"A deep feeling of affection and sexual attachment."
That's all Mina has - words stolen from a dictionary. How will she earn an apprenticeship at Luckman Inc. if she can't write an essay on what true love is? It has been a week, and she has yet to c...
The commute to the hospital was not the best with rain in the mist, it was nearly a sprinkler that began when she left her apartment. When she was entering the parking lot it was an abundance of droplets on her, thankfully she remembered the purple umbrella. She went on a careful sprint from her car in the middle row of the lot to the very front of the hospital. Only managing to get her rainboots wet in that journey, she walked to the front desk and greeted the friendly ladies before setting the surprise basket she had brought on the desk, which was also as dry as she was. She set her umbrella on a specially made rack then left with a smile and a wave.
As she made her way to Mr. Grumpy's room she notices his door was not properly closed all the way. Nonetheless, she threw a rhythmic knock before entering. Today he wore black, black fitted shirt and loose black sporty shorts. She didn't look too much this time, afraid of embarrassing herself some more. Just opened the door fully and waited for him to pass by first so she could close it behind her.
"Surprised you haven't said anything yet," he made comment as he glances her way after hearing the door shut. He begins their walk, as usual to the northern wing. She follows his pace and takes a second to make sure the nearest halls are clear of anyone running this morning.
"I like to keep you on your toes."
He keeps his pace but momentarily looks down to his feet as a force of habit in walking with crutches. "That's a weird American expression, is it not?"
She rolls eyes and explains it to him as simple as she possibly can, "it means to keep you guessing, actively in suspense."
"I don't know what you just said, but I know it was insulting," she squints her eyes trying to translate his french words and failing to comprehend.
He kept walking saying nothing more and she sighed in discontent.
"Tan mal carácter, éste." (translation: such bad character, this one)
At that comment, he looked at her questionably, one brow higher up on his face. It was now he felt how she does at times but also surprised that she knew another language as well. He had not pictured her bilingual as of yet, but now that he made a proper examination he saw she could pass as multicultural.
"Have fun in physical therapy," Mina flashed him a cute grin as he looked her way then entered the room before she turned on her heel and left.
Since that little spectacle at the bakery they, meaning Elijah and Mina, saw more of each other, mostly in the hospital's parking lot. Almost always during the week, they would walk in together exchanging pleasantries or small talk. On certain days Mina would seek Elijah coming out from the children's ward to the cafeteria. She stayed in the cafeteria to play games on her phone or to numb her mind with social media when Mr. Grumpy was in physical therapy as a means to pass time. Elijah kept her company until she had to leave then he would go back to work.
He was also coming to the bakery more often to taste tiny treats when he wasn't swamped at work.
Mina had once seen Xavier with him at the bakery and he had casually asked about her best friend. She thought it best to give him vague answers and served him the maple bar pastries he ordered, he did have Heidi's phone number after all. It was her mindset to butt out of their love life, knowing she currently knew nothing about it. Although she wanted to know her best friend's opinion on the matter, she could not bring herself to ask her directly at a time like this.
One fateful morning as Mina and Elijah strolled through the hospital's halls and into the cafeteria, he made a proposal that caught her off guard the second it left his lips. He asked her if she would like to come out to a spring event held in Angel park with him. He'd been mulling over the idea for about a whole twenty-four hours now. Knowing that if he didn't do it now he wouldn't have the courage to ask later and he couldn't stop by the bakery because of his work duties. Mina was enjoying his company more and more, much to Alden's displeasure, he often peeked at her phone over her shoulder when she messaged Elijah in between work. She had told Alden time and time again how to mind his own. It got her to thinking the next day about Elijah and her answer to planning out a specific time and day to attend. For a minute she thought of refusing to go at all, but then her voice of reason otherwise called Heidi put in her two cents, and so Mina figured it could be fun.
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After a few hours in physical therapy, Mina had already noticed the difference in Mr. Grumpy. He walked straighter and confidently even with the crutch now. He got the call from his mother he'd been waiting to hear. Her joyous voice was enough to make him feel ten times better, but the news of her arrival delighted him. Now more then ever he wanted these weeks to be over as soon as possible. He couldn't help the smile that took over his face throughout their conversation, he missed her fussing, cussing and laugh that made him feel young again. Even though it only lasted a couple of minutes, it was enough to ease his woes of wanting to leave.
Mina offered him some of what she had brought today for the familiar staff she knew, just including the ladies at the front desk, nurse Kiara and an older nurse named Holly that basically trained her when she first started volunteering. She left the basket at the front desk earlier this morning and instructed the two ladies to make sure Kiara and Holly were soon treated with the baked goods.
"What's gotten into you?"
Mina's question was greeted with silence as the slowly walked into his room and she set her belongings on a chair near his bed. Still, she continued and tried to reform her thought. "You seem..less grumpy."
Mr. Not too Grumpy shrugged and took the offered snack from her hands, which he clearly wanted, without protest or remark. "Because it is week two."
"Oh, a little over a week left and you can start being a regular human again," she tilted her head and held her straight face with sarcasm dripping off her tongue.
A look of disdain plastered on him as he glances at the walls surrounding them. "Free of this place," he muttered then made a big chomp of his pastry as if starvation has taken over him. Little did she know that her statement was lesser than the truth, he was spot on.
Taking small bites into her cruller, also referred to as a twisted donut, she clears her throat and brings up an inquiry, "So Mr. François, how's my baking in comparison?"
"Not disgusting," purposely to get a reaction out of her dark chocolate colored eyes he answered before eating halfway into his donut.
Rather aggressively, she takes a bite of her own tasting its deliciously sweet outward glaze and fluffy baked dough inside. She wondered if it was too sweet with as much glaze as she had added to the twisted donut. It was to her liking after all, but not everyone's tastes buds could handle the same amounts.
"Careful you'll actually love it?" She mocked after a few more bites into her cruller, loving every second of it.
She knew it was great and much better than what he had eaten today. She already knew that he hated the hospital food, besides itself, so she could only imagine that her baking was the best thing he could get. What she wanted was for him to admit it. Not knowing exactly where she was going with this or why she wanted another person to acknowledge her skills in the kitchen, she wasn't all that fond of gloating and yet...
