Page 32 of You Were Invited
The reception nurse handed Annie a clipboard with a pen attached to a string of yellow yarn.
“Here. I’ll do the writing,” she said.
Grateful but irritated, he followed along and supplied his answers before she even had the chance to ask for them. The fact that there were no supremely embarrassing questions was a relief. And although he trusted Annie, it made him uncomfortable that she was learning so much about him.
“I would’ve thought you were younger, Julian.”
“How old do you think I am?”
“Late twenties. Early thirties at the most.”
Julian had turned thirty-seven around Thanksgiving. “I’m not old.”
Annie cracked a smile while she filled in his reason for visit. Her penmanship was curly and curvy. “I’m twenty-seven... by the way. But my birthday is in a few months.” She continued to fill out the chart. When she was done, she returned it to the front desk, and handed him back his cards.
Julian closed his eyes. A doctor would be with him in a few minutes.
“The last time I was in a hospital,” Annie said, “was because I tripped on a gopher hole at soccer practice. I missed the season.”
"Yeah?" Was she trying to distract him? He tried to keep the pain out of his voice, but he ended up sounding sarcastic, which wasn't his intention. He swallowed thickly. "The last time I was a patient in a hospital, my mom was doing all the leg work."
Annie giggled.
It was a fib, of course, but her laugh helped. He liked it when she laughed.
“I hated soccer, but my mom wanted me out of the house,” Annie continued. “I wanted to stay home so I could write and watch cook shows. I wished for practice to be canceled every day. I guess I got my wish. They even went to the Championships without me and everything. I wasn’t a sports kid.”
"I was a sports kid," Julian admitted.
"I would've thought you were one of the quiet kids who kept to himself."
That wasn’t too far from the truth. On a visceral level, he didn’t click with his teammates, but the last thing he wanted was to be at home. The jocks and cheerleaders could also be counted on if you needed a favor, and they always knew where the parties were going to be. Teachers also seemed happier to be around the sports kids than the non-athletes. “I loved it, but any excuse for me to cut class. I’d rather work with my hands than my head,” he replied, perhaps with more honesty than he wanted.Pain must be loosening up these lips.“I’m normally better with both.”
“Today just wasn’t your day,” she replied sympathetically. Annie looked like she wanted to ask him more questions, but a blonde-haired nurse called him before she had the chance.
“Julian Lincoln?” A young nurse in flower scrubs walked up with a wheelchair. Apparently someone had found one.
He stood up to move, and immediately was hit with a wave of dizziness. Annie stood up, and he nearly bumped into her before he plunked back down into his chair.
“Easy, easy.” The nurse and Annie helped Julian into the wheelchair. “Here, we’ll wheel you back and get you stitched and cleaned up, Mr. Lincoln.” The nurse turned to Annie. “Are you family?”
Annie shook her head. “I drove him here.”
“She’s unrelated,” Julian answered.
"You'll have to wait here, miss," the nurse said as her fingers brushed Julian's shoulder.
"I'll wait for you," Annie said, clasping her hands. "How long do you think?" she asked the nurse.
"We'll know more once we've assessed the damage. And the doctor’s busy." The nurse spun him around effortlessly.
Julian looked over his shoulder at Annie. She waved back at him.
Once they were behind a set of swinging doors, the nurse said, "Your name sounds familiar. Did you go to South Fork High School? Well, good chance you probably did if you ended up in our ward. But your name sounds familiar."
"Yeah, I went there." He stared forward.
"I’m Dee Croft and — well, I hope that name means anything…?"
