Feelings

Chapter 32

Melendez awoke the next morning and rolled over to face Lim, though she wasn't lying next to him at the moment. "Audrey?"

"In the bathroom!" she called.

Melendez smiled to himself as he pulled Lim's birthday present out from under the bed. She came out, and he smiled. "Happy birthday, Audrey." He handed her the package.

"Neil," she blushed, "you better not have paid a lot of money for this."

"Well, then you'll be severely disappointed," he admitted. She gave him a skeptical look as she unwrapped the gift, a 2014 San Francisco Giants World Series Champions autographed picture. "Figured it could be hung on the wall of that shrine to the San Francisco Giants you call a basement."

"Maybe on the wall of the living room for all to see would be better." She kissed him. "Thank you." She began to get dressed, though she noticed her jeans were a little tight, so she switched to her jogging shorts. "I have to run to Walgreens to pick up some prescriptions. Josh should be over soon. Please don't kick his ass no matter what he says. He's still my brother," warned Lim.

"Okay, I'll see you later," said Melendez. After Lim left, it wasn't long before Josh arrived, so Melendez answered the door when he knocked. "Josh."

"Neil," he greeted. Melendez stepped aside to let him into the house. "Where's Audrey?"

"She had to run to Walgreens to pick up get some prescriptions filled. She has inhalers and other stuff she has to use."

"Got you," said Josh. He stuck his hands into his pockets."Listen...about last night, I was way out of line with what I said to you. Audrey had every right to throw me out of the house."

"Apology accepted," said Melendez, though there was still tension between the two of them. "You want some beer or something?"

"You have coffee?" asked Josh.

"Sure do," said Melendez and went to start a pot. "So Audrey tells me you work for an advertising company in Dallas?"

"Mmhm," confirmed Josh. "And you do cardiothoracic surgery, correct?"

"Yes, sir," answered Melendez. "A lot different from trauma surgery, that's for sure."

They both sat down on the couch and stayed silent before Josh said, "You're a good guy, you know? It's not that I'm upset that you and Audrey are seeing each other...I just don't want to see her get hurt again."

"I know," said Melendez.

"I mean, me and Kelly, we sucked as a couple, but we're still on amicable terms. Kashal and Audrey? That was just ugly. She swore she was never going to fall for anyone again. Not to try to scare you off or anything."

"No, she said the same thing to me," Melendez remembered. "One of the reasons I never really told her how I felt until..." Melendez didn't finish his thought.

Josh nodded understandingly. "Thank you...for saving her," said Josh.

"It wasn't just me. If it hadn't been for two of our quarantined residents, we would've had a different outcome," admitted Melendez.

Josh's face looked grim. "I guess I said what I said last night because I feel guilty for not coming to see her."

"You wouldn't have been able to get near her while she was in isolation. After she was moved to the ICU and then a regular room, she still really wasn't up for visitors," said Melendez.

Josh didn't say anything for several moments. "I never thought it could happen to Audrey like it did my friend."

"I'm sorry?" asked Melendez for clarification.

Josh took a deep breath. "During the SARS epidemic in 2003, a friend from primary school in Taiwan got SARS. He didn't make it. Audrey and I were so scared for our family and friends back home. We were grateful to be living here in the United States. I never dreamed that Audrey would get SARS stateside. Since I'm considered her next of kin at the hospital, when Dr. Andrews called me and told me about her condition..." Josh stopped to compose his thoughts. "Sure, we both fought like cats and dogs, sometimes physically even, but I just couldn't imagine her dying. But at the same time, I was petrified to come to San Jose because I didn't know if I would be able to handle seeing my badass sister so frail."

Melendez didn't say anything, but smiled sadly. "When I was seven and my sister Gabi was four, we were playing in our backyard. There was this one really tall tree that our parents told us not to climb: that it was too risky for us. I started climbing it anyway, and I was making fun of Gabi for not following suit. Finally, she started climbing so I'd stop teasing her." Melendez held back tears. "But it was too high for her. She fell out of the tree and suffered a traumatic brain injury. My family grew up with nothing, so we couldn't afford her treatments or medication. She now lives in a residential care facility here in San Jose. I remember seeing her lying in a hospital bed, wondering if she was going to live or going to die. I've never forgiven myself for teasing her about climbing that tree."

"It's why you became a doctor," commented Josh.

"One of them," admitted Melendez. "I think no matter how old they are, us older brothers feel the need to protect our little sisters."

Josh chuckled a little and nodded. "I feel like I didn't because I was too scared to come."

"Your sister's a fighter, Josh. There was no way she was going to let a deadly respiratory virus kill her."

Josh couldn't help but smile. "Well, I can't say I'm ever not going to be protective of Audrey, but I'm glad she has a man like you in her life."

"Believe me, she doesn't need me; she chooses to be with me. I will never do anything to hurt her. As an older brother myself, I can't even begin to imagine what I would do to someone who hurt Gabi. I expect you to be the same way with Audrey, or you'd suck as a brother."

"Neil, I'm home," Lim said as she opened the front door. She took a whiff of the air and wrinkled her nose. "What the hell is that smell?"

"Coffee," answered Melendez.

"Oh," she said. "Well, are you boys okay?"

Josh and Melendez glanced at each other. "We're good," said Josh.

"Okay, well before we head to lunch, I have to pee again, even though I just went at the Walgreens, so if you'll excuse me."

Lim went upstairs and Josh turned to Melendez. "She's always been a little TMI on things."

"I've noticed," mentioned Melendez.

At the end of the day, after they had done Lim's birthday dinner and driven Josh back to the airport, Lim and Melendez arrived home to settle down for the night. "Did you have a good birthday?"

"Yes, thanks to you, and it was nice that Josh flew in for it. Glad to see you both getting along better," she smiled.

"I think if you hadn't chewed him out, that might not have been the case. But you must've enjoyed that chocolate cake, because you wolfed it down faster than both of us combined," said Melendez. Lim smirked again and kissed him.

Melendez deepened the kiss, but Lim pushed him off. "Neil, not tonight. It's been a really long day, and I've been kind of run down all week. Doctor said it could sometimes be a side effect of having had SARS."

Melendez was disappointed, but nodded understandingly. "All right. Good night, Audrey. Happy birthday, and I love you."

"Thank you, and I love you too."