The Doctor's Playmate

Chapter 24- A Surprise

‘See you in New York!’

I couldn't help but beam wide as I read Sophie’s message. Time flew swiftly, and I'd see Sophie again in just a few days. Today I'd be traveling to New York for a shift at another hospital. Elisha, Almira, and Gideon would accompany me and stay at our Mansion.

‘I can’t wait to see you!’ I typed my reply before I continued packing up my things. A little while later, I left my room to join everyone downstairs.

“Hey, Sammy!” Elisha greeted me as I joined them in the breakfast hall. She looked healthy indeed. Kyle’s decision to bring Nana worked well.

“My-my!” Gideon seconded.

“Hey, my lovelies!” I smiled back, kissing Gideon on his hair. “Good morning, Nana!” I greeted the old lady.

“Hello, Samuel! It’s great to see you again,” Nana replied.

“Where is Sam?” I asked, looking around. I spoke with her last night, and she shared the details she and Felicity had been working on.

“She left early. Ms. Felicity called her early,” Elisha answered. “She said we will meet her in your New York mansion tomorrow.”

I nodded, smiling at Elisha. All the revelations from Sam made sense now. “I see…” I somehow knew why, but I had to keep my mouth shut since everything about Felicity and Elisha’s possible connection wasn't clear yet. “How are you, though? You looked better,” I asked Elisha while serving the food on my plate.

My brother Kyle hadn’t been around since he returned here with Nana. I bet he was still resting his battered body. The day he went to Elisha’s town to pick up the lady was when he received beatings from Ferdi, Nana’s husband.

“I am feeling better and great. Nana helped me a lot!” Elisha answered, “And of course, this little boy is keeping me company!” she added, patting Gideon’s hair.

I smiled at her and little Gideon, who was eating his food silently. Our boy had already grown bigger than before.

“Oh, I’m glad to know. Sophie is flying back soon!” Nana said again.

“Yes! I will pick her up from the airport tomorrow.” Elisha added.

I chuckled. “Yes, Sophie mentioned that. I asked her, but she said you’ll pick her up from the airport, and you’ll visit Layla.”

“Yes, but the day after tomorrow! I am so excited to see my mom!” Elisha giggled.

I laughed. “Yes, Sophie is indeed your mom!”

Elisha and Sophie were truly inseparable. The latter was indeed friendly. She had spent most of her days relaxing and chatting with her newfound friends in her cousin Erin's workplace. She met new people and also babysat children living around the area.

Sophie told me why she had to go to a small town, abruptly changing her plans. She made me promise not to mention anything to Elisha. Sophie vaguely told me how her ex-boyfriend tormented her. I was aware of her troubles years ago, and I hadn’t spoken to her about it. Fortunately, Sophie mentioned it first. She didn't go on to the details, but she gave me a word that she would come out clean once she returned. However, I shared it with Sam, and she promised to help me dig up some details about the case.

“Phie-phie?” I heard Gideon utter, breaking my train of thought.

“Yes, Dion!” I snickered, seeing how messy his face was from the pasta sauce. “You will see her soon!”

“Yes! We play peekaboo!”

“Oh, sure! I’ll play with you too!”

“I’ll join you!” Elisha raised her hand.

“Me too!” Almira said.

We all continued chatting, and soon we prepared to leave the city. We all bade goodbye to Nana, who would return to her town to check on her husband and Houston’s mansion.

A few hours later, we arrived in New York and headed straight to our family mansion. Mom and Dad welcomed us, and we all ate our lunch together.

I rested in my room right after because I would be all-nighters again. I kept turning and tossing since I hadn’t received any messages from Sophie. As far as I knew, she would return to the city and stay with Jose.

Now that I knew something was happening to her, I couldn't rest my mind. I thought about her and her trouble with Chase. I almost asked Elisha about the guy, but I stopped myself since I promised her not to say anything about her trip.

I ran my fingers through my thick hair and laid my back on the bed. I wanted to sleep, but it seemed impossible. Sophie’s voice seemed like a dose of drugs to me. I wished to lay beside her and kiss her endlessly. “Damn…” I mumbled, looking at my tent down south. Whenever I thought of her, my s****l needs wouldn’t stop unless I took a cold bath.

“Pffff…” I puffed. I picked up my phone to call her, yet as soon as I touched the screen, Sophie’s name popped up. “Finally, a voice message!”

“Hallo Doc Sammy! Elisha sagte, dass Sie gerade in New York angekommen sind! Danke, dass Sie meine Tochter beschützt haben!” Sophie in slowly albeit in giggling voice.

(Hello, doc Sammy! Elisha said you just arrived in New York! Thank you for keeping my daughter safe!)

I chuckled after hearing Sophie speak in her broken Deutsch. “Silly…” I mumbled, playing the rest of the voice messages.

“I can’t call you right now. I am video chatting with Diane and Mika. We were talking about the coffee business Mika will put up in New Jersey! She asked me if I could co-manage it with her, but unfortunately, I couldn’t since I’d be working alongside Sam! Anyway, let’s talk later! Erin, Aby, Mona, Luisa, and I will hike soon! Tschuss! Bis Bald, my gorgeous sweet guy!”

“My gorgeous sweet guy….” I murmured after hearing her last words.

I touched the screen and started recording my reply when suddenly, an unknown number registered on my phone. I scowled and checked the country code. It's a European digit. I decided to answer it.

“Hey, my gorgeous sweet guy Samuel! Thank God you answered it!”

I swallowed the invisible lump that quickly formed in my throat. “Demi?” I asked the obvious. It had been a while.

“Yes, my man…I am coming home soon. I can’t wait to see you, my love….”

I heaved a deep heavy breath. I didn’t expect her to call this time. Demi. She will be here soon. “Oh…” My throat was dry.

“Hey, you okay? You seemed shocked, love… Are you not happy to see me?”

I swallowed the hard lump in my throat. “I am surprised to hear it, Demi. When are you flying back?” I casually asked.

“Well, that’s a surprise!” Demi chuckled, “I will not tell you when exactly, but I’ll be with you soon!”

“Oh, Demi…stop….” For some reason, I was more bothered than delighted to see her.

“I know you hate surprises, but what can you do? Your fiancé loves surprises!”

Fiancé. I inwardly chuckled. We were not officially engaged though we had promised ourselves each other. We would wait for years, and it was part of our pact. An agreement that we both knew needed years ago, even when we both knew we f****d up. When she left, we promised Jess’s grave that we would love each other no matter what happened. I loved her back then. But I wasn't sure what I felt after missing and not seeing her for years.

“Whatever, Demi…” I nonchalantly mumbled, “Just come here and see me so we can catch up.”

“Yes, my love. Though it seems you are not interested in seeing me again, I’ll be knocking on your door soon.”

“Demi, come on!” I suddenly felt terrible about my reaction.

“See you, Sammy….” Demi’s sweet voice, as always. “Tschuss!”

I chuckled. “See you later, Demi sweety….” I hung up the phone and rested on my back. “Dang…” I muttered. Suddenly, my thoughts about everything got hardwired. Sophie and Demi. One was all about my past, and the other I considered to be in the present and possibly in the future. “Oh, Lord...” I rolled my eyes before closing them to get some sleep.

xx