A Soldier's Girl

Chapter 67:

Chapter 67:

Beth's View

Sitting in the waiting room of John's private practice, he unlocks the back door to the x-Ray room an turns on the light. As I'm about to get up, he comes back and scoops me up. Feeling his muscles in his arms constrict against my body makes me shiver and pant slightly. Setting me down on the metal table, he gently rolls up my pants leg on my right and and gently takes my shoe and sick off. I pray that my feet don't have an oder and they don't, 'Thank God,'!

"Okay, it need you to stay very still." He lays this thick rubber like pad on my upper legs and then goes back to take the picture. He snaps a few before coming out and repositioning my foot gently. After all is said an done, we sit there looking at each other, before words pass out lips.

"How long have you been doing this?"

"Since I was 20. Got an early start with my father. I love helping people and making a difference."

"Oh, that's kinda why I teach."

"What grade?"

"First. They can be a bit much at times, but then again, so can do tearing right?" He smiles at me with soft lips and piercing eyes.

"Yes, so I guess I should ask...is there someone in your life?" His tone is near silent and his eyes have dulled a bit.

"Yes..."

"Oh..." He seems dejected.

"My son, Jackson. He's nearly two." As if his face was a carousel, a bright smile comes across it and Beth doesn't know if this is cause she's single or that he likes kids.

"That's awesome. Where's he at now?"

"His father's across town for the weekend. I jump came from there actually. Had an oddly pleasant talk with his new younger girlfriend."

"Well least you're civil. How long have you two been separated? If you don't mind me asking?"

"For eight months now...its odd. He new me since I was born. We were best friends and now he's just...gone." I try not to dwell on it, but tears brush up into my eyes and I can't push them back down. "I'm sorry... it's so stupid..."

"It's not stupid...it's not." He gets up and comes closer. Tilting my chin up he forces me to look at him. His soft voice hums in my ears. "It's obvious you two were meant to be something. I doubt this was it. Everything will turn out right in the end. I promise."

"How can you know? You hardly know me and you don't know him." I gently remind him and he smiles softly.

"I just know. Call it a doctors intuition." He pecks my forehead with a burning kiss and goes back to the back room area. "Okay, so I see, like I guessed, a second degree sprain Ms. Greene. I recommend you stay off it for a few weeks and elevate it. I'll get you a brace and some crutches to use."

"Oh man..." I sigh and he just smiles at me.

"I'll be back with what you need and then, I'm taking you to dinner." I can't argue with myself that I like this guy. He's considerate, good looking, smart, friendly- the perfect package...but he's still not Daryl. Does that matter any more though?

Heading out to my truck, he helps me up into it and drives us to a nice diner on the edge of town and helps me out I the truck. Crutching into the place, we seat ourselves at a nice corner booth and look over the menus. His eyes keep gazing over top of his menu and I can see his cheeks perk up as he must be smiling behind his menu. I too can't contain my smile. It's been a long time since I felt this appreciated and wanted. After ordering, we wait for our food to come out and he just can't take his eyes off of me.

"I'm sorry I'm staring....It's a problem when you have to physically look at people every day of your life. I used to be in a chorus when I was younger," He pauses and clears his throat, "I was always told to always look at the conductor and never away from her. It was awkward, staring at someone for almost an hour while you sing songs of love, death, and hope. But after eight years of being in that choir and several more of doctoring, I hate to admit I can't break staring."

"Haha, it's quite all right. I must admit I sometimes stare my students down by accident. Sometimes you just go of into your own world and you don't realize what you're doing." I fiddle with my hands and he smiles small like.

"I was going to say, This staring is different, if it's not being too bold of me. I stare at you because you are beautiful and something I fear to lose if I look away." Raising my eyebrows, my lips part slightly and my heart takes on an arrhythmia unlike anything else.

"Oh, my..."

"I'm sorry." He scolds himself and I reach across the table, gently touching his hand.

"Don't be...its been a along time since I heard something so beautiful said to me."

"That's absurd. Not to spoil you, but you should be told how beautiful you are everyday. You know that...Don't you?" Looking at my hands I notice my wedding ring finger has a tan line of where my rings sat. I shake Daryl from my head immediately. He is not going to ruin this moment.

"I don't know...How are you available? I would of thought a guy as handsome and as kind and romantic as you would be taken or presumably into men- not to stereo type anything, that's just how it seems to work in many cases I find." He raised his palms to me and smiled.

"I'm not gay, I swear. I too have had my heart broken. Not so recently, it's only been two years, but boy do I miss those blue eyes."

"You wanna talk about her?"

"I haven't in a long time. I fear I've always been the one to blame for our break up."

"What happened...if it's not prying."

"It's not." He sighs and brushes his hand through his hair and leans back in his bench seat. "I just found this amazing girl. Prettiest young thing I've ever seen before. I was still working under my father at the time, when he came in for a check up. She'd been feeling sick and distraught over something and I wasn't sure what until I tested her blood and found out she was pregnant. She had been raped and was alone at this time for her Mother had died and her father very ill."

He pauses and thinks over the rest of the story and I allow him this time.

"After I comforted her in my fathers office for a few moments, she need fresh air so I took her to get lunch cause the poor thing hadn't eaten in almost a week and I couldn't possible let her starve. So sitting in a cafe, talking mildly over lunch, she confided in me for many things. She'd sit and flick her brown growing bangs out of her eyes and wipe her tears away with the side of her eyes. I think it was in that moment, I fell in love with her."

"What happened?"

"Well, she wanted to keep the baby, which was fine. I would see her as she came in for check ups and we'd have lunch, which soon turned to dinner and then turned to spending the night watching old Cary Grant movies and laying in bed discussing the baby. I grew attached to the baby quickly and we both expressed our love towards each other. We moved into my apartment and started talking about how the baby was going to be raised..." He pauses and the silence weighs heavy in my ears. "One night when we were sleeping, she woke up with a pain radiating in her....she miscarried the baby and I felt helpless. I'm a doctor, I should have known how to prevent it...but we lost it. We lost him."

I tear up, thinking back to how we lost Joel and how terrible it was on us, on me. I felt terrible for the woman and John.

"After that, she was sadder, and distant. One day we just lost all our marbles. Screaming and yelling and causing a ruckus over everything and that was it...I said terrible things to her. I stupidly blamed her for the lose, when it was no one's fault. I still wake up at night to her scream of pain. And all I can do is say what I said that night, 'It's okay Espen. It's gonna be alright.'"

My eyes widen and my mouth drops. Espen. Daryl's Espen, no doubt.

Holy shit.