Feelings

Chapter 19

The day of the gala finally arrived, a Friday evening to be exact, so Melendez spent most of it putting on his tux and making sure he looked presentable after a long day at work. He, like many others at St. Bonaventure, despised this gala, but money was green and it was a necessary evil of the job. At least he'd have a companion this time. Last year, he had gone stag since he was supposed to go with Jessica and they had broken up two weeks before the gala. If he hadn't been conversing with Glassman, Andrews, or a donor, he had spent most of the night with Lim, so he supposed it wasn't going to be much different this year. Once he was absolutely positive he had everything he needed, he grabbed his car keys and drove over to Lim's house, sincerely hoping she was ready to go. He figured she would be; even when she had to dress up for an event such as this one, it rarely took her longer than forty-five minutes, an hour tops. He arrived at the front door and gently knocked. It was only a couple moments before she answered the door. And there she was, standing in front of him in a royal blue dress and complimentary black heels. Her hair was curled, her make-up was subtle but perfectly done, her nails the same shade of blue as her dress, and, quite honestly, he hardly recognized her (in a good way). He always forgot how stunning she was when she made the effort to glamorize herself, "Neil," she said teasingly, interrupting his thoughts.

"Hmm?" he brought himself back down to planet Earth.

"I don't think I've seen you speechless the entire time I've known you," she smirked.

"I...it's just..." Melendez stuttered before he finally settled on, "You look beautiful, Audrey."

"You do look dashing in that tuxedo," she observed him.

Melendez chuckled and grabbed her hands, "So are you ready to do this, Dr. Lim?"

Lim smiled and nodded, "Yes."

She grabbed her clutch and was just about to leave when Melendez started asking questions, "Do you have your inhaler?"

"Mmhm," she confirmed.

"How about...?"

"Neil, I promise you everything I need fits in here," she held up the clutch, "Now let's go, we have some donors to win over."

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Meanwhile, at the hospital ballroom, the gala was in full swing. The four residents had already greeted Andrews and Isabel along with a few important names, but other than that, there weren't many people for them to chat with, so they had taken to standing around a table sipping cocktails (and Sprite for Shaun). Thankfully, Glassman arrived with Debbie Wexler and, though Glassman looked thinner and slightly frailer because of the chemo and radiation treatment, he was getting around pretty well. He waved to the residents and approached them, "Good evening Dr. Park, Dr. Reznick, Dr. Browne, Shaun," he greeted.

"Dr. Glassman," stated Shaun.

"You look great," commented Claire.

"Well, thankfully, I've been feeling better," said Glassman, "So how have things been with the new Chief of Surgery?"

"You mean, Dr. Andrews?" asked Morgan.

"He kept it for himself," continued Park.

"Oh," stated Glassman and then noticed Debbie motioning him over to her, "Well, I can't leave my date, so if you'll excuse me," he excused himself.

The residents went back to silently sipping their drinks before Morgan asked, "Where's Melendez or Lim? I would think they both know how important this event is."