Page 32 of Paging Dr. Hart
“Well, well, well, who do we have here?” he asks, stepping closer to where I stand by the couch. After a quick glance up and down, he turns an approving gaze to Ethan.
I frown, offended, about to respond harshly, when Ethan interjects. “Curt, this is Tiffany, my fellow resident. We’re hereworkingtogether.” I don’t miss the emphasis he places on the word.
Ethan’s amber eyes meet mine. He sends me a silent plea to calm down. I take in a deep breath, puff out my cheeks, and blow it out. I kick my foot at the threadbare carpet a couple of times and try to control my indignation.
“Tiffany,” Ethan continues his introduction, “this is my brother Curtis, Curt for short.”
I nod my hello, undecided if I like this sibling of Ethan’s.
Curt looks disappointed to find out I’m only Ethan’s co-worker. He shakes his head sadly and tells me, “They didn’t have residents as pretty as you when I was doing neurosurgery. I can tell you that much.”
“Oh…thanks?” I say awkwardly, unused to flattery. “Wait. Aren’t you training in California?” I furrow my brow, confused by his sudden appearance.
“Yeah. I’m at Stanford, getting my Ph.D. in regenerative medicine. I’ve got a few days off, so I came back to surprise my little bro and visit some old friends.” He shoots a warm, affectionate glance at Ethan.
“Oh!” My hand flutters up to my chest as I turn to Ethan. “I can’t believeit never occurred to me before. Your parents live here. Are you going to go visit them? Are they coming here, too?” The thought of meeting Ethan’s parents sparks a minor panic in me.
Curt answers for Ethan. “Our folks are away on a cruise. Mediterranean. It’ll last the entire month.” He turns to Ethan. “You timed that one on purpose, huh?” He jabs Ethan in the ribs with a sharp elbow. It must hurt because Ethan winces.
Curt tells me, “Our dad can be a bit of a—” He leaves the rest unsaid, with me trying unsuccessfully to fill in that blank.
“It’s just a coincidence that I’m here while they’re gone,” Ethan grunts out, body curling around his wounded ribs.
I glance between the brothers, noting their similarities and differences. “How far apart are you? In age, I mean.”
Again, Curt jumps in. “A year and a half. But in elementary school, they moved me forward a grade. So we were always two grades apart.” He claps a heavy hand on Ethan’s shoulder and squeezes hard. “Ethan told you I’m wicked smart, right? Got into Mensa when I was six,” he brags, pushing out his broad chest and throwing his shoulders back.
Surprised, I look to Ethan for confirmation, who rolls his eyes and nods. “It’s annoyingly true. He really did test in when he was six.”
I do a double take when I see Curt’s wide smirk. It’s a mirror image of the one Ethan uses to annoy me.
Curtis flings an arm around Ethan’s shoulder, dragging Ethan down to his height. “I’m a good big brother, though. Did Ethan ever tell you about the time I kicked a kid’s ass for him?” Delight spreads over his face when I shake my head no.
He continues his story, keeping a firm hold on Ethan, who has begun to squirm. “It was all on account of Ethan’s braces and his neck gear.” Curtis chortles. “Remember that, Ethan? How you had to wear that neck thing for an entire year? Goddamn ugly contraption.” Ethan is turning a shade similar to a ripe tomato. “Anyway, I’m allowed to tease Ethan about it because I had to live with his skinny ass. But when another kid in his class started heckling him, calling him metal mouth and stuff like that, I stepped in. I gavethe kid a reason to get braces of his own. Popped him right in the old kisser.” He waves a fist in the air.
It’s probably not the right response, but I laugh at the story, which makes Curtis beam and earns me a betrayed look from Ethan.
“That’s funny. I did a similar thing in school. Cracked a kid’s tooth for tormenting my friend,” I admit without thinking, picturing Dominic crying as the principal pulled me off him.
Two sets of amber eyes blink at me in astonishment.
“What?” I say defensively. “It’s okay when a guy does it, but not a girl?”
Curtis eases up on Ethan, allowing him to stand to his full height. Rubbing his neck, a sheepish Ethan admits, “That is kind of a double standard.”
“Damn right it is!” proclaims Curt. He points to me. “You give ’em hell whenever you want, Red.”
Guess both brothers like to assign nicknames. I sigh inwardly, already knowing that I’m going to be called Red for the rest of the day.
The brothers continue to razz each other, alternating which one of them tells me silly stories about their childhood. They’re trying to outdo each other. Ethan ranges from looking mortified to happy. Curtis is hysterical, saying the most outrageous things. They’ve soon got me in stitches, laughing until my stomach hurts. I’m enjoying this brotherly interaction. As an only child, I’ve never seen siblings this close up before. It’s a bit like watching lion cubs play with each other at the zoo. The same rough housing with a hint of aggression.
We order in for lunch, play card games, and put on a baseball game to watch with beers in our hands. I contemplate giving the men time alone, but they automatically include me in every activity. It’s nice, being enveloped in their familiarity and treated almost like a family member.
At one point, when Ethan goes to the bathroom, Curtis tells me in a hushed voice, “You guys are lucky to have Ethan in your residency. He’s supersmart and hardworking. Plus, he’s nice, too nice if you ask me.”
Curt stares at me with calculating eyes, begging me to contradict him. I don’t. He continues, “When Ethan left here, several nurses cried. Real tears. Of course, some of them just wanted in his pants. Lucky bastard got the better looks, but still, they didn’t want him to leave. That’s how great he is.”
“Do you ever tell Ethan those things?” I whisper back, hoping Ethan will stay in the bathroom and not interrupt this conversation. “The nice things you just said about him, about being smart and hardworking.” I add, “Not the getting in his pants part.” Given the flatness of Ethan’s voice when he talks about his family, I have the impression he doesn’t always feel like he belongs with them. If he knew how Curt views him, it might heal some of that hurt.
