Never Forgotten

Part 5

Part 5

Rushing through traffic, Marlena had the worst morning. Waking up with her head pounding and her mouth dry as Sahara, she realized it was Monday and her first patient was in one hour. A quick cold shower banished some of her hangover, but if she thought she felt miserable before that bottle of wine, she felt even worse now.
It wasn't until now that she wondered where Roman was and why he hadn't woken her up.
She arrived at the hospital 14 minutes before her first appointment.

"Good morning Kelly! When my patient arrives just send him in" she said as she rushed past her assistant.

She sat down in her chair and took some deep breaths while massaging her temples, to try and ease her headache.

Her door opened and Jack walked in.

"Good morning Jack, how was your weekend?" Marlena asked.

"It was nice, thank you. It's good having my parents here, although my dad seems distant somehow." Jack said.

"Does that concern you?"

"Yes.. I have told you before that he has a tendency to become quiet and close down, especially when I have asked about his past. I get that same reaction and feeling from him now, even though he tries to hide it. Like the other night. We were all gathered at Chez Vous for dinner, and we were having a great time but he seemed distracted, lost in his thoughts. He wasn't being present, he kept looking around the room almost as if he was looking for something."

It took Marlena a second to finally put two and two together. John....John was Jack's father. That's why she immediately thought about John the first time she met Jack. He looked just like his dad.

"Dr. Evans are you okay? You look a little pale" Jack asked worriedly as he saw Marlenas blood leave her face.

She needed time to process what she just learned...could she stay professional and still have Jack as her patient knowing what she now knew. Could she put her curiosity aside and resist the temptation to learn more about what John had been doing for the past 25 years.

"I'm fine, I suddenly felt a little dizzy but it's gone now. Please continue..." she said, trying to gather her thoughts and listen to the young man as he told her about his anxiety, about how he was worried about his father and how he was struggling to find his place in the world.

Meanwhile John was standing outside her office. Her secretary was nowhere to be seen. He slowly ran his finger over her name on the door.
Dr. Marlena Evans... The same scent from the other day hit him again, confirming that she was nearby. He felt sweat start to break on his forehead and his finger shaking slightly as it traced her name again.
He had been up all night trying to figure out what to do. How to approach her, what he wanted to say to her, where to find her.

"Sir, can I help you?" The voice of a young woman startled him.
Turning around he saw who must be Doc' secretary.

"Yes, good morning, I was wondering if Dr. Evans is here today?" He said feeling nervous that he might be minutes away from seeing her again.

"She is with a patient right now, and let me see....." Kelly looked at the computer "She is available after 1 o'clock today. Do you need to book an appointment?"

John hesitated to answer her, what would be the right choice?. No matter what, he was sure she would be surprised to see him.
"No..no just tell her that an old friend stopped by to say hello".
John started walking towards the elevator intent on coming back in a couple of hours. He didn't hear Kelly yelling "Sir, you didn't give me your name!!"

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Marlena walked her last patient of the day to the door. " I will see you next week Mr Hansen" she said as she closed the door behind him.
It had been an eventful morning between patients, she hadn't had time to process the fact that Jack was John's son.
Sitting down behind her desk, she was just about to start filing her notes when her phone rang.