As she spoke to the Nurse in her usual medical language, he gathered some courage to speak up. ‘Doctor, I am sorry for my behavior. I got too nervous at the sight of the ICU. It is my first time in a hospital, I hope you don’t mind.’ If there’s one thing that mellowed Tanya every single time, it was an apology. ‘It’s okay. Patients do get nervous,’ although not even a fraction as much as this guy, she thought.
‘I am Luv,’ he said, tepidly extending his right hand expecting a handshake. ‘You can take rest now Luv. Everything seems to be alright except your injury. The Nurse will give you the medicines and I will return in the evening to see if we can move you out of the ICU,’ she said while completely ignoring the handshake. She informed the Nurse about some medicines before heading out. Once Tanya left, Luv asked the Nurse if the Doctor wasn’t feeling well. Before the Nurse could answer he told her how the Doctor needs medicine more than he does!
In the afternoon, while she was driving to another hospital, Parag called up to break a bad news that would worsen her day. ‘I am taking two days off to visit my home. My parents want me to meet a couple of prospective brides.’
That was a major blow. ‘How could he do this,’ was her first thought. But she kept it to herself. She felt betrayed and didn’t want to say anything. He realized it, ‘Tani, come on. Don’t even think I am getting married or anything. It’s just something I am doing to buy both of us more time till we figure out how we want to take our relationship forward.’
She didn’t have much to add to the conversation other than making sure her eyes stayed dry and her heart stopped pounding. The call was over in no time but it left her tormented and equally annoyed.
Tanya felt too dejected to be taking any more appointments for the day. She went on to finish off her existing appointments halfheartedly.