Lily of the Valley

Chapter 1 | He's Back

I am positive that I will get mixed response when I say: “I do not like weddings”.  There will be those who agree, disagree, or be indifferent.  Don’t get me wrong; I am not a bitter woman who couldn’t find a man.

I remember being fond of them when I was a little girl.  I used to look at wedding magazines with my best friends, and plan our own.  We even decided to have a double wedding. Our hairstyles, dresses, flowers, and rings were all planned out. We decided which church to get married in, and which priest will help us recite our vows.  We would live in big houses with swimming pools, and of course we would be neighbors.  We decided that we would have a happy ending just like in fairytales.  

But then… we grew up, and learned that getting married doesn’t always lead to a happy ending.  Our taste for poofy dresses changed, I found out I was allergic to many kinds of flowers (although, not all), and the church was destroyed by a fire when we were twelve, which led to the death of the priest who was supposed to lead our dream wedding ceremony.  It was a tragedy, but we learned to accept it.  We learned to accept life.

Now we live in a two-bedroom apartment in an urban city where people are very rude and aggressive. But we’re not complaining because we are still together just as planned and we are also employed, which is a blessing nowadays.  

It was early evening when I heard the door open and close behind who I believe was my best friend.

“Did you get the mail, Britt?” I shouted from the bedroom. The nap that was only supposed to last thirty minutes turned into 2 hours. 

“Yea, I put it on the counter. How was your day?”

“Unproductive!” I yelled, still too lazy to get out of the comfortable bed. 

“So you vegged while I worked my butt off all day.” She appeared in my doorway, arms crossed with the you-should-be-ashamed look. 

“I know, I was supposed to clean the bathroom.  Sorry.”

“It’s fine, just make sure you do it before Saturday afternoon.”

“Saturday? Oh yes, the bridal shower I didn’t agree to host.” I said with a hint of sarcasm.

“She’s our friend, and our apartment is the biggest one out of all the others’.” She explained tiredly as she sat on the side of the bed.

“Yes, but she’s getting married to that sleaze ball!” 

“ Karen! Sleaze ball? Really?”

“Sorry, I watched Jerry Springer all day. I couldn’t find the remote.” I explained

“The remote is right there. Lazy bum!” she pointed at the remote, which had been on the side table all along. “We have to be supportive. I don’t like him either but she’s happy, so let’s just be happy for her.”

“I’m trying. He’s the one with too many issues.” We were both quiet for a moment, and then Brittney got up and said, “Come on, I bought us Pad Thai and spring rolls.” And she pulled me out of the comfortable bed.  

“That was some good Thai food,” Britt said after downing her Thai tea. I was still eating when I noticed the mail she picked up from earlier.  I grabbed them and checked if there were anything important, other than the bills of course. There was an envelope addressed to me from Kaiser Permanente.  At first, I thought it was just a doctor’s appointment reminder since I did schedule one for next week, but it wasn’t.  It was a follow-up letter from HR stating that they’ve received my application and was very impressed. Also, they scheduled an interview. 

“Britt, what did you do?” I asked, still looking at the paper. “Why does this say I applied for a position in Pediatrics?”

“I didn’t do anything! I swear!” she squealed.

“Then why do you sound guilty?”

“It’s all Melanie! She wanted you to see him again.” 

“Him? We don’t even know if he’s still there! It’s been three years since I last saw him in that hospital.” I don’t mind them sending the application for me. I was actually planning on applying for a position in that ward, but not because ‘he’ is there. I just really like children.   

“Actually… we do know.” She still couldn’t look me in the eye. 

“What?” I was confused.

“Melanie’s nephew was hospitalized a month ago, and…” she was dragging.

“Yes, I remember. We visited him remember?”

“Yup, and Mel saw him there. They talked, and she found out that he took a job there.”

“Oh.” was all I could mutter. The last time I saw this man was the year I was struggling with my career.  I was already 20 years old and still didn’t know what I wanted, and I was frustrated with myself. I was a volunteer at the pediatrics unit where he was a resident doctor. We flirted; I just couldn’t resist since he was a doctor. He helped me figure out my goal in life. He was the reason I decided to continue my nursing career. 

Just when I thought we had something… he left. I was hurt, but with the help of my friends, I was able to move on quickly.  He never said he liked me, and I was glad he didn’t because that made it easier for me to forget about him. I still think of him sometimes, when work gets too hard. His memory becomes my motivation. But that’s all he is to me, a memory… or is he?

“Karen! Are you mad? Talk to me!” Brittney snapped me out of the flashback.

“No, I’m not mad. And tell Melanie ‘thank you’. I was actually going to apply for a position, but you guys beat me to it”. I cleaned up the dishes and went straight to my room.

 “What do you do here exactly? Do you check if they’re in the room or something?” he asks sarcastically, with a hint of flirtatiousness. 

Looking up from the clipboard, I let out a laugh, “Yes, something like that. I also check if they need anything.”

“I see. So, do you want to have lunch with me?”

“What?” Surprised by the man’s cockiness, but also impressed by the lab coat and the MD sign on it.

“I get off at 1, we can grab lunch.” It’s a statement.

“Sorry, I don’t go out to lunch with strangers.” I walk away, trying to be overconfident. And right when I thought he gave up, I hear: “Thomas Parker, MD. But you can call me Tom.” 

I turn around, beam at him and say: “Karen Holt, Child Life volunteer. And you can do better than that”. I make sure to wink before walking out of the unit.

Before the double doors close behind me I hear his laugh, hinting that he found our little exchange quite interesting.