bands when I stepped off the cable car and walked to the hospital the following day. The sky was heavily overcast and gray with rain only minutes away. In fact, the air was so humid I thought I saw drops forming right before my eyes. Sophie had already arrived. She had come early because she had a ride that brought her within a half dozen blocks and she could save the cable fare. Fortunately, Jack Weller wasn't coming on duty until midway through my shift, so for the first few hours at least I wouldn't have to confront him.
But when Sophie and I returned from lunch, Jack was standing in the hallway talking to one of the nurses. He gazed our way and smiled as if nothing at all had happened between us. I hadn't said a word about it to Sophie, so she thought Jack was just being his usual funny and flirtatious self. I went directly to the linen room. Sheila Delacrois, the young woman who I had thought had trouble with her gallbladder, did have a problem and had been taken upstairs for an operation. Afterward she would go to recovery and she wouldn't return to our floor, so I had to change her bed and prepare it for a new patient.
I was busy stacking the pillowcases and sheets when I heard the door of the linen closet close softly behind me. I spun around to discover Jack standing there, his back against the door, his hands behind him on the knob.
"Open the door," I demanded.
"I just want to talk to you privately for a moment," he replied.
"We have nothing to discuss. Just open the door," I insisted.
"Look, I want to apologize. Maybe I stepped over the line, went too far too quickly. Because of how intelligent you are, I thought you were more sophisticated. It was my mistake. I admit it. I just want to say it won't do dither of us any good to talk about this to others."
"You don't have to worry. I won't say anything to anyone. However, I did tell my mother," I added.
"Your mother?" His eyebrows looked as if they might lift right off his face.
"Yes. I don't hide things from my mother. We're very close."
"What did she say?"
"She didn't want my father to know. She thought he would come here and break your neck," I said dryly. Jack Weller swallowed hard and nodded. "I don't know what sort of a doctor you're going to be," I added, hot tears in my eyes.
"Hey, one thing has nothing to do with another. When I'm on duty, I'm a true professional."
"If you're not sensitive to people's feelings, it doesn't matter how much you know or how professional you appear," I retorted.
He smirked and shook his head. "I've seen girls like you before. Actually, I ran into your type throughout college and med school. You're too smart for your own good, know-it-alls who won't admit to their own feelings. You could have had a good time yesterday if you had let down your hair."
"I can live with the disappointment," I remarked dryly. My hot tears evaporated, and the trembling left my body. It was quickly replaced by cold anger, my fury showing in my eyes, eyes that glared down Jack Weller's arrogant smirk.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Suit yourself." He opened the door. My heart was pounding and my hands were clenched into small fists. He paused in the open doorway, checking first to be sure no one was close enough to overhear his remarks. "I feel sorry for the poor jerk who makes love to you the first time. He'll probably feel as if he's just had a medical exam," Jack added and closed the door behind him.
The tears that had been kept in check under my eyelids poured free. How many men would accuse me of the same thing? I wondered. When would I find someone with whom I truly wanted to be affectionate and warm? Was I too cold, too impersonal, too analytical for my own good? Every boyfriend I'd had eventually deserted me, and now someone I thought was sophisticated and knowledgeable had accused me of the same crime,
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