Page 17 of Rounds
“Jaunté . . . nigga. Do you listen at all? You started all this shit and now you can’t take what you dished out first. I’m going to be moving out, but I have to pack my shit. There is nothing we can work on. I don’t trust you to be faithful, not after the shit I overheard and found out from your coworker. I’m just glad I found out about your ass before things went any further between us. I hate that I even moved in with you, because now I have to find somewhere else to live.”
He nodded as he turned his lip up. “Gone ’head and get out now then. Pack yo’ shit and leave today.”
“And go where?”
“That ain’t my problem. You should have kept yo’ slick ass comments to yourself. Go back to wherever you’ve been the past couple of days.”
He walked away from me, leaving me stunned. He was the one who fucked up. Why was this all on me? I took a deep breath and went to the room we used to share and started pulling shit out of drawers. I grabbed my luggage from the closet and fit allmy undergarments and hygiene items in one of them, being sure to put liquids in plastic bags in case they spilled.
I packed as much of my shit as I could get into five suitcases, then put my clothes in garbage bags. I wanted to cry, but I wouldn’t give his ass the satisfaction. I only had big items that I would have to come back for, like my bookshelves, treadmill, and lamps. This wasn’t what I expected. I thought we would talk like adults and get shit out in the open. I knew we would yell and argue, but I thought he’d be a little more accountable for his fuck ups than this.
Once I loaded my car, I realized I could take my table lamps as well. Thankfully, I had a huge trunk for the suitcases, and the six garbage bags of clothes fit in my back seat. I could put the lamps in the front. I went back inside to get them.
“You gon’ leave your key?”
“Not until I get all my shit. I still have three bookshelves and a treadmill in there. I’m not leaving my shit here. I just can’t fit them in what I’m driving. Once I get everything, I will gladly leave your key.”
I rolled my eyes and walked off. When I got to my car, I yelled, “Fuck!”
I had to think about where I would find a room at. If I didn’t find anywhere to stay, I would have to stay at the damn hospital. It was the tourist season around here, so the pickings for rooms were slim. People loved the mountains and preservation parks. There were ski slopes and all kinds of outdoorsy shit for people to enjoy. After driving off, I allowed the tears I had left in me to escape. My life was all the way fucked up.
Ihadn’t heard from Delaney in three days. I’d messaged her every day, hoping she would respond. I knew she had shit to deal with, but I hoped she would have time to at least say hey. Apparently not. I walked into the nursing facility to visit with my dad. He’d gotten discharged from the hospital yesterday. Thankfully, he was doing well. I was scared as shit that I was going to lose him for a minute.
I’d come to learn that no matter how much I knew, or how many life-saving procedures I could do, if it was someone’s time to go, there was nothing I could do to stop it. I had firsthand experience with God having the final say. So, after his lung collapsed, I was really on edge. Plus, I knew that he wasn’t scared of dying. He wanted to die. His reasons for wanting to, though, made me feel horrible. I didn’t need him to worry about my financial status. He felt guilty about letting that health insurance lapse.
I didn’t care about that. While I thought about how much easier things would have been had he had it, I never held it against him. I was grateful he was still alive. Losing Mom was hard enough. Had I lost them both, I would have been inconsolable for months. Sometimes I still cried when I thought about her. She was a great mom and was looking forward to me finding the woman for me so I could give her some grandkids.
I slowly shook my head at the thought as I entered my dad’s room. When he turned to me, he smiled big. “Hey, Doctor Israel. How was your day?”
I slightly rolled my eyes and chuckled. “Hey, Dad. How are you? My day was fine.”
“I’m good. It doesn’t look like your day was fine. You look somewhat irritated.”
“Well, if people would listen, it would cause less drama. There was a lady in the E.R. that they needed my expertise for . . . or my opinion, as they say. They wouldn’t call me if all they thought I had was an opinion. Anyway, I told them to run a cat scan because of her headaches, and they did. When I looked at it, I could see that there was an extremely small bleed. I don’t even know how I saw that. Of course, they disregarded it, and the bleed ended up fully manifesting itself before I could leave for the day.”
He shook his head. “One day they gon’ learn.”
“I’m getting tired of dealing with people like that. If I’m not in charge, I’m not wasting my time with these other doctors. I do what I do for the patients, but if the medical staff in charge of their care don’t listen, it makes me feel like I’m wasting my time. I hate that.”
“I understand, son. Have you heard from Delaney?”
“No. That’s another reason I’m a little frustrated.”
“Maybe you didn’t put it down right the other night.”
My eyebrows lifted. “What’chu say, old man?”
“You heard me. Was she satisfied? I know you didn’t stay the night with her and not have sex. You’re my son. I know you well.”
I rolled my eyes. “She was satisfied several times. I think she’s running scared. She’s scared of being betrayed again. I mean, I know I don’t have the best reputation, but one thing I’ve never been was a liar. I gave that woman so much sensitivity I barely recognized my damn self.”
He chuckled. “Well, if you did as good of a job as you say you did, she’ll be back. Just give her time. She’s going through a tough time right now.”
“Yeah. I just hate being ignored. She could just say,hey, now isn’t a good time. I’m okay, but I’m not in the mood for conversation.I sent flowers to her office with a note for her to call me, and still . . . nothing. I feel like I’m about to lose my mind over this woman. It’s crazy.”
“It’s not crazy. I think you’ve finally found the one. You just have to convince her of that fact. She’s going through a breakup though. She desperately needs time to herself to gain clarity. She needs to be comfortable with her new normal. She has to get to know herself again outside of a relationship. You can’t rush the process, son.”
“I guess you’re right. I’ll do my best to chill out until she comes around. I’m still going to send her flowers once a week.”
