Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
The weekend crept up quickly and it seemed everyone was excited about Doug’s date with the doctor more than he was. Erin made herself comfortable on the couch eating a bowl of cereal while Jenna made pancakes “Doug! You’re going to be late!!” Jenna cried from the foot of the stairs.
“I don’t think he’s up.” Ryan said while preparing his syrup on the pancakes “You want some Luke?” he asked when the other roommate walked out from the kitchen with a bowl of hot oatmeal.
“No thanks, I’m on a diet.” Luke shook his head.
“Speak of the devil.” Erin saw his reflection from the glass cabinet.
Doug emerged in a crisp black shirt and a pair of jeans that showed off his fit legs. He earned a few whistles from Jenna and Ryan “Looking good.” Ryan nodded.
“I like to look presentable.” He posed like a GQ model.
“You don’t look THAT good.” Jenna snickered and laugh when he ruffled her hair playfully “Hey, you know how long it took me to fix my out of bed hair and made it seem like it was a style?”
“You’ll be sorry when I end up dating this doctor and have no time left for you.” Doug said heatedly.
Ryan and Jenna exchanged giggles “Oh Doug, say it isn’t so.” Jenna pleaded with puppy eyes.
“Don’t listen to them Doug, I think you look very handsome. She will be pleased by your appearance.” Erin decided to increase his lack of confidence.
“Thank you!” he raised his brows at the other two “Well kids, I’m going now. You guys have fun wherever it is that you’re going.” When he reached the door, he turned to Erin “Mind if I pick a few flowers from your garden? Thanks!” he slammed the door before she had a chance to decline.
Jenna dropped her jaw “You’re going to let him kill your little garden?”
“Didn’t you spend like a whole month growing those pansies?” Luke asked in shock.
“It’s a fair trade for the date.” Erin smiled slyly.
“Ga Jei, you didn’t set him on a date did you?” Ryan guessed by the tone in her voice.
“You’ll hear about it when he comes back.” Erin added with a short laugh.
*************
Doug stood outside the hospital doors, flowers hastily picked and gathered in his hands “Just breath…she’s only a doctor…” he muttered to himself trying to gain some confidence. He entered the familiar building with a goofy grin glued to his face “Hi.” He greeted the receptionist.
“Yes?” she asked with one hand covering the mouthpiece, while trying hard not to look annoyed.
“Yes, I have an…eh…well, it’s an appointment I guess…with Dr. Lai.” He stuttered, not sure if they were told about the set up date.
“Oh, sure. She’s on the third floor, room 305.” The girl seemed to change her tone. Doug thanked her as she waved a fellow nurse closer “Dr. Lai’s got another nut.”
The girl caught a glimpse of Doug before he turned the corner to the elevators “He looks normal.”
“Not from my angle.” The receptionist snickered with a laugh.
Doug was growing nervous and he realized that when the stems of the flowers crushed in his hand. It had been too long since he had done the dating scene and he remembered why he hated blind dates. He stood a few doors down from the destination room, taking in deep breaths, he chickened out at the last minute and turned to leave when he crashed into a petite girl that didn’t look younger than 24 “I’m sorry.” He quickly apologized “Are you okay little girl?”
Her eyes widened “Uh…no, I’m okay. Can I help you?” she gathered the files she was looking at in her hands.
“Oh, you work here?” he asked sounding surprise “Candy-striper?”
The girl smiled and shrugged “Sure, why not.”
“It’s embarrassing really…I’m not sure if I should be telling you this.” Doug stammered.
“More embarrassing than crushing the flowers that you were bringing for your date?” she teased with a head nodding to the flowers he was wringing in his hands.
Doug quickly loosened his grip “You’re right…I couldn’t give her this. Would you like it?” he offered.
She lowered her head with a smile and took the flowers “Thanks, you’re the first guy that ever gave me flowers.”
His face dropped “But don’t take it personally, please…I…well, you see…I have a girlfriend. Dr. Lai, she’s…she’s my girlfriend.” He nodded sympathetically. Not wanting to hurt the girl’s feelings.
She raised her brows again “Oh really? Dr. Lai huh? I’m actually her assistant, she never told me about you.”
Caught in the lie, Doug began to stutter “Well…you see…she doesn’t like to talk to strangers…I mean you’re not a stranger or anything…but well, it’s just no one’s business.”
Her smile was mischievous but he didn’t catch the sparkle in her eye “I see. Well, why don’t you go inside and wait for Dr. Lai, she just went to pick up a file, she should be back soon.” She ushered him into her office, which was as big as Ethan’s.
“So, what is she like?” Doug began his scattered talk.
“Hmm, shouldn’t you know being her boyfriend?” the girl asked.
“Right! What I meant was, how do you like working for her?” he asked, not making eye contact so she couldn’t see the lie in his eyes again.
“Well, it’s okay I guess, but sometimes she can be a real bitch.” The girl laughed. She reached for her white coat and took her seat across from Doug behind the desk “Hi, you must be Doug. Erin warned me you were coming.”
Across from him was the girl, the only difference was she was wearing the white lab coat that fit her like a glove “But…no, it can’t be…”
“But it is. I’m Dr. Lai.” She reached over the table to shake his hand. Instead he shot away like it was made of acid “Well, that wasn’t the reaction I was waiting for.”
He stood up “There must be a mistake…you…you’re so young! You’re only eighteen, how could you be a doctor?” he declared.
She got up and walked around the table and bounced herself on the edge of her desk and made herself comfortable “I guess I should take that as a compliment.” Taking in a deep breath, she let it out “Okay, let’s start over. I’m Jessica Lai, but my friends call me Jessie, but you can call me Dr. Lai.” She began lightly.
Doug’s face went pale as the name reminded him “Oh…” he shook her hand looking dazed.
“Hmm…That ‘Oh’ can only mean ex girlfriend with the same name or evil ex wife with that name? Let me guess…dead girlfriend?” Jessie’s head tilted thoughtfully.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Doug tried to cover with a nervous laugh.
“So you lie when you’re nervous?” she analyzed “This is more serious than I thought.”
He wrinkled his brows strangely “Serious?” And then it hit him “Oh my God, did Erin set up a session?? She told me this was a date!!”
Jessie nodded “She warned me that you would not want to come in to see me if you knew it was a session, so I told her to tell you it was a blind date.”
“Why are all women so manipulative and persuasive?!!” he exclaimed “Is there no respect for human feelings anymore??” he threw his hands up in disbelief “I can’t stand this…I need to leave. Sorry Miss Lai—”
“Dr. Lai.” She corrected with a pointed finger.
“Yeah, right. Maybe in ten years.” He said with sarcasm “Anyways, I don’t need help.” He began storming out the door when she stopped him with her words.
“Doug, do you find yourself thinking about her? Wondering if you would ever find another girl that you could love as much as you loved her?” Jessie worked with a few cases like his and it was why Erin had recommended that she see Doug.
He froze, a cold chill ran down his spine. She had said everything he was feeling and had denied since the moment Jessie died “I don’t need help.”
“Maybe not, but you need closure.” Jessie said wisely “But I’m not going to push you right now, so come back to me when you’re ready to admit that you have a problem.” She returned to her chair and reached for her glasses.
Doug turned to her before leaving “Just because you have on a white coat and put on glasses doesn’t mean you look like a doctor.” He left with a short smile and she too smiled.
*********
The endless stairs took a toll on Jenna’s legs while Ryan climbed the steps casually like he had been doing it for ages. His brows wrinkled from the day’s bright gray sky “What an ugly day. She never liked…” he faded when he realized she wasn’t behind him “Jenna?”
“Go on without me…I’ll catch up.” She waved him away.
“Don’t be silly. I told you to walk more often.” Ryan rushed back down the steps to help her up “Come on, I’ll even support your arm.”
Jenna groaned, “How about supporting my legs too while you’re at it.”
He laughed, “Come on, lazy.” Soon, they reached Shelly’s gravesite “Hey Shelly, sorry, it’s been a long time since I came to see you. How is it in heaven?” feeling himself choke up as he whispered “Jenna’s here to see you.”
“Hey Shelly.” Jenna smiled “I figured Ryan would be bored. But I forget you’re always with him, he couldn’t be. But don’t you worry, the team will make sure he never gets bored.”
Ryan lowered his head and noticed the white oleanders “Oh right, this is for you. I know how much you love flowers.” Kneeling down, he placed it over the gravestone “I hope you’ll like it.”
Jenna’s heart ached watching him still in pain, she knelt down beside him, a hand gently over his shoulder “Hey, I’m sure whatever you get her, she’d be happy.”
“I know…” Ryan sniffed back the tears “Because she was always so appreciative of anything. So simple and so beautiful…like these flowers.” Turning to Jenna, he wasn’t afraid to hide his tears “I miss her so much.”
She opened her arms as he smiled and fell into the welcome embrace “I know you do. We all do. Especially her innocence, no one could ever take her place. It’s hard now but one day, you will find a way to move on. I mean, I eventually did.”
“You…you went through the same thing?” Ryan asked, trying not to sound surprise.
“Shocking isn’t it?” Jenna laughed. She let out a short sigh “His name was Kevin. It was high school. We were two people in love, crazy about each other in every way. Puppy love, that’s what the young kids nowadays call it. We were inseparable but…one faithful day, he was taken away from me. Ran over by a drunk guy in a sedan. By the time I reached the hospital, he was fading…I only had enough time to say goodbye. I didn’t get to hear his last words.”
“I’m sorry.” Ryan whispered earnestly “I never knew…”
“No one did, well, except for Darren. Not even Joe knew about this.” Jenna nodded wide-eyed.
He smiled, grateful that she shared her innermost pain with him “How did you get through that loss?”
“It wasn’t easy.” She said honestly “I cried for months but then I realized crying would not bring Kevin back. And Joe had come back for a couple of months after his death, maybe it was fate, I seldom saw Joe since he lived in Shanghai. I never realized how much he was there for me until I think about it. He was a great father.” Ryan nodded in agreement “Anyways, after a couple of years passed, I learned to get up again. I needed to continue with my life. And then I met the Team. This is my second family, this is my reason for living happy, for making a difference and for making others smile.”
Her goofy grin was contagious as he too had to smile “You’re stronger than I am.”
“No, I realized my purpose sooner. You’ll find yours one day.” She added firmly “If not, I’ll have Doug make up one for you.”
Ryan cracked up with laughter “God, I can’t believe Ga Jei set him up with a head doctor. He’s going to freak out when he sees her tonight.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Jenna laughed “Come on! We have to get some groceries for tonight!” Bowing quickly to Shelly, she rushed down the steps giving Ryan time alone to say goodbye.
His smile lingered as he watched her head bounce up and down until she was no longer visible “Bye Shelly. Don’t worry about me…I’ll be fine.” Giving a final bow, he headed towards the long flight of stairs.