'Doc Juan'

Chapter 8

A week later, she didn't show up for work. Her desk was empty for a whole week- The Receptionist-less Week, as he called it. She didn't pick up the phone either, so he decided to check in on her on a day when his clinic wasn't swamped with patients.He palmed the spare key that her landlord had handed to him. His sharp ears picked up the faint sound of muffled weeping on the other side of the door. It stopped when he unlocked and turned the knob. The room was a mess and only lit by flames from the electric fire. He turned around as he felt someone creep up behind him, before being knocked out by a large, blunt object.
"I'm sorry." he heard a familiar voice whisper from a dark corner of the room as he came to with an ice pack pressed to his throbbing head. "Hmm? Oh...uh...It's fine. Helluva swing ya got there. What was that...a cricket bat? " he murmured, groaning as he sat up on the couch and noticed her on the floor. "Yea... Sorry bout that thing. It was Marc's. Didn't even notice that he'd left it behind. Just burnt it. Too many memories." she muttered, gesturing to the sizzling electric fire as she spoke. "Did ya burn the furniture too...? " he asked, raising an eyebrow at his young receptionist who sat on the floor with her knees up and her arms wrapped around them as if wallowing in self pity. "Can't sit on the couch. Too many memories. That...that...where you're sittin right now, he spilt guac there...that klutz! An' we chose those cushions together. We had our first fight at the store that day, cuz that ninny didn't agree with me over the colour! " she whimpered, burying her head into her hands as she continued to sob. "I take it ya broke up with the boyfriend, eh? What happened, lass? " he enquired in a concerned manner, as he knelt down in front of her. She looked up at him as he put away the ice pack and took her palms in his. "Can't believe I'm gonna talk about it with a womanizer. But, I guess, you'd know more about the topic than anyone else. He cheated on me. There was this slutty socialite who stuck to him like glue, showed up at all the events he deejayed...An' I had my doubts...An' it all turned out just as I'd feared it would...! " she explained, before breaking down. "Sounds like a real bastard! Aye...ya know...take all the time ya want. I can manage on my own. " the doctor muttered, taken aback as she buried her face into his jacket to cry while he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her to console her. "Oh...right...I'm sorry, Dr. Miller. I should've called or somethin. Don't worry, you'll see me at my desk tomorrow. I didn't even think bout you in my sorrow. I was just, uh, you know thinkin bout gettin through this an' comfortin myself..." she whispered, apologetically. "Oh-ho....I know a whole lot bout comfortin oneself. Ya know, I've got a bottle o' lube in my back pocket, if you'd like! " he joked with a saucy wink, in order to break the somber mood. "Ugh! How d'you manage to make me feel uncomfortable every time?! " she exclaimed in disgust, pulling away from his embrace. "Sorry, just tryin to see that smile o' yers. There it is! " he apologized, flashing her his own toothy smile as she broke into a sunshiney smile for him.
"Huh! This must be a first for ya. Not hittin on a vulnerable woman! " she teased. "Aye, it is! Must be losin my touch! " he agreed. "Well, I think any woman would be lucky to have ya...if you just stayed this way." she whispered. "Wait...Did ya just say, woman? As in singular? One woman?! Don't think so! " he sputtered, feigning displeasure at the thought of committing himself to just the one. "You're never gonna change, eh? " she muttered on hearing him, playfully kicking him lightly and eliciting a mischievous chuckle from him before he kindly helped her to her feet.