35 His Gentle and Caring Warmth
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to grab you...” he said as he quickly released my wrist.
We were safe on the sidewalk, but his car was still parked there in the middle of the road. I wondered why the cops were not here yet or why every car that was passing by wasn’t honking their horns. That was when I realized the model and the probable price tag of his limited-edition sports car. Now it all made sense.
What he did after made me scream. While I had my eyes on his car, the man had bent down in front of me and was starting to lift the skirt of my dress up.
“What are you doing?!” I cried out in shock as I pulled the fabric of my skirt out of his hand.
How dare he?!
“Sorry! This isn’t what you think it is...” he started making excuses.
“What I think it is?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes and glared at him accusingly.
“I’m a doctor. I was just going to see your injuries. You fell so I assumed that you skinned your knee...” he explained calmly.
That wasn’t what I was expecting. Maybe good guys that drove around expensive sportscar still exists in this day and age? Not that I’ve met one before...although he does look somehow familiar...
.....
“Oh...” I whispered. That was all I managed to say.
Instead of getting mad, the man just laughed cheerfully before he smiled charmingly at me. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t feel my heart skip a beat just now.
“I’m actually on the way to the hospital...for work. If you’d like, I can drive you there and get you patched up...” he offered kindly.
“Ok...thank you...” I heard myself say in a daze as I found it hard to tear my eyes away from his vivid green eyes.
“Great then. This way,” he said as he gestured for me to follow him to his car.
My knees hurt and I couldn’t walk properly although I did try to deal with the pain. I guess the pain must have showed on my face because he stopped to offer me his arm to lean on. He supported me all the way to his car and helped me get in.
“Thank you for helping me,” I said when he got into the driver’s seat.
I guess we should really be on our way so that his car would no longer block the road. Now that we were alone in the enclosed space of the car’s interior, the atmosphere started to get awkward. Just a few days ago I was so good at talking to strangers; however, I felt so tongue-tied now.
“I guess I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Adrian,” he said before he started driving.
“I’m Elena...” I said before smiling a little at him while conveniently leaving out my last name.
That reminded me that I had to get my last name changed now that George is gone. My parents have disowned me too, so I guess I’ll have to go back to using the last name of my birth parents. The thought of that made me feel good about myself. Returning to my roots, finally.
“Nice to meet you, Elena,” Adrian said warmly as he smiled over at me.
I found myself smiling back and it wasn’t for politeness’s sake. After a short drive, we arrived at the hospital that he was working at, and he helped me out of the car. To my surprise, I found myself in the emergency room while Adrian told me to take a seat before turning to give some instructions to a nurse.
“Excuse me, I can handle the case for you...” a middle-aged man said humbly as he came to Adrian’s side.
“That’s not necessary. I’ll take care of her. You can deal with your other cases,” Adrian replied with a kind smile.
The nurse from earlier returned with some tools and medicine that Adrian probably requested for earlier. He crouched down in front of me and began inspecting the wounds on my knees. I lifted my skirt a little above my knees for him to get a better look. For some reason, I felt slightly embarrassed at having him looking and treating my injuries. His hand on my legs were gentle and he seemed very focused on delivering the best treatment.
“It’s going to sting a little...” Adrian said comfortingly, as if he was addressing a child.
“I’ll be ok. Thank you...” I replied softly.
I watched from above as he took care of my wounds attentively. To be honest, I never knew that patching up some scrapes like this would take so many steps and so much time. Since I had all the time in the world to burn now, I didn’t mind him taking his time at all. While he was working on my wounds, my mind started to wonder where I had seen him before. He does look familiar but...I don’t think I’ve met him before so...
“There you go. All done,” he announced proudly.
“Wow. Thank you, really...” I said as I smiled up at him.
Slowly, I got up from my seat and suddenly, there was an awkward moment between us as we stood facing each other without knowing what to say. I should go pay for my treatment and leave. Adrian looked like he wanted to say something but when he opened his mouth, we were disturbed by a young girl’s voice calling out to him.
“Daddy!”
Adrian turned around at the sound of a small girl’s voice. I turned to see a small girl dressed in a fluffy light purple dress running over his way. Adrian bent down to her level as she ran into his open arms.
“Millie...how was your sleep over? Did Nina’s parents drive you here?” he asked as he patted her head adoringly.
“Yup...” she replied in a sweet voice.
Adrian has a daughter. I see, so he’s married. He isn’t wearing a ring though.
Why are you observing him, Elena? It doesn’t matter whether he’s married or not. It’s got nothing to do with you. Your mission for the day is to go to the supermarket!
–To be continued...
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