Pursuit For Lucidity (Crashing Waves) (18 page)

“
Fine,” I replied and hung up the phone.  There was nothing I hated more than being treated like a child and I hated the fact that I had been raped, which caused the close people around me to panic whenever they couldn’t get a hold of me.  Tears started to build in my eyes and eventually started streaming down my cheeks.  Alex was only worried about me and I had treated him so badly.

As I pulled into
the community, the guard waved me down. There had been a delivery for me.  He walked over to me holding flowers in his hand.  Oh God, I thought, Mark had found out where I lived!  I thanked him and put the flowers in my car and drove to through the gates and to my garage.  I took the flowers inside, not even wanting to read the card, but was curious about the sick message it contained.  They weren’t from Mark.  They were from Alex.

To my beautiful Claire,

I figured it’s about time your vase had new flowers.  I miss you and cannot wait to hold you in my arms again.  I love you.

Love,

Alex

I felt like such a jerk. I had to call Alex and apologize for my horrible remark.  I needed a few minutes to calm down and collect myself.  I didn’t want to Skype him because of all the crying I had done.  My eyes were red and my nose swollen.  I didn’t think I looked decent enough to be on camera.  I picked up my phone and dialed his number. He answered almost immediately.

“
Hey,” he said quietly.

“
I don’t deserve these flowers, Alex.  I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  Maybe I’m just tired, but that’s not an excuse for the way I treated you.  You were only worried about me and I just took it the wrong way,” I said.

“
It’s cool, baby.  Please stop crying.  I’m sorry for calling you and texting so many times. I was just really worried.  I thought something bad had happened to you.  I really don’t care if you go out with your friends and stay out until the crack of dawn just as long as I know you’re safe.  But when I don’t hear from you for so many hours and don’t know of your plans, I can’t help but panic, baby,” he replied.  “How come you didn’t Skype?” he asked.

“
I just don’t want you to see me like this.  I’m a mess with red eyes and a swollen nose,” I replied.

Alex chuckled, “Y
ou’re still gorgeous no matter what,” he said.  It was late and Alex had to sleep in order to accomplish successful surgeries the following day.  “I love you, Claire.  Sweet dreams,” he added.  I put the flowers in the vase, admiring them before I headed upstairs to bed.

Chapter 7

That Saturday, Katherine accompanied me to the mall to buy something for Alex’s birthday, which was coming up very soon. I wanted to use the opportunity when he was out of town to shop for him. Katherine was always good at knowing what to get John, so I knew she would be a big help.  What do you get a man who has everything? There had to be something I would run into that had Alex’s name written all over it.  Katherine loved to shop, just like my mother.

We walked all over the mall and finally found what we were looking for at Neiman Marcus.  Katherine was so excited that we had finally found the perfect gift and confessed how hungry she was.  After a few minutes in negotiations on what and wher
e to eat, sushi was the winner.

“
So, Claire, do you love Alex?” she asked.

“
Yes, I think I do.  I just haven’t been able to say it yet.  Maybe when the time is right, it will just slip out of my mouth naturally,” I replied.

“
I can tell that you love him and he’s totally head over heals for you.  It’s written all over his face,” she made me blush. “I’m really happy for you, Claire.  I’ve been waiting for you to meet Mr. Right and he has finally arrived,” she added.

“
Thanks, Kathy,” I smiled.  I drove Katherine home as she had plans with John later that day.  I decided I would head home and hide Alex’s gift and do some yoga.  I had promised myself I wouldn’t do anything else that weekend but relax and prepare for yet another busy week at work, another week trying to fight off Mark Kohler.

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Alex contacted me on Skype later that evening asking how my day was.  I told him Katherine and I went to the mall to do a little shopping for his birthday gift.

“
Birthday gift?” he asked.  “Claire, please don’t get me anything.  I already have everything I could ever want and need.  Most importantly, I have you,” he added.

“
It’s just a little something, Alex.  Oh, and also a quiet dinner after work at a steakhouse of my choice in Hollywood.  Please say ‘yes’”, I pleaded.

“
All right, but does it have to be a big deal? I mean I could cook for us at my place and we could just relax,” he replied.

“
You’re not being fair, Alex. I never get to treat you to dinner.  At least let me take you out for a change, since it’s your birthday.  It’s just a small gift and a dinner.  You will survive, I promise,” I joked.

“
Okay, baby.  Anything for you.”  Alex really didn’t like to be the center of attention.  He liked making others happy, which I found to be one of his positive sides.  He seemed very happy about the procedures they were able to perform while in Guatemala.  He really wished I had gone with him, so he wouldn’t be alone in the evenings and we’d spend quality time together.  If I had been working at the hospital for a longer period of time, I would have taken time off and gone with him, but it hadn’t been long enough to request a vacation.  Alex didn’t have any early surgeries booked the following day, so we talked for hours until I couldn’t stop yawning.

“
I think you better go to bed, beautiful.  You’ve yawned at least twenty times in the past five minutes,” Alex laughed.  We said our goodbyes, blew each other kisses and I hit the sheets.

Around one in the morning I had the nightmare again.  I awakened panting and sweating.  I wanted to call Alex
, but thought it was too late.  It was two in the morning in Guatemala and I didn’t want to awaken him up when I knew he had surgeries scheduled the next day.  Instead, I decided to text him.  If he were awake, he would respond.

Hey, just wondering if you’re awake.  I had a nightmare and wished you were here.

Less than a minute had gone by when my phone rang.  It was Alex.

“
Hey, are you all right? I’m glad you texted me.  I’ve been tossing and turning.  Thank God my surgeries don’t start until after ten tomorrow morning,” he noted.  We talked for at least a half hour and Alex told me how much he missed me and couldn’t wait to come back home.  We both started to get drowsy and decided we should try sleeping again, and thankfully, soon enough I had surrendered to sleep.

That Monday morning when I went to work
, the flowers that Mark had sent me had wilted just as I had wanted them to.  I disposed of them in the large trash bin in the Administration kitchen, as it was the last thing I wanted on my desk or anywhere near me.  The flowers that Alex had sent to my condo were the only ones that meant anything to me.

Walter called me to ask if I could pick up a few files he needed m
e to take over to Taryn.  “They are too large and too important to send as an interoffice mail, Claire, so if you could please walk these over to Taryn’s office, I would greatly appreciate it,” Walter asked.

“
Sure, no problem,” I replied.  I kind of hoped she wouldn’t be in her office and I could just drop off the files on her desk and leave.  I took the elevator to the fourth floor to Taryn’s office and as I walked closer to her office, I could hear her talking on the phone.  I knocked on the door lightly, “Come in,” she replied.  She looked surprised to see me at first, but when she saw the files in my hand she knew why I was in her office. “Oh, hi Claire.  I believe Walter sent those over to me,” she said, looking me over up and down.

“
Yes, Walter sent these,” I said, putting the files on her desk.  She immediately put them in a hanging file cabinet in her office.  As I turned to leave, she continued her telephone conversation.  Taryn didn’t seem to know how to say “please” or “thank you.”  As I walked down the wide corridor of that floor, I saw a tall man in scrubs walking towards me.  I couldn’t tell who it was at first, but as he approached me, I noticed it was Mark.

“
Well, hello Claire, what are you doing in my neighborhood?” he asked.  “Have you finally decided to come here to tell me you can accompany me for dinner sometime this week?” he asked.  He had such an annoying personality it made me wonder if he had ever been on a decent date in his lifetime.

“
No, Dr. Kohler, I haven’t.  I had to deliver some paperwork from Walter to Taryn.  You seem to have forgotten the part where I told you that I have a boyfriend.  Oh, and before I forget, please refrain from sending me any flowers from now on.” I was frank and straight to the point.

I walked quickly to the elevators as I heard him yell out, “Call me if you change your mind.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” I mumbled under my nose and made my way into the elevator.  I filled Laura in on my experience on the fourth floor and she started to laugh.  She said she felt sorry for me that I had to put up with Mark and his stalky personality.  I wished he would just go after one of the nurses that he worked with and forgot about me.  I could see Taryn and Mark together and wished he had sent the flowers to her.

  Around lunchtime, I had a craving for Bradley’s Diner and decided I would go there for lunch. 
I sat at our usual table and the same waitress, Deanie, approached me to take my order. 

“
Hi there, haven’t seen you in a while.  Where is your doctor admirer?” she asked.

“
I’m alone today, he is in Guatemala doing his pro bono work,” I replied.

“
Oh, that’s nice of him.  You must miss him then.  He’s really nice and seems very happy lately since you’ve been around,” she noted with a smile.

“
I’m probably one of the many girls he brings here,” I said, wondering what Deanie would reply to that.  Her face got serious before she spoke.

“
Oh, honey, he’s never brought a girl in here before.  He used to come here alone,” she replied.  I smiled and ordered lunch, feeling happy that I may be Alex’s first Bradley’s Diner girl. I ate very quickly, so that I wouldn’t be late to work because Walter had added quite a few tasks for me that week.  I thought of it as job security; the more work I had on my plate, the less chance of losing my job.

My mother called me as I was driving home from work that evening asking me if I would like to join them for dinner
, since she had also invited the next-door neighbors.  I was so full from my lunch that I told her I would stop by to see them, but I probably wouldn’t have any room to eat.  I parked my car on their driveway and walked inside the house to find my father working in the office.

“
Hi sweetheart,” said my father as he saw me walk inside the house.  “Come here and give your daddy a hug.”  I went up to him and gave him a big hug.  I missed seeing him every single day.  “So, tell me all about work and how everything is over there.  I know Alex is the highlight of your job, but tell me about the other things too,” he joked.  I told my father all about my job and how wonderful my boss was to allow me to learn so many new things, so that I could move on to bigger and better things in the future.

I only had a salad
, but as long as I sat down with my parents to have an evening together was just perfect.  It was getting late and I decided to drive home and call Alex.  I had texted Alex to let him know I was going to stop by at my parents’ house so he wouldn’t worry like last time.  I told him I would call him as soon as I walked in the door.

“Hi baby, I
just walked in the door as well.  I’m so glad you called.  You have perfect timing,” he said sweetly.  Alex told me about his day and how well the procedures went and how happy he made some children and their families.  He sounded very happy and content with his work in Guatemala.  We did not want to hang up that evening.  We wanted to talk until sunrise, but that wasn’t going to happen, since it wouldn’t be a good idea for a surgeon to go into the operating room without any sleep.

“I love you, baby.  Almost one week down, only one more to go.  I can’t wait to see you.  Sweet dreams,” were his last words to me that night.

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The next few days were a
blur. I was so busy with projects assigned by Walter that I hadn’t had a chance to think about anything other than work.  Wednesday was going to be Alex’s busiest day in Guatemala, so I did not hear from him until very late that night when we talked on Skype.  He complained of how busy and exhausted he had been and I complained of the same.

He
called me as I was driving home on Thursday evening, “Hey, baby.  How was your day?” he asked.