Hadrian's Wall (37 page)

“You said that everyone
seeks the truth, but nobody finds a perfect bubble to live in, so
basically, that’s it. Think about that—the publication of an
article does not guarantee the supreme truth about something. Be
very suspicious of what you see and read. Question the
sources.”

“So...if everything I read was questionable
material, why did you give it to me to read?” He smiled again and
so I answered my own question. “To question what I was reading and
form my own opinion about it.”

“So where’s the fun in
reading something that you cannot discuss?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Besides, if you’re really going to work for Adrian Senior, you
will have to learn to carefully research the sources for your
illustrations in order to be as faithful as possible to the events
reported in his diaries. You will need to know a bit of Celtic
culture too. Until now, you’ve only had a brief contact with
it.”

This was
true
...I remembered Macha, Morgan, Merlin,
Math...all beginning with the letter “M.” I giggled. My name also
begins with the letter “M.” Definitely, my dad would have said,
‘It’s a sign.’

“Well...” I stood up. “I
want to say ‘bye for now. I know that next week we will have
another consultation, but I think, symbolically speaking, I had to
do that before ‘leaving the nest.’”

He also stood up.

“I understand perfectly.”

I reached out to shake his hand.

“I could take some questions about the terms
that I found on the websites?”

He smiled and shook my
hand, which received amazing shocks followed by a cold sensation
between my fingers. The grip was so fast that I couldn’t tell if it
was his hand or mine that was cold. Automatically I looked down and
noticed for the first time that the doctor was without his surgical
gloves.

“If your doubts are
related to your diagnosis...yes,” he said, glancing at his hand. I
could swear that he also felt it. “After all, this is our
agreement, but in the case of myths, I think you’d get better
answers if you talk with a specialist. I think you should meet
Timothy Sands, the history teacher at the
Pine Tree High School
. I’ll give you
his number phone later.” Dr. Barringer walked to the coffee table.
“
It’s better to confine our consultation
meetings to consultations and studies to the classroom, don’t you
think?

Mmmm
.

“Right!”

I approached him, grabbed a cup, and reached
for the same red carafe from which he usually served himself.

“What are you doing?” he doctor asked with
his eyes wide open.

I stopped with my hand frozen in the
air.

“I thought I’d have a cup
of coffee, to ward off sleep,” I replied, embarrassed.

“Oh, you will not like
this coffee. It’s very strong,” he said emphatically, placing the
black carafe in front of me. “
Serve
yourself from this one.”

He was so emphatic that I
didn’t dare explain that strong coffee is just what I needed.
Silently, I served myself from the black carafe. While Dr.
Barringer stirred his own coffee with a spoon, I drank a long
swallow and deposited my cup on the tray.

“I must go.”

“See you, Melissa...and good luck.”

At that moment, Dana put her head through
the doorway and announced the arrival of his first patient, so I
had no chance to assess whether or not he was anxious to send me
away.

I passed through the open
door and walked to the exit, while Dana led an old man into the
office. However, before I left she asked, “You know where you’re
going?”

I think I’d heard this same
question another time in my life.

“No, but that’s okay. I’m
okay.”

Dana frowned, showing some hesitation. At
that moment, her phone rang and she ran to pick it. Of course, my
answer should not make sense to her, but it made sense to me.

* * *

I took the elevator and went back to my
room. I was not surprised to find a tray with breakfast on the
coffee table. I was being pampered with that routine. I was
surprised to find a note under the cup.

Do not worry about your
stuff, because it’s already been moved.

Be in the reception area of the hospital at
midday.

Short and sweet No “hello” at the beginning
or “Goodbye” at the end. No signature.

I looked around and
confirmed that my suitcase and the bag of clothes had disappeared.
For a split second, I wondered if the message was written by
Charity. After all, she said she’d meet me today, but the
handwriting seemed too firm, too masculine. Adrian? No. The message
must have been written by someone at Charity’s request.

I helped myself to a slice of cheese and
looked at the digital clock.

8:45
a.m.

I wondered what to do to pass the time.
Perhaps it was a good idea to go back to sleep? Mmmm...I had a
notepad in the drawer and a pencil next to the computer keyboard.
Sketching makes the time go faster.

13

12:01 p.m.

I walked quickly to the
hospital’s reception with my heart in my mouth. Even amid the
nervousness, I noticed that the hall was a part of institution that
I had not seen before. The environment distracted me a little. I
remembered when Charity came to take me sightseeing we went a
different route which led us directly to a private parking area.
Now I was at the public entrance. There was a side door located
across from the elevator. Through the sliding glass doors I saw
another room with a perpendicular entryway and a ramp leading to
another larger parking lot. It was the ambulance entrance to the
Emergency Room. According to Charity, they came by the flattest
part of the town. I approached the counter where two employees were
answering phones and dealing with computers.

“Good morning. My name is Melissa Baker and
I...”

“Yes, Miss Baker. Someone is waiting for you
out there,” he said, pointing to the front door.

I opened my mouth to ask
who was expecting me, but he was intent upon listening to the voice
he was hearing through his headset.
Rude
technology

Hesitantly, I looked
outside where the sun was shining brightly. Fascinated by the light
effects on the glass, I slowly walked that way where I saw an
unexpected sight in front of me on the other side of the automatic
glass doors. Adrian Cahill was casually leaning against the side of
a red car that was almost as fabulous as the Lamborghini that I’d
seen him driving before. I couldn’t say what make or model it was,
but... Wow!

This was the first time I’d
saw him wearing something other than his hospital scrubs. He was
very casually dressed—white T-shirt, blue jeans, sneakers...and
sunglasses with very dark lenses, which gave him an adventurous
look. Gusts of wind mussed his magnificent black hair, constantly
re-framing his handsome face, making him appear even more
attractive in a raw, savage way.

He crossed his arms over
his chest and seemed to look directly at me. Unsure that he might
have been expecting someone else, I glanced over my shoulder,
trying not to attract attention, but there was no one behind me.
What a relief! I didn’t want to look like an idiot, stopping to
stare at him like a starstruck teenager. When I looked ahead, I
realized that he’d noticed my insecurity and had a smart-alecky
grin on his face.

“Yes, I’m waiting for you,”
he confirmed aloud.

I approached slowly,
trying to buy myself some time to calm my pounding heart, but the
closer I got, the taller Adrian seemed—not that he was a giant or
something like that. Well, he’s roughly six feet tall to me.
Too handsome, too tall, too hot.
That’s when I realized that this very
good-looking guy, leaning against his gorgeous, powerful car was
causing turmoil among the pedestrians. Men stared at him with
blatant envy, women with admiration. Nurses, medical students,
doctors, visitors...without exception, everyone looked at him, but
Adrian didn’t seem to notice anyone else...only me.

My heart rejoiced.

As I got closer, he stepped from the car and
started toward me.

“Where is...” I started to say, but Adrian
interrupted me with a gesture that stopped me in my tracks. I stood
there, giving him a blank stare.

Suddenly he gave me a knockout smile. His
finger pointed above my head. I turned and saw a huge clock
situated upon the face of hospital, just past the sign. Exact time:
12:01 p.m.

So what?

I turned to face him. Adrian was smiling—a
feeling of peace outlining his perfect lips.

“You’ve been discharged
from the hospital and now you’re exiting the building.

I didn’t understand what he
was trying to tell me. Sensing my confusion, he
explained.

“From now on, you are no longer a patient
under my professional care.” His smile changed, radiating dangerous
intentions that portrayed his comment.

“Where is Charity? I
thought she’d continue to be my nanny.” I tried to seem blasé, but
I wasn’t successful. When I broke the eye contact, it was hard to
hide my nervousness.

“She has been relieved of that task. Now, I
assume...” He reached for my hand and held mine firmly.

“It just so happens that I
don’t need nannies,” I protested weakly. The electrical current
that came from him undermined my will. As if he knew it, he pulled
me towards the car, not the least bit flustered at my
remark.

“Are you hungry?”

Hungry? I couldn’t tell
which part of my anatomy was in my stomach right
now
.

I sat in the passenger
seat and Adrian gently closed the door. When I realized that he was
sitting next to me, adjusting his seat belt, my first thought was
‘
Have I missed something or what?’
He seemed to have moved in the blink of an eye.
While I was recalling the laws of physics about time and space, he
was putting his fantastic machine into motion.

The car was fast, very comfortable and rode
smoothly. I felt like I was floating.

“Are you all right? You became quiet all of
a sudden!”

I heard the concern in his voice. Adrian
seemed to have this ability to understand what was going on with me
in a single glance. Unlike him, I tried, but was unable to guess
what was going on in his head.

“I’m fine. Where are you
taking me?” It hadn’t occurred to me ask something else. In fact,
what I really wanted to know was why he was here with
me?

“To lunch,” he responded, pure and simple.
Adrian smiled again in his mysterious way.

I could easily get used to riding in this
incredible car. Adrian drove with the expertise of a racing driver,
turning the steering wheel with one hand and making the car glide
smoothly through the curves. As if by magic, we were out of the
parking lot.

Adrian drove in silence. Although he seemed
focused on something, he kept a serene expression. We went down the
hill toward the lake, soon reaching the pier. We turned onto a
longer street and then parked in front of the Club Bluewater. He
turned off the engine and released his seatbelt. Still feeling
silly, I did the same.

I was confused about the
direction that things were taking. One minute I’m in hospital and
the next I’m with the “object of my desire.” I looked around and
for one instant felt afraid because he’d disappeared. In one
second, Adrian was releasing his seatbelt and in the next, he was
standing on the passenger side of the car, opening the door for me.
How can he move so fast?
No, you’re
daydreaming. When will you realize that other people have done what
they had to do while you continue in the same place, “falling
behind other walkers.”

With a shy smile, he
helped me out. For a moment I wondered if he might be feeling as
nervous as me. What nonsense! Adrian was a stronghold that not even
a nuclear bomb could destroy. On second thought, he looked more
like the nuclear bomb itself...
Oops!
I was daydreaming again—a sure
sign that my nervousness had reached high levels and I would soon
begin to make stupid comments.
Not if my
life depends on it.
Great! The voices
inside my head are arguing!
That’s the
last thing I need.

“Why is the lake named Bluewater?” I asked
as we walked toward the front entrance of the club. I was
desperately looking for a distraction.

He raised his arm and pressed a device that
locked the car doors and then glanced at me in a mysterious
manner.

“One day I’ll show
you...”

His look dazzled me and at the same time, I
felt curious. Is there anything surprising in the lake?

He offered his arm to me
and I sighed with relief. I didn’t have to worry that my legs were
shaking and I’d fall flat on my face because he wouldn’t allow
it.

We climbed some stairs
around a wooden deck. From that angle, I had a magnificent view
overlooking the lake and the small beaches that dotted the
lakeshore. Bluewater was so big it looked like the
ocean.

Adrian politely waited for
me to enjoy the view before leading me into the restaurant where
the headwaiter awaited the arrival of all guests. He received us
with all the pomp and circumstance imaginable, as if he knew
exactly what to do to please us. His emotionally charged face
revealed his excitement when addressing
Monsieur
Cahill...which apparently
was what he called Adrian all the time. Adrian gave me an
embarrassed smile. I touched his arm, assuring him that it was
alright, but in fact, my intention was less noble. I just wanted an
excuse to take advantage of that strange electric current which
stole my strength and it gave me goose bumps from head to toe. I
was becoming addicted to it.