Dr. Moore(1)

Author: Wan He Chui Yan

"Don't. Other people are still in the room..."

As I said this, Joseph Moore had already put his cold hands under my clothes.

Although I was feeling dizzy over the fever, I grabbed his hands after I noticed that there were still people there.

"Does it hurt?"

Joseph leaned sideways to block the view of others. He pressed on my lower abdomen with his fingers, which made me moan with pain at once.

I never made a sound like that.

I never thought I'd make a fool of myself in front of Joseph. This thought made me extremely embarrassed and dared not to look at him.

1

I got the diagnosis.

It was a fever caused by appendicitis and surgery was needed.

When I waited alone in the ward, I felt that my hands were trembling and I was too nervous to calm down.

"You need to change into the hospital gown. By the way, have you informed your family of the surgery?"

Joseph came into the ward in a white coat, which made his long legs more conspicuous.

I bit my lips and said in a low voice, "They'll fly here tomorrow."

Joseph nodded slightly and tilted his head to look at me, saying, "Don't worry, I'll be here with you tonight."

What?

If I hadn't been in the hospital and was going to the operating room in fifteen minutes, I might have been moved by his words. However, I felt nothing but fear right now.

Because the doctor who was going to operate on me was Joseph.

2

Joseph and I were schoolmates in the same grade, and we knew each other when we were in college. But in our school days, we didn't get along with each other. We often quarreled about the matters in the student union, and in the end, we both quit it at the same time.

Honestly, if I hadn't been sick today, I might have cut off all contact with him.

"Joseph."

I was extremely nervous, especially when I thought about the scars and after-effects of surgery I saw on google just now.

"Are you afraid?"

Joseph bent down and looked at me with a smile as if he was joking with a child.

I frowned and muttered, "When you sew up my wound later, can you make it look nice?"

Joseph raised his eyebrows and said casually, "That's unnecessary. The wound will be on your belly, and no one can see it."

"That's not true!"

Since I was used to quarreling with Joseph, I refuted him subconsciously. However, when he stared at me, I was afraid again.

Quarreling with a doctor before the surgery? That was not a wise thing to do.

"What if my future boyfriend sees it?"

I thought I made a point.

Joseph raised his eyebrows and said sarcastically, "Oh, I almost forgot that you're a girl who doesn't have a boyfriend yet."

I felt speechless.

3

The lights of the operating room shone on my face.

The doctor had just injected me with an anesthetic.

I began to panic all of a sudden. Feeling the nurse standing next to me, I couldn't help biting my lips.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm scared..."

My voice was very low, but as soon as I heard the noise of Joseph talking to others after he came in, I shut up immediately and covered myself with the sheet.

I was completely naked. The fenestrated sheet covered most of my body except for my abdomen.

However, Joseph pinched my abdomen when no one was watching. I was so angry that I wanted to shout out his name.

Joseph said, "You're quite chubby."

This asshole!

The nurses around me were talking and laughing and the atmosphere in the room was very good. But I was lying there in a panic until I began to lose consciousness under the effect of the anesthetic.

4

I was having a dream.

In my dream, I saw Joseph standing with the other medical students for their graduation photo.

While they were laughing and joking, I bumped into Joseph.

Joseph was very tall. After being hit by me, he only glanced at me with a faint smile, which made me a little embarrassed.

That should be the only time I met him after we left the student union.

In fact, I used to have a crush on him.

However, Joseph was too domineering. He always followed his own ideas and didn't allow others to refute him. He was a good example of male chauvinism.

"Wake up, Sharon Murphy. Don't sleep."

Joseph's voice rang in my ears again.

In a daze, I tried my best to move, but it took all my strength just to keep my eyes open.

"Hey, Sharon, you failed your final exam again."

What the hell...

I was so angry that I almost woke up. I frowned and wanted to argue with Joseph, but I was too sleepy to say a word.

After being mad for a while, I fell asleep under the effect of the anesthetic.

I knew it was normal for patients to be asked to keep sober after being injected with the anesthetic, but it was torture for me.

If it weren't for Joseph who had been annoying me, I might have fallen asleep.

5

I thought not being allowed to sleep was the worst thing in the world, but I was wrong. What was worse was that I couldn't eat until I farted.

"Why are you looking at me?"

I bit my lips and stared at the kid eating in the next bed, keeping swallowing.

Joseph laughed. He lowered his head and was playing with his phone. Although he didn't say anything, I could tell from his face that he was laughing at me.

I tried my best to fart. Unfortunately, just as I was about to fart, Joseph came back after going for the ward rounds.

He asked me suddenly, "Did you fart?"

I hated him.

Because as soon as he said that, my impulse to fart was gone...

I had never hated anyone so much...

6

I had no idea decades ago that I would hate someone for a failed fart.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, I was so hungry that I felt like I was going to die. However, Joseph told me that I could only eat eggs and yogurt!

"I need salt!"

Since the eggs were too light in taste, I frowned angrily.

Joseph smiled, took off his white coat, and hung it on the clothes tree. He was wearing a white shirt. Then he unfolded the folding bed and lay next to me.

Before Joseph lay down, he closed the curtains. Feeling tired, he said with his eyes closed, "Don't eat salty food."

I pursed my lips, not saying anything. Although I did want more salt, I shut up after seeing his tired look. After all, he had been here looking after me all night last night and went up early to work this morning.

7

Joseph looked less aggressive when he was asleep. His beautiful face and fair skin attracted me.

The curtains swayed gently and there was a glimmer of light shining on his face occasionally.

I shook my head and continued to eat the eggs on the plate. Then I grabbed a quilt on the bed and threw it at Joseph.

With his eyes closed, Joseph said, "Since when did you learn to be grateful?"

I bit my lips and said, "Give it back to me if you don't want it."

Without answering me, Joseph turned over and continued to sleep. As he rolled over, I couldn't help looking at his sturdy belly.

For a second, I couldn't tell if I was here to see a doctor or a handsome man...

8

When my parents came, I was still sleeping and so was Joseph.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw my mom smiling at Joseph and whispering to my dad, who was also looking at Joseph with satisfaction.

I had a bad feeling so I had to pretend I was still sleeping.

"I know you're awake, Sharon."

My mom was very sensitive. She sat down immediately and said to me in a low voice, "I didn't expect that you would get yourself a boyfriend after you came to the hospital. I'm quite impressed."

I was speechless.

"No, mom! He's not my boyfriend!"

My mom raised her eyebrows and said, "He'll be. Otherwise, why is he sleeping next to you? Doctors usually rest in their own offices."

I had to admit that my mom made a point.

Then she added, "He's a handsome doctor. You finally get yourself a boyfriend, Sharon. I'm very happy for you."

Fine...

My dad smiled and said nothing, but his expression was the best interpretation of his thoughts.

Since my parents thought I had someone look after me in the hospital, they left me with clean clothes and left for a vacation.

It was less than half an hour from the time I woke up to the time they left. I was deeply touched by their "love" for me.

I pouted and turned my head to see when Joseph would wake up, only to find that he was already awake, yawning.

"When did you wake up?"

His clear eyes showed that he had long woken up, yet he was still pretending to be sleepy. I got mad and asked, "Did you pretend to be asleep just now?"

"Yep."

Joseph looked very calm after his lie was exposed. He put away the folding bed and said with a smile, "I heard your conversation with your mother. You've never been in love before, have you?"

I took a deep breath and began to refute him subconsciously. "You have your own office. Why do you have to sleep here?"

Joseph was stunned at first, then he smiled and said, "I like the folding bed. What's wrong with that?"

I was pissed.

"I know you want to sleep with this girl."

The kid in the same ward as I said seriously with a candy in his mouth.

Both Joseph and I were embarrassed.

The boy's mother happened to enter the room when he said this. Therefore, she hurried forward to grab her son and said with an apologetic smile, "Sorry for my kid's rudeness. He didn't mean that. Please forgive him..."

"I was telling the truth!" the boy said.

I just felt more awkward.

The boy's mother stopped him immediately and apologized again with a smile.

"I'm sorry. Please forgive him. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"That's okay," Joseph and I said in one voice.

Both of us felt so embarrassed that we looked away after we took a glance at each other.

Damn!

That was not okay at all...

I just wished I could get out of here right now.