September 1, 2016

  • Looking Delicate

    She met his gaze. A week ago she would have been unable to make eye contact. She studied him. It was him who looked away first. She didn’t start with small talk and instead simply asked him his name. He responded with Dr. Hawk. Without hesitation Liz made it clear she meant his first name. He was young but he had taken all the ethics classes where they warned against becoming too friendly with the patients. He recalled instantly the lecture about dying and seriously ill patients becoming emotionally attached to their doctor. With the red flags waving and alarm bells ringing in his head, Dr. Hawk seemed incapable of withholding his name. He blurted out that his first name was Cooper. Liz was puzzled by the sputtering and blushing doctor. The time seemed right but something was off and Liz paused.

    With a slight tilt to her head, she asked about her possible discharge date. The doctor remained at the foot of the bed. This too was strange since every other time he had visited he had taken a seat on the chair next to the bed. Liz sensed that there had been a shift in the doctor’s attitude. No longer a friendly face he was standoffish and growing more distant by the minute. He assured her that as soon as her strength returned she could go home. In fact he told her that the hospital was in the process of transferring her to a rehabilitation center. This was not going as Liz had imagined. Previously their conversations were like tossing a Frisbee back and forth. Now it was more like a competitive dodgeball game. The tension tired her out and she laid her head back on the pillow and closed her eyes. The tall doctor stared at her. He was drawn to her pale translucent complexion, her delicate hands, and her eyes – eyes that appeared all the more striking in contrast to her white skin.

    This is the last (the very last) prompt from the Laziest Summer Scavenger Hunt - #64 Frisbee. I still have a few more entries to wrap up this story so I will be continuing...

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