Severing Ties (Book 2. Ties)

39. The Man In My Arms

Hand, please stop shaking. I was taking an exam for Civil Procedure and had an hour to complete two questions. Easy, right? Wrong! The first question was a scenario/case of three pages. We had to answer the question in the role of a clerk to the district court judge. All of our tests were usually like that, but some were longer or some were shorter. With the tests and homework I had in my classes, I, on occasion, questioned why I was even in law school.

In silence we all sat as we wrote our responses. The hour passed by too quickly for my taste. I could have added more detail to my answers but an hour was limiting. We all grabbed our backpacks and turned in our exams as we left the classroom.

The sun was out, cars were loud like always, people walked like there was no tomorrow, stores and restaurants were open. Everything had continued to go on the same, but I felt different. For three weeks, I had found something new to be interested in.

For three weeks, I had been seeing Declan. Only he was not something that enthralled me, he was someone who had mesmerized me. His level of intellect had me hanging on every word. His smile... Everything about him transfixed me. Declan had charm like no other.

We were going to have lunch together that Wednesday. After my exam, I went directly to the restaurant near the hospital he worked at. The host led me to the table we were to eat at, and I waited as he arrived. Our table was by a window with tan roller blinds. I chose to lift the blinds a quarter up the window to allow some natural light in. When I did, I saw people almost falling because there was a dog chasing a cat through the sidewalk. "Sorry I'm late," a voice interrupted the comical scene on the opposite side of the street.

I looked up and smiled. "You must've had a good reason," I said.

"One of the reasons you drew me in," he stated before he bent down to quickly kiss me on the lips. "Always understanding."

I pursed my lips then sarcastically said, "here we go."

Declan laughed. "They are not compliments, simply facts."

"It's a list of all the qualities you like about me which in fact are compliments," I retorted.

He laughed again. "It's not my fault you can't take them."

I knew we would have continued talking about the topic and neither of us would win. He would forever want to compliment me, and I would never want to hear them. We had discussed that since we went on our first date and nothing had changed. After a while it became a joke, but he remained saying flattering words to me even if all I wanted to do was hide my face.

With our typical discussion in mind, I opted for a change in subject. "So, why are you late?"

He placed his hands on the table to begin speaking. "Someone tried committing suicide two weeks ago and has been recuperating in another division of the hospital. I have been visiting everyday to evaluate him, and I had to make the decision of transferring him to the psychiatric ward. He is in no condition to be out in the world."

His eyes had been cast down during the time he spoke. I had come to realize his position as psychiatrist affected him a lot. "The transfer was today," I questioned quietly.

Declan's eyes looked distant. "Yes, and like I said, he is in no condition to interact with people right now. He is in a bad place, so things got a bit out of hand."

I stared at him in silence while he stared at his hands in silence. "Hi, my name is Sherry. Can I get you something to drink?" The waitress had appeared out of nowhere, so I had slightly jumped at the sound of her perky voice.

When Declan looked up, his eyes went directly to me. The all-star smile had returned to his face. "What about champagne," he asked me.

A short giggle of disbelief escaped my lips. "Champagne is for celebration, and we are not celebrating anything."