37 Coffee

I walk into the office Monday morning, a bright smile on my face.

Kim looks me up and down, her eyebrow raised, letting a knowing laugh escape her mouth. "Enjoy your weekend?" She whispers as I take a seat.

I flush a moment, but take a steady breath and release it, "Of course I did."

"What are you two pspspst, about over there?" Janet groans dragging her feet into the office, purse on one shoulder, a large cup of extra strong coffee and bottle of water in tow. Her face was sun burnt, no makeup, and she looked like she had aged a few years on top of it.

"Dear lord! What happened to you?!" Kim declares, taking in Janet's appearance.

Janet moans, "I fell asleep in the tanning bed, thank goodness it shuts off after an hour on it's own. I don't want to think of how bad it would have been otherwise."

"Fell asleep or passed out?" Teresa comes in sporting a nice even tan starting to show on her skin.

"You two went drinking and went to a tanning bed this weekend?" I ask shocked.

Teresa laughs, "No. She came over to my place and used my tanning bed, after we had already tanned earlier. Oh and after we had been drinking after a BBQ with my husband and a friend of his. If Jerry had not of put that timer on that machine, we'd be asking you Janet if you wanted what the cafeteria was serving today or if you'd want to fry an egg on yourself!" Teresa jokes and we all share in a good laugh.

"Morning ladies!" Jim walks in waving as he heads to his office with a smile.

"Morning Mr... Jim." We catch ourselves in unison, breaking into sniggers and giggles as we straighten up our areas before getting started for the day.

I'm two hours into plugging in numbers and pulling up medical files, checking and correlating the correct numbers to the procedures being charged for, when Teresa pokes me with her pen.

"Huh?" I turn to ask her and she points towards the door where Dr. Patel is standing, holding up a cup of coffee. I nod and sign five more minutes, so I can get my files at a place I can save them.

Dr. Patel walks in with a shake of his head and walks into Jim's office. "Jim, I need to borrow Lirael for a few minutes. I need to go over some procedures a client needs and find a way that their insurance will cover it. Mind if I take her to my office?"

Jim comes up and out and responds to him with a "Sure thing, doctor. Lirael, can you spare some time to help out Dr. Patel, please?"

I nod and stand, "Sure thing, not a problem."

I push my chair in and join Dr. Patel and head out of the office. He takes me to the cafeteria before he breaks the silence.

"How are you doing this morning?" He asks me, nudging my shoulder with his softly.

"I'm doing alright. They found, or rather the person turned themselves in who was responsible for my friends death." I say quietly.

"Your friend was the guy who got hit on the road?" He asks, his brows raised and eyes wide.

I nod, "Yeah. He was going through a rough time. He had actually left my house earlier that day when it happened."

He pats my back and says sincerely, "I'm sorry to hear that. That must be rough. Did you want something to eat with the coffee?"

I smile but shake my head, "No, thank you. Just coffee is fine."

"Alright." Is all he says as we approach the register and he orders us two coffees and we're handed the cups. We prep them the way we like, his I notice he likes with just some creamer. I add some cream and one sugar before smiling letting him know I was ready.

"We'll go over these procedures I need help with in my office. If that's alright?" He asks as we head out.

Oh, so he really did need help with those....

"Of course." We head to his office which is not far from the cafeteria, but we have to go through four areas, ER triage, the ICU hall, and down past the radiology department and out the doors to the little garden area and enter a code locked door to the attached clinic sides offices.

"It sure would be nice if they added a locked door between the cafeteria and these offices. It is just that wall that divides us over there." He points to a wall of the hall to the right that corners and heads to other office rooms.

"It's probably a load bearing wall, or it has HVAC and plumbing. The hospital wouldn't want to spend that kind of money to reroute or reinforce it." I say casually and Dr. Patel just nods as he unlocks his office and allows me in.

He takes a seat and motions to a chair across the desk from him. We sit and he moves his computer screen so that I am able to see. We sit there and discuss the different procedures and go over insurance that the patient has available. I'm using his computer to check a few things and that's when the doctor asks his first question.

"So, Lirael, are you dating anyone? I wouldn't want to disrespect you or anyone else, that's why I ask."

I pause in my typing, but continue on and inquire, " No, I'm not dating anyone, but I tell you this in confidence." I shift my legs and a twinge in my crotch reminds me of Lance this weekend. I clear my throat and turn my focus to him.

"Beth, she's my friend's mother, who you met Friday. She's also Mr. Henderson's sister, obviously, and you know her situation."

He nods, following along so far, so I continue.

"There was a misunderstanding with Mr. Henderson, who went and spoke to Beth, turning it into a bit of a conundrum that my friend guilt tripped me into. She thinks that we were dating, but broke up but stayed friends. After seeing how she seemed to be doing mentally after thinking there might still be a chance, Lance asked me to keep of the façade. He think even if it doesn't affect the outcome of her treatments, at least she'll go believing her son is happy with someone. So I must ask of you to keep these facts to yourself, please." I finish my shortest version of the situation I could think of and now sit, waiting for his response.

He sits there, a blank expression on his face, but I can see the thoughts moving in his mind. He finally speaks up after taking a sip of coffee.

"So you are just friends with her son then?"

I nod, "Yes. I'm not looking for a relationship. I'm quite happy enjoying my life as it is right now and my friend knows that. However, with his mothers health and all....." I trail off trying to find the right words when Dr. Patil finishes for me.

"He'd rather keep her spirits up not knowing if she will respond well to the treatments or not."

"Yes. Thank you, Dr. Patil." I flush lightly, glad he's understanding of the situation so far.

"Please, call me Aman. I don't mind keeping it to myself. She's receiving the treatment she is because her outlook is not well at this moment. That's why she agreed to try this experimental treatment. What are you guys going to do if she gets better though?" He interlocks his fingers and leans back in the chair, getting comfortable.

"I'll leave that to Lance to figure out on how to tell his mother. I only agreed to this to help him out, even though I hate lying to his mother as it is. It just feels wrong, even though I sympathize with his reasoning and choice." My mouth twitches up on one side in a weak smile.

"Well, I heard what you said earlier about not wanting a relationship, Lirael... But would you still be interested in going out to dinner with me sometime?"