Obsession With My EX-wife

Chapter 17: Catherine Gets A New Patient

Leonard's driver was waiting outside. When he saw Vivian, he opened the back door, and in a respectful tone of voice, he said, "Miss Green, please get in the car."  

Vivian glared at the driver. She resented him because, if he hadn't been available, Leonard would have had to drive her home. The driver sensed Vivian's disregard of him and kept silent. 

Vivian felt uncomfortable in the back seat. She rolled down the window, and a gust of wind messed up her long hair, so she put it into an elastic. Then, as she was pulling her ponytail tight, her fingers brushed against her earings, and an idea came to her. She paused briefly, smiled, and gave her hair one final tug. Now that her hair was out of her face, Vivian took out her earrings and slipped them into the gap between the car's seat and back. 

The driver was paying attention to the road, so he didn't notice what she had done. Once the earrings were hidden, Vivian began to scratch at the seat with her nails, and she didn't stop until the driver pulled up in front of her apartment. 

The driver looked at Vivian in the rear-view mirror and said, "Miss Green, we've reached our destination." 

Vivian got out of the car and said, "Thank you. Be careful on your drive back." The driver felt a little strange, but he said nothing, and he drove away as soon as Vivian was out of the car. 

***

The next day, Catherine was woken up by the sound of her phone ringing. She turned over impatiently and covered her ears with a pillow, but the caller did not give up. Whoever it was, they kept calling and calling and calling until she finally rolled back over and picked up her phone. She checked the caller ID, and when she saw that Leonard was the one calling, she sent him a quick text message: "Yes. What do you want? I'm trying to sleep!"

Leonard: "You haven't gotten up yet? Talk about lazy bones!" 

Catherine: "Why are you calling me so early in the morning? What's your problem?!"

Leonard: "I'm waiting for you downstairs." 

Catherine scowled at her phone and typed: "f**k off!" After that, she turned her phone to silent and went back to sleep. Then she laid back in bed and went back to sleep - only to be woken up an hour later by her alarm clock. And so it goes - she thought as she turned the alarm off. 

Catherine sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She vaguely remembered her conversation with Leonard, and she was not even sure whether it had been a dream or if it had been real... 

 Catherine checked her phone, and after reading the messages, she realized that she no longer felt sleepy. He should be gone by now, though – she thought – Right? She got up, walked carefully to the window, looked down, and saw Leonard's car parked on the street. "What should I do?" she muttered, and the answer followed the question: "Ignore him and hope that he goes away." She waited for more than an hour, and then she walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. After that, she got dressed and went downstairs.

Leonard came over as soon as he saw Catherine. He said, "Grandpa is waiting for you at the castle. Let's go."

Catherine looked at Leonard and said, "I said that I would visit your Grandpa today, but I didn't say I would see him in the morning. My world doesn't revolve around you and your family, you egomaniac! I have a lot of other things to do and people to see first. Furthermore, his test results are at the hospital, so I have to go there first!"

Leonard laughed and said, "It sounds like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed. What happened? Did someone piss in your Corn Flakes?"

Catherine's face turned red at the thought of someone urinating over her breakfast bowl. She glared at Leonard and said, "Don't be ridiculous! I just don't like being woken up earlier than I have to be." 

Leonard smirked and said, "Get in the car. I'll take you to the hospital." 

Catherine stopped a taxi, got in the car, and without looking back, said, "There's no need." 

Leonard frowned as he watched Catherine close the door on their conversation. 

***

When Catherine arrived at the hospital, before she had even donned her scrubs, the department head summoned her to his office. Then, when she arrived, he handed her a file. He gave her a serious look and said, "This patient was admitted last night. I want you to take charge of his care."." 

Catherine looked over the patient's profile and said, "No problem." 

The department head nodded his head dismissively and said, "That is all. You can go now."

When Catherine left the office, she ran into Zoe, and she showed her the file she'd just received. "Do you know anything about this patient?" she asked. Catherine knew that if the department head was asking for her to handle a patient personally, their case must be uniquely challenging in some way.  

Zoey glanced at the file and said, "I recognize this kid. 

 "Dr. Winston, has the department head asked you to take charge of this patient's care?"

From Zoey's expression, Catherine could tell that this patient's case was complicated. "He did," she said, "but what's wrong with this patient?"

Zoey: "This kid was admitted last night. I heard that, even though his family is rich, he has a bad attitude. The nurses are saying that he's anti-social and that he refuses to let any of our doctors or nurses look at him."

Catherine smiled and said, "I see. Thank you. You may go ahead and get back to work."

Before carrying on with her day, Zoey said, "Let me know if you need any help with him."

Catherine: "If I do, I will. Now move along." 

After Zoey left, Catherine stopped smiling. She wasn't sure if she could handle the patient she'd been given. After all, she was not good at communicating with children.