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“Okay, you jogged my memory. Natalie did in fact send me a message, but I was in the middle of
surgery at the time… I do apologize,” Frank apologized right away. He rubbed between his eyebrows
and said, “Come inside. I’m going to see how you are right now. How are you feeling…”
Elizabeth cut him off before he couldplete his sentence, “Forget it. Dr. Watson, you sound like
you’re ready to drop. Take a break and rx. I’ll see you next time.”
Elizabeth feared that Frank would tell her something she wouldn’t like to hear.
She had to summon a lot of guts to get herself here. Frank didn’t have the time for her, so everything
was probably just meant to be.
Elizabeth immediately left.
“Hey…” Frank ran out of his office. He was just about to catch up to Elizabeth when he ran into Wade
again. Wade’s toolbox was in his hand, but Frank knocked it off and everything inside was suddenly
everywhere!
“Why have youe back, Wade?” By this point, Frank had no option but to go down on his knees and
assist Wade with the tools.
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“You owe me money. That’s why I’m here.” Wade, noticing that Frank’s gaze had wandered, looked at
him with a grin and remarked, “So you denied that she was your girlfriend, right? Then I guess you
can’t keep gazing at her like that, Dr. Watson. What a lovely young woman she is!”
With that, Frank pulled a hundred-dor bill from his wallet and remarked, “The answer is still no, and
she is not. Keep the change. If the door is damaged again, I’ll be sure to contact you again.”
He got to his feet and set off after Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was presently awaiting the elevator.
Natalie texted her to inquire about the oue and whether or not Frank had rmended any
course of therapy.
Elizabeth did not tell her that Frank didn’t have time for her at all. She had to reassure Natalie that she
would take care of herself and then asked her friend not worry about her.
Elizabeth pressed the send button on the message and then entered the elevator. After her, two other
nurses entered carrying papers.
“Have you been listening in? Our hospital was experiencing a medical dispute.” Because of their close
proximity, Elizabeth could hear the short-haired nurse’s muffled voice even though she was speaking at
a reduced volume on purpose.
Sighing, the shorter nurse said, “In a word, yes. I have an idol in the surgeon who performed the
operation. Dr. Watson. He must be in horrible pain right now. He lost a seven-year-old child whom he
had cared for for four years. I heard the kid had been sickly since birth and had spent much of his
childhood in the hospital.”
“Sadly, there was no way around that. Yesterday, the boy’s condition deteriorated dramatically, and his
death was to be expected. The boy’s mom, however, had a mental breakdown and had been harassing
Dr. Watson, iming the whole thing was his responsibility. What does any of this have to do with Dr.
Watson, though? Everyone at our facility had done everything they could to help save her son’s life,”
the short-haired nurse voiced her dissatisfaction. Her voice increased steadily as she spoke.
“Reduce your voice, please. It’s not just us here.” The nurse, who was noticeably shorter, tapped her
on the shoulder and winked.
Elizabeth pretended not to hear anything as she continued to fiddle with her phone. She finally realized
why Frank looked so down in the dumps when he returned to his office.
Elizabeth walked out of the elevator once the doors opened. She wanted to go upstairs to check on
Frank once again, but she heard footstepsing from the direction of the stairwell.
Frank came running down the steps, his breathing out in gasps.
He was relieved to catch up with Elizabeth. He gave her the coat and told her, “You forgot to take your
coat with you.”
Elizabeth took the coat from his hand. “Thanks,” she said with a nod.
“I should be thanking you,” Frank replied. “I just noticed all the documents on the table had been tidied
up. Was it you who helped me pack things?” He stood still, trying to keep his breath steady.
“I’m sorry. I moved your things without your permission,” Elizabeth exined, flustered. “I’m a neat
freak; I hate to see things in a mess.”
Her cheeks burned with shame.
“I was busy with a surgery today and my table was really messy.” “I thought you were a patient who’d
snuck into my office without an appointment,” Frank said apologetically. “I’m sorry about my attitude.”
Frank seemed genuinely remorseful.
“It’s okay,” Elizabeth assured him. “I’m not looking for treatment anyway; I’m afraid of what the doctors
might say. I’ve seen several doctors and they’ve all given me the same diagnosis. I was afraid it would
be more of the same this time.”
Elizabeth finished speaking and prepared to leave. When she was about to put on her coat, she
paused. There was a dirty ck handprint where Frank had touched it.
Frank looked down at his hands. They appeared to be stained with machine oil.
“Well…” he said awkwardly, not knowing where to look.
“My hands must have gotten stained while I was helping Wade pick up his tools just now. He should
have cleaned his toolbox!”
Elizabeth was amused by Frank’s sheepish expression.
Frank cleared his throat and took back Elizabeth’s coat. “I’ll have it cleaned and brought back to you,”
he said.
“Okay,” Elizabeth agreed. “I’m not in any hurry to wear it now.” She didn’t know what else to say to
ease the awkwardness.
Pointing at an empty bench not far from where they stood, Frank said, “Let’s sit down and have a chat.
I’ve seen your medical records. Most hand troubles are caused by nerve damage, and the chances of a
Elizabeth looked doubtful. “But there are patients who never recover, aren’t there? Do their hands
tremble for the rest of their lives?”
“Every b*ody works differently,” Frank replied, suddenly aware that Elizabeth was nervous. “I can’t say
for sure. I would never give up on any patient, but sometimes it does depend on the patient’s own will
to recover. The treatment process won’t be easy.”
Frank couldn’t tell whether Elizabeth had heard what he’d said.
She was staring at her injured hand, lost in thought. Elizabeth recalled the awful scene where Jorge
had waved the knife at her. Her fingers trembled slightly, and the wound began to ache.
Suddenly, Frank’s stomach growled, interrupting her thoughts. Emerging from her reverie, Elizabeth
asked, “Dr. Watson, would you like to have dinner?”
Frank stood up, embarrassed. “You waited for me for a long time. Natalie sent me a message saying
you’de here straight after work. I guess you haven’t had dinner either. How about we get dinner
together? It’ll be my treat, to apologize for offending you just now.”
At the mention of Natalie, Elizabeth’s mood wavered. “I’ve troubled her too much.”