Page 11 of Pining for Pierce

Lying there, watching him sketch, until it was almost too dark to see, and listening to him talk about his hopes and dreams, I couldn’t get away from my own secret desires… the ones that I’ve harbored for the last few years. They all revolved around Pierce, and even though he barely knows I exist outside of the friend zone, I can’t help hoping that one day, he’ll wake up and see me for who I really am…

The woman who loves him more than anyone else ever could.

“Don’t do that, Christopher.”

I glance up as Mrs. Leyton comes out of Doctor Dodds’s office. She’s accompanied by her young son, who ought to be in school. Except the appointment was for him, so I guess he’s not feeling well. That said, he looks perfectly okay to me, and as she walks past my desk, he wanders over and kicks one of the chairs.

“Christopher… please!” She sounds exasperated, and looks as though she’s about to cry. I want to ask if she’s okay, but at that moment, Doctor Dodds comes out of his office and goes to her, whispering something. She nods her head and says, “I’ll try,” before she takes her son by the hand and leaves.

The doctor comes back, standing opposite me, and shakes his head. “If Mrs. Leyton doesn’t call to make an appointment in the next week or so, can you let me know?”

“Sure. But she could have booked it now, couldn’t she? If it’s a follow-up?”

“It’s not, and she needed to get home. There’s nothing wrong with her son. It’s her I’m worried about.”

“I see.”

“She’s at her wit’s end,” he says. “Between her ex-husband and her son, I think she’s close to breaking. And you didn’t hear me say that.”

I smile up at him. “Say what?”

He grins. “Well done.” I assume he’s about to go back to his office, but instead he leans on my desk. “Can I ask another favor?”

“Sure.”

“I’ve got a couple of calls I need to make. Do you think you could pick me up a turkey club sandwich from the deli?”

“Of course. Do you want me to go now?”

“Could you? I’ve got a one-thirty appointment, so I’ll need to eat as soon as I’ve made my calls.”

I get up, pulling my purse from the bottom drawer of my desk as he wanders back to his office. Doctor Shackleton went to lunch about ten minutes ago, complaining that his last appointment of the morning had over-run, so I don’t need to worry about him… which is something, and I head out the door.

It’s a warm day, and I walk along Main Street, stopping at the flower shop to admire the window display. It would be nice to have some fresh flowers on my desk, but Doctor Singleton objects to them. He made that clear to me when I suggested getting some not long after I started working for him and Doctor Dodds.

“That’s the last thing we need,” he said, rolling his eyes. “People with hay fever sneezing all over the place.”

He shook his head and stormed back to his office… and I considered myself as having been told. Flowers were a bad idea.

Even so, they look beautiful, and I stand for a moment, studying them, before I remember I’ve come out for a reason, and I turn and make my way along the street, getting to the deli in no time at all.

There are a few people waiting in line, and I join them, contemplating what to get for myself, wondering if I should go for a tuna melt, or a chicken salad. I’m hungry enough to eat both, but that would be greedy, and I weigh up which would be more filling, noticing a man who keeps turning around. He doesn’t seem to focus on anything in particular, and I wonder if he’s going to complain about how slow the service is, and is maybe looking for other customers to support him. I won’t be one of them, because I know why things are taking longer in here than they normally do. It’s because Diana Leyton isn’t here. This is where she works, and without her, they seem to be struggling.

The man gets to the front of the line, and doesn’t make any kind of protest, ordering a chicken caesar wrap, and taking a diet soda to go with it. He pays by card, and turns around, glancing at me before he exits the shop. There’s only one more person in front of me, and I kick myself for being so distracted that I still haven’t decided what I’m going to order, and after a few more seconds of indecision, I come down on the side of the tuna melt.

It doesn’t take long to prepare my order, and I pay in cash, waiting for my change, and then leave the shop, my stomach grumbling in anticipation of my delicious lunch.

“Hi there.”

I jump out of my skin and turn around, coming face to face with the man who was just inside the deli. He’s obviously waited out here, and I step back, putting some space between us.

“Hello,” I say, to be polite, although I’m pretty sure I don’t know him. He could be a patient, I suppose, although I don’t remember him, and I stare up into his light blue eyes, waiting for him to say something.

“Would you… Would you like to join me for coffee?” he asks, stammering over his request.

I wasn’t expecting that, and I feel myself blush.

“I can’t. Sorry. I’m on my way back to work with my boss’s lunch.” I hold up the bags containing our sandwiches, just to prove the point.

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