The Greek Doctor's Proposal. Molly Evans

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СКАЧАТЬ She offered him a smile that was extremely lame. “I’m fine. Just been a long day, you know? Been a long day for you, too, I’m sure. Have anything fun planned for the weekend?” Jeannine asked and busied her fingers writing down vital signs she didn’t really need.

      “Me?” Miklo snorted. “Hardly.” He held his hands out, indicating the area around them. “This is my life. Fun doesn’t enter into it.” Taking the stethoscope from around his neck, he listened to Roberto’s lungs.

      “I have a hard time believing that you don’t have anything better to do than to hang around here all weekend. Don’t have you have anything to keep you busy?” she asked. She had noticed the absence of a wedding band, but these days that didn’t mean much.

      “No.” Now was not the time to tell her he’d given up his life for his family, entirely too late. “How about you?”

      “I might get out and take a hike or go to an art show or exhibition. There’s a bunch of stuff going on this weekend. You should try it.”

      “Thanks, but I’m more of a museum kind of guy.”

      “Really? Why is that?” Jeannine asked. He looked more like a museum guy than a craft show kind of person, but you never knew from looking at a person what they were like inside.

      “You can sit in a museum and look at things that don’t talk back to you and rarely have a crisis,” he said, and picked up Roberto’s chart.

      “That’s true, but I like being around people, too.” Jeannine wasn’t convinced by his philosophy. Sometimes people needed to interact with each other, rather than just watching life go by. Being alone for too long had made her desperate for company over the last six months.

      Miklo rubbed the day-long growth on his face. He smiled a little crookedly in a gesture she was beginning to associate with him. His full mouth moved slightly to one side, but failed to form a complete smile. “My day doesn’t end when the surgery does. There is always much more to do before I leave.” Again he looked around them at the PICU.

      “You’d rather go home and have a cold beer, right?” she asked.

      Miklo laughed out loud. “You are exactly right. For tonight, though, I’ll turn things over to the intensivist on call.” He grabbed his labcoat from the back of the chair and headed toward the door. “Are you ready to go, too?” he asked, and paused at the doorway.

      “Yes. I just need to give the night nurse report on what I’ve done, then I’ll head out. Have a good night and it was a pleasure working with you today.”

      “Same here.”

      Jeannine gathered the chart and headed to the nurses’ report room.

      Just as she left, several family members came in to see Roberto. Miklo explained how the surgery had gone and what the boy’s condition was. By the time he was through answering their questions, Jeannine had returned to the room. She gave Roberto’s face one last stroke. “I’ll be back in the morning,” she said.

      “Aren’t you off tomorrow?” he asked, surprised that she would be working her first weekend on the job.

      “I am, but I want to come in to see him anyway.” She shrugged and looked away from his vibrant eyes. They saw way too much of the things she carefully guarded. Things that no one here knew about her.

      “I’ll walk you out, then,” he said, and slowed his long stride to match hers.

      They approached the front door of the hospital and emerged into the early evening twilight. The sun setting over the west mesa cast a muted peach glow low on the horizon. Not a cloud marred the distant sky for miles. Purple hues blended atop the other colors and melded into the approaching evening.

      Jeannine cleared her throat and shifted her weight from one foot to another. “Well, good night, Doctor.”

      “Miklo, remember?”

      “Yes. It’s just hard to get used to change isn’t it? I’m so used to addressing physicians by their titles.”

      “I wasn’t always a doctor. Sometimes when I’m addressed as Dr. Kyriakides, I think people are talking to my father.”

      “Does your father practice here in Albuquerque?” she asked.

      “Yes, but he’s partially retired. Somehow he found the right balance between the obsession of medicine and having a life outside his work.”

      “But you haven’t?” she asked, somehow feeling brave enough to ask the question of him.

      “No,” he said, and looked away from her. “I haven’t.”

      “I’m sorry if I’ve probed too far, Miklo.” She sighed, hoping she hadn’t just ruined her work relationship with him by asking one question too many.

      “It’s okay.” He turned to face her again, took a step forward, but hesitated. “You wouldn’t want to go have that beer with me tonight, would you?” he asked, uncertainty in his eyes.

      Surprised, Jeannine could hardly believe she heard him correctly. “Sorry?”

      “I asked if you wanted to grab a beer with me. You’re off tomorrow, I’m off duty now, and we could both use the break after the day we’ve had.”

      It was a reasonable suggestion, wasn’t it? Just two co-workers relaxing together. “Sure, why not?” Jeannine said. The words were out of her mouth before she had time to think.

      “How about Olympia’s? It’s my uncle’s place and it’s close.”

      “Sure. You know I’ve never been there, so I’m open to another new adventure today.” There wasn’t time to get used to one thing before she had another new thing in front of her today. But, then, there was no time to be scared or say no, was there?

      “Why don’t I drive and you can relax on the way over?” he asked, and led her to his car. It was a sleek, silver Jaguar convertible.

      Jeannine stopped short. “I don’t think I can relax in a car like that.”

      “Come on, it’s just a car,” he said, and opened the door for her. But as she sank into the soft leather seat, she knew it was far from it. This was luxury like she’d never known or ever thought to indulge in. When Miklo folded himself into the vehicle, she shrank back a little, not accustomed to being so close to a man. Not for a long time. And not with someone as vibrant and alive as Miklo was. He breathed energy and life into everything he did. Being so close to someone who exuded that kind of energy was almost intoxicating.

      He started the powerful engine and let it idle a moment before shifting into gear. They remained silent as Miklo maneuvered the car through the university area and found a parking place about a block away from Olympia’s.

      Jeannine stayed close to Miklo in the near dark of the street until they were in front of the Greek restaurant. “Ready?” Miklo asked.

      Jeannine nodded.

      He opened the door and allowed her to enter ahead of him. Somehow a table had been crammed into every available spot, СКАЧАТЬ