Doctor Ryan and His Healing System

Chapter 8: Showdown At The Dealership

Mooney slowly got out of bed. He looked at Ryan with high admiration, smiled, and said, “Thank you, kid. I owe you my life.” He gestured to Den. “Go. Prepare two million dollars for Dr. Ryan. He deserves it!”

“Please…” Ryan blushed. “That is not necessary. Your survival is my reward.”

Mooney had assumed that Ryan had only saved him in the hopes of a reward, and when he realized that that was not the case, his admiration for the young doctor increased ten-fold. “If you won’t take my money,” he said, “then I have another gift for you.”

Mooney gestured to Den to produce the gift, but the younger man did not move. He frowned and said, “Are you sure, dad?”

“Yes. Go and fetch it.” Mooney had thought that this would be his last day on Earth, but Ryan had given him a new lease on life.

Den nodded and walked away, and when he returned, he presented the gift to Ryan. “Mr. Jones, please take it.”

The gift turned out to be a card, and Ryan had no idea what it was. His brow furrowed and he asked, “What is this?”

“It’s a platinum card for Wood Corporation,” Mooney explained. “There are only three in Edmonton and this is one of them. With this card, you can shop for free in all of the stores that are owned by my family.”

“This is too much!” Ryan exclaimed. “I can’t take this any more than I could have taken the cash.  Even if I wanted to – which I don’t – it would be unethical!”

Ryan’s refusal made Den feel uncomfortable, so he turned to his father for direction.

Mooney smiled at Ryan and said, “Please take it. You saved my life, so I must give you something in return. That is the way I was raised. Please, do not embarrass me in front of my son.”

Given that Mooney was an old man and that he had just recovered, Ryan decided not to haggle with him. After all, he could simply take the card and not use it. By doing this, he could appease the man without doing anything untoward. “Alright then.” He accepted the card and said, “Thank you, sir. Now, if you don’t mind, I should get going. I have a busy day ahead of me.”

By now, a crowd had gathered, and they watched in awe as Ryan walked down the corridor. They were all thinking about what an amazing young man he was.

The hospital’s president, Emily Ross, breathed a sigh of relief. She had been incredibly nervous about Mr. Wood being treated at the hospital. Whichever way things went, there would be a ton of publicity. Since he lived, the publicity would be so good that people would come from far and wide to be treated by their star surgeon. If he had died, though, heads would have rolled, and the hospital would have likely gone under.  “Thank God for Dr. Ryan Jones,” she muttered. “I don’t know how he did it, but I am glad to have him on my team.”

***

After a busy day of work, Ryan went to the bus stop to try and catch a bus home. However, an hour passed, but no bus showed up. This was frustrating, and it suddenly occurred to him that he should buy a car. He had passed the driving test while in college but he had never been able to afford a vehicle. Back then, his girlfriend, Mandy Brown, had made fun of him because he was poor. She had called him a ‘w*********h Bum’ and a sodomite, and her words had cut like a knife, leaving him scarred for life.

“Who’s the sodomite now?” he chuckled. Whatever car he bought now would be better than anything she would ever own. Initially, he had intended to never use the card that Mooney had given him, but the temptation was just too great to ignore.

There was a car shop that was owned by the Woods’ family down the road from the hospital, and he was there within a matter of minutes. He was in the best mood of his life, but as he walked through the door someone called his name and his grin turned to a scowl. He recognized the voice right away. It belonged to Mandy Brown, his ex-girlfriend.

“What are you doing here?” she sneered. It was apparent from her tone of voice that she still saw him as a w*********h Bum.

 Ryan and Mandy had dated a lot back in college, but she had always refused to make out with him. This was because she despised the poor and favored the rich. He was not good enough to kiss, apparently, but he was good enough to be taken advantage of. Right after their graduation ceremony, she broke up with him, and it had broken his heart.

Back in college, Ryan had taken several part-time jobs to make money so that he could pay for Mandy’s extravagant life. She had meant the world to him. He had been a fool, but he had not seen it until it was much too late.

Kevin Miller was standing with Mandy. He had been one of their classmates, and when he saw Ryan, he smirked. “Are you an ex-boyfriend of Mandy?” he asked. “What a schmuck!”

“You seem proud to be dating a loose woman.” Ryan laughed and said, “You must be low on the totem pole…”

“You bastard!” Kevin’s face turned red from anger and he said, “I dare you to “Say that again!”

“What?” Ryan shrugged. “That you seem to be proud to be dating a loose woman, or that you are low on the totem pole? What is the problem? Does the truth hurt?”

Ryan’s sarcasm wounded Mandy’s vanity. She remembered how she had broken up with him, and how he had begged her not to go.

“Apologize to her!” Kevin shouted! “If you don’t, I will ask the security guards to kick you out.”

Kevin was a rich young man. His family owned a medium-sized company in the city, and back in college, he had been known for looking down on poor people.

Ryan smiled and said, “Go ahead. Call security. But it will be your ass hitting the curb, not mine.”

When Mandy heard that, she began to laugh.

“Where did you get this confidence?” Kevin wondered. “It is ridiculous. You sound like a Shih Tzu barking at a Pit Bull!”

“We’ll see,” Ryan said.

“Have it your way,” Kevin snapped his fingers, and he wandered away to find a security guard.

Verily, Kevin returned with a guard, and Mandy glared at Ryan as they approached. “This is going to be fun to watch!” she exclaimed.

The security guards were holding nightsticks, and when they saw Ryan, the leader of the group said, “Sir, please leave. We don’t want any trouble, but you are not welcome here.”

Mandy stood akimbo and said, “There you have it! He asked you to go, so you should go.”

Ryan pointed to Kevin and said, “How about if I stay and he goes?”

“Excuse me?!?!” The head of the security team was taken aback. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Miller is a VIP guest.”

“What makes you think I am not a V.I.P. guest?” Ryan asked. “It could be that I am a double V.I.P. guest. Did you ever think of that? It seems that you obviously do not know who you are talking to!”

Everyone in the room laughed. The head of the security team took a step towards Ryan and said, “No offense, but I don’t think that you are a V.I.P. guest, let alone a double V.I.P guest. Now, please quit wasting my time and leave!”