Under Suspicion

Green-Eyed Monster

“Green-Eyed Monster”

Scene:  The following morning, in the patrol car, start of day-watch.

Earnest:  So, how was that fancy reception last night, the medical conference?  Did you enjoy mingling in Dr. Strickland’s world?

Wry:  How many times do I have to tell you—her name is Lauren?

Earnest:  (Laughs.)  Sorry, I just can’t get used to that.  The woman was my doctor, Pete; she spent four hours repairing blood vessels and minor arteries in my leg.  I was introduced to her as ‘doctor’ and that’s how I think of her.  But anyway, how was it last night?

Wry:  (Shrugs.)  It was... okay.

Earnest:  Just okay?  What, the food was bad?  They didn’t serve booze?  Dr. Strickland—Lauren—wore an ugly dress?  What?

Wry:  No, nothing like that.  Lauren looked great, as usual, and the reception itself was about as boring as I thought it would be, so that wasn’t unexpected.

Earnest:  So if the event itself was just as you predicted, then something must have happened there that made it ‘just okay.’

Wry:  I guess you could say that.

Earnest:  Okay, now we’re getting somewhere.  So what happened?

Wry:  (Sighs; checks traffic at cross-street.)  Two things.  Two separate things, which, independently, are insignificant.  But put the two together—literally, within minutes of each other—and, well, I gotta wonder.

Earnest:  So what were the two things?

Wry:  (Navigates around a woman unloading a stroller from the back of her car.)  The first thing was that Lauren ran into an old friend.  A fellow doctor, who of course looks like he should be on TV—and who apparently is gonna be in town for a week or so.

Earnest:  An ex-boyfriend?

Wry:  She says not.

Earnest:  You don’t believe her?

Wry:  Apparently they were childhood friends who haven’t seen each other much in recent years.  That part I believe.  But what they were in the past doesn’t always tell the whole story.

Earnest:  (Nods.)  Ah, so you’re thinking there could be a long-simmering spark there that never got ignited before, but now....

Wry:  It’s possible.

Earnest:  (Grins.)  I guess it was inevitable, Pete.  Eventually you were bound to get bitten by the green-eyed monster.

Wry:  (Exasperated; scans the residential street and surroundings.)  I’m not jealous.

Earnest:  You wouldn’t be jealous if Doctor—I mean Lauren—had feelings for another guy?

Wry:  I might be disappointed or unhappy, but if she prefers to be with some bone-jockey, then the last thing I want to do is try to keep her, which would make us both miserable.

Earnest:  Okay, so what about the other thing that happened?

Wry:  Well, not five minutes after she was talking with Doctor Handsome—and blushing about it, I might add—she asked me about the other night, when I went to Curley’s.