C57 Chapter 57
C57 Chapter 57
"Sorry to have kept you waiting." It was Doctor Donovan who just came out of his room after checking a patient. I was in his clinic at the moment. He offered me a part-time job being his assistant as the one who usually did this job was on her annual leave. Doctor Donovan gave an annual leave for his employees. I excitedly accepted his offer to work in his clinic. He picked me up at school today. I joined him immediately when he said he had a part-time job for me to spend on my semester break. It was a nice escape from boring days for I had nowhere to go on a holiday.
"It's ok. Let alone I enjoyed being here." I moved from the aquarium where I had stood for a while. "I love the aquarium," I muttered.
"It was only taken here a couple of months ago. So, what you need to do is just take care of the elderly patients, make their beds, look after them, and assist them when they need anything. For your information, they mostly don't have a family. So, they live here not only to get treatment, but it has been like a home for them. They prefer living here to the nursing home where their families had left them." It was so depressing to know the fact that their life was so miserable without family with whom they could spend their old age.
"Sure. I'll do as your instruction." The clinic was bigger than it usually was; it was designed especially to help elderly people. I assumed that this clinic is part of a charity service conducted by Doctor Donovan. His kind heart inspired me to do good deeds.
"Great! The rooms are on the second to the fourth floor. Just tell me if you need help. Since it is your part-time job, you can start at 2 pm. It ends at 8 pm. How about that?"
"That sounds good."
"If you have something to do today, you can start tomorrow."
"No. I'm free today. I'll work starting today. By the way, thank you for offering me this opportunity."
"Don't mention it. Before doing your job, let’s have lunch because I have ordered lunch and it's on the rooftop." We took a lift to the rooftop.
I could see the road and the passersby down there. The rooftop was not wide --- only twenty-four meters square. There were two sets of wooden brown chairs with a big mocha table in the middle where food was on it. The umbrella-like roof protected it from the sunshine or rain. In the corner, the air-purifying spider plants ornamented this place.
Doctor Donovan proceeded to the seat and I took the chair opposite him where I could enjoy the scenery peering through the adult-waist-high edge of the rooftop. We immersed ourselves in a quiet atmosphere for a while before the man across me initiated a conversation.
"How is your school?" His question dismayed me. If there was a thing I would stave off in a talk, it was about my school. The school connected me more with crappy experiences than good ones. Nevertheless, I always conveyed otherwise to my mother or other people who did not know how my school life was.
"It is not bad. How is Reno?" I changed the subject.
"He is good. I have to tell you one thing. It is Reno who recommends you to get this part-time Job." Even when he was physically away from me, I was still in his thought. I recalled the pendant and the letter he gave. What if the doctor asked me about that? What did I have to say to him? Reno and even the doctor would be disappointed to hear that I lost the letter.
"Glad to hear that," I answered while stirring the food on my plate.
"What do you think of the food?"
"It's delicious." What else could I say? Despite not being familiar with the food, it was so tasty. I had not had this food before. "I am not sure I can even make this even though I read the recipes." I tried to break the ice because the talk was too stiff. "Are you a good cook?"
"I am not good at cooking. My wife was good at it." I could read the sadness in his eyes when he was mentioning his wife. "I am lucky that I have had her in my life."
"She is lucky to have you too."
"I am the cause of her death." His confession almost made me choke. I instantly grabbed a glass of water and sipped it. "She died in the operating room. And I was the surgeon who performed the surgery." I felt guilty that I drove him to uncover his heartbreaking memory. His eyes reddened though no tears dripped off from his eyes.
"I'm sorry to hear that. But, don't blame yourself." My comment might not make him better. I did not know how to react to what he said. It was so sad to separate from our beloved one.
"I should not have talked about this to you. Sorry," he said. "Finish your lunch."
"It's okay," I muttered then bowed him a nod.
The situation became awkward and drowned us into silence until the lunch was over. The doctor left the clinic earlier. He had something to do. I did my job like what he instructed me to do. I checked on the patients, tidied up their beds, fed them, and had some chats with them. The other employees were helpful so far. They were kind and friendly as well.
I came the next day. It was before 2 p.m. when I got to the clinic. Finishing with my main duty, one of the elderly patients begged me to accompany her to have a stroll around the clinic area. I drove her wheelchair to the front lobby. That woman just kept her mouth closed along the way to the lobby. I was clueless about what she had in her mind. Yet, I gave her time to dive herself in her thoughts.
"Can I see Doctor Donovan?" The voice of the girls standing by the counter reached my ears, and it was the voice I missed a lot. That girl turned her head to the right side of the lobby where I stood behind the wheelchair.
"Vera..." I whispered. Her eyes shot me with a disbelief look.