Jealousy

At 6 pm later that evening, Scarlet's phone rang and she already knew who was calling. She'd been playing some music and had heard the call through her speakers. Turning off her Bluetooth, Scarlet answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Scarlet," Carson's deep voice said on the other end of the call. It was evident that he was smiling.

And that made Scarlet smile as well. "Good evening," she said.

"How're you?"

"I'm alright..."

"Not too tired from work, I suppose..."

"I hardly feel tired," Scarlet responded. "But I'm famished..." Scarlet finished as she twirled some strands of her hair around her forefinger.

"Now both statements are good news, " Carson said. "Don't eat anything until I come to get you."

"Yes, Sir," Scarlet teased.

Carson chuckled. "Send me your address, Scarlet..."

She thought about what Carson had just said and if that would be a good idea. Scarlet wanted to hide a lot of things about her life -- especially her personal life -- and where she lived was at the top of that list.

Deciding against letting him know where she lived, Scarlet muttered into the phone; "Um... just let me know where to meet with you..." she said. "I'll take a taxi there."

Carson's brows creased. However, he didn't ask what her reason was for that. He agreed but said; "How about we meet at a general park then I pick you up from there... I see you do not want me to know your house and I respect that."

"That would work perfectly, " Scarlet stated, a little bit pleased that Carson had not pushed for her address.

The next minute, Carson sent the name of the park where they would meet and Scarlet nodded while she read the text message. She knew the place and it was not hard to locate or far from her house anyway.

Scarlet walked to her wardrobe and opened it. She stood there staring for a while as she tried to imagine what being on a date with Carson would be like. Would he be lively? Would it be boring? What would the conversation be like and what would they even talk about? Scarlet wondered, thinking about what they could possibly have in common to discuss.

She picked out a burnt orange dress that was figure-hugging but had flair sleeves. It was a V-cut collar dress that didn't expose much of her cleavage, however, the dress was short and she'd be exposing her legs tonight. Scarlet laughed at her mischievous thought as she walked to the front of her mirror and played with her hair. She held it up, let it down, and parked it to one side of her shoulder, thinking of the best style to carry that night. At last, she came to a conclusion to tie her hair up in a bun and gel the edges making her baby hairs stand out.

As she got set to step out, while she pressed her phone about to order a ride that would take her to the park, her phone rang again. Upon seeing the person that was calling her, Scarlet frowned and rolled her eyes while her mind quickly drifted to the heaty conversation that had taken place just before she left Jean Garry's house.

She answered the call. "Hello?"

"Scarlet?" Jean Garry's hoarse voice came from the other end of the call.

Scarlet's scowl deepened.

"I've been having fits of cough..." he said over the phone and cleared his throat loudly which sounded almost exaggerated.

"Um...Why though?" Scarlet asked then immediately added, "Is Nurse Emilia there with you?"

"Err...yes," Jean responded reluctantly.

"Can I speak with her, please?"

"Why?" Jean asked but hesitantly handed the phone over to Emilia.

"Hello, Nurse Emilia," Scarlet said into her phone. "Good evening again..."

"Good evening, Miss," the nurse replied.

"Has he been given what would ease the fits?"

"He's refusing to take them..." she said. "Saying that he'd only take medications from you."

Scarlet gritted her teeth. Now she got the whole picture of what was happening. She knew what Jean was trying to do and it irritated her to her guts. She remained silent for a while.

"Hello?"

"Yes? I'm here, " Scarlet said.

The next moment, she heard Jean say, "Give me the phone! Scarlet?" he called.

"Take your meds, Jean..." Scarlet said.

"I want you to come and give them to me yourself."

"How's that possible?" Scarlet asked with annoyance. "I'm off my shift and far from your house."

'Even though I was next door, I wouldn't come," Scarlet thought.

"It's because of that man, right?!" Jean asked in a raised tone.

Scarlet wondered how he could raise his voice so high if he was having bouts of cough. She rolled her eyes and pouted her lips.

"Are we back to this again?"

"Is that who you'll be with this evening?"

"I will not honor that question with a response..." Scarlet said wondering if the man wasn't too old to be undertaking such a jealous route. Scarlet almost gagged before she continued; "Take your meds other wise your blood pressure could shoot up from all the unnecessary thinking."

"Wh-" Jean wanted to say.

But Scarlet hung up before any more useless words could come out of the vile man's mouth. She took a deep breath and steadied herself as she had gotten riled up by the phone call.

Scarlet went to the front of her mirror, fixed her makeup, and placed an order for a taxi to pick her up. She could not recall the last time that she'd been out on a date and Scarlet was ready to enjoy herself on this one. It was going to be some sort of one-night stand as she didn't plan on doing this ever again with Carson. She had just felt like indulging the man and had no interest in him whatsoever.

About ten minutes later, her taxi was downstairs and Scarlet winked at her reflection in the mirror. She liked how she looked that night and was sure that Carson would to.