Once in a Blue Christmas

CHAPTER FOUR

KYLE

At eight forty five PM I park my newly acquired coupe opposite the Rising Sun café. I've only had the car for a week but I'm loving how it goes like the clappers. My father would complain I'm being frivolous for spending so much on a new car and that he didn't send me to exclusive private schools so I could throw money away so carelessly. That's why I don't tell him ninety nine percent of what I get up to.

These days I try not to talk to either of my parents much, apart from at obligatory family events or if I need a favour. The last time was when I needed a deposit for my flat which was all the way back in May. The next event will be my cousin's beach wedding in August immediately followed by a two week family holiday in the Bahamas, which I'm already dreading.

I blame my sister for heavily suggesting we could do with some quality family time, especially since our parents amicably separated. She might be nearing forty but she's still got my father wrapped around her little finger. All she has to do is remind him that his only grandchild is not getting any younger, and that ever since she became a widow little Flora has been lacking a father figure. Meanwhile, even though I'm closer to my mother, we don't always see eye to eye. Next month she'll no doubt pepper me with questions about when I'll be settling down, if there's anyone in my life right now, if children are on the horizon anytime soon...

Just thinking about next month is trying my patience. Far better to focus on the present.

It was a surprise when Sky didn't suggest a counter offer to finishing early tonight. We've clearly hit it off already, and for a woman like her I'm only too happy to wait, if only she'd asked. Or perhaps I should have been more direct with my intentions. Now I'll have to hang about until she finishes and concoct a reason for bumping into her, and we'll finally be granted an opportunity to get to know one another better.

I've had fantasies about her illustrious copper hair and those bright grey eyes that are like the crowning jewel of her perfectly oval face. Then I move onto thinking of the sweeping curve of her hips, her rear squeezed into those tight black jeans of hers, those t-shirts she wears that have a habit of hitching up when she bends over. It's like watching a glamour model in a barista costume.

The attraction I feel for this woman is hard to explain, it's like she can speak to me from within. The pull she has on me from the moment I walk in the room is irresistible and she doesn't even have to try. Whenever I walk into that café, my first instinct is to search if she's working that day. Now one of my evenings off has finally coincided with the end of one of her shifts, I'm yearning to satisfy my need to know more about her. I need to rule out if it's just a physical attraction, or if there's something more worthwhile here.

At ten past nine the lights flicker off in the café, shortly followed by her coming out and fumbling with the lock on the door. She's slipped out of her black jeans and t-shirt into figure-hugging leggings and a gym top that hugs the contours of her ample bust. I'd surmised she was in good shape, but holy moly I'd never have guessed she was hiding such a body underneath that barista apron. Waiting for her tonight was a fantastic choice on my part.

Her ponytail has come loose causing little strands of hair to frame her face. She's done a hard day's work and I'd love nothing more than to go and take care of her. One step at a time though, first I need to introduce myself properly.

I'm about to step out of my car when another man approaches her. He's about her age and walks towards her falteringly. She turns to him and apparently recognises him immediately, her face lighting up. A few words are exchanged before they embrace warmly, then after a few minutes they wander off down the street arm in arm.

I grip my hands on the steering wheel as I watch them walk away. This was not how I envisioned things would go, and a despairing feeling creeps over me. I should have known she's already taken. More fool me for assuming a gorgeous girl like her would be single.

Not wanting to waste a perfectly pleasant evening, I open up my contacts list and deliberate who might be available to meet up tonight. Charlene might be a good shout.

***

SEPTEMBER

Maryann reeks of ambition and desire this morning, a heady combination that I find hard to resist in a woman.

She's a manager from the hospital I used to work at in the south west of the city, but she made the special journey over here to see me yesterday. In the end I offered to let her stay the night - it's only polite since she travelled all this way.

"Look at you wearing your big boy clothes to work these days," she teases, referring to the crisp navy shirt I'm buttoning up. She crawls out of bed and casually ambles over. "I remember when you were a baby doctor fresh out of your foundation training, wearing scrubs whenever you could so you wouldn't have to do laundry."

"It's safe to say the baby grew into a man," I laugh under my breath. "And incidentally, he discovered a laundry service that picks up and delivers clothes within twenty four hours."

"Well, I'm proud of you. Not just for figuring out how to do your laundry, but for growing into the man that you've become. You've come so far from that wet behind the ears trainee that joined us seven years ago." She pats my chest and her dazzlingly deep brown eyes stare up into mine. Maryann's about a decade older than me but she's got the vigour of someone my age. "I take it you're on track to becoming a consultant soon?"

"Yep. Gerry reckons I'm ready to apply for my Certificate of Completion of Training, and that I'll easily pass my fellowship exams. It's just that..."

"What is it, Ky?"

"It'll be a lot of responsibility once I'm a consultant. I don't know if I'm ready for it just yet."

"What are you talking about? Of course you're ready! I've seen how skilled you are in theatre and the way all the newer doctors look up to you. You'll make an excellent consultant - have faith in your abilities."

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm only thirty one and love my life right now. If I want to get drunk on a school night, or swap my shifts around at the last minute, or come in with a hangover, it's not a big deal. Gerry or another consultant will always be there if things go to shit. But once I'm a consultant, the buck stops with me. I won't have a choice but to step up."

Her eyes find mine in the mirror and she gazes at me pointedly. She lets her lips soothingly kiss mine, the way she's done so many times whenever she's given me career advice.

"That's true, but we all have to grow up at some point."

And that's a hard pill for me to swallow.