Loving Him

Chapter 28

There was no getting used to the feeling of unease that clouded her senses every time Sophie stepped into an hospital. She resisted the urge to cover her nose with her hand as she made her way to Dr. Andrew's office. She sometimes just hated the smell of hospitals, which was funny considering her profession.

She knocked on the door to his office. She'd had to lie to a nurse that it was urgent and it concerned Alex before she was finally allowed to go in. Apparently, Dr. Andrew was a very busy man but then Alex was a VIP- very important patient.

"Come in. Door's unlocked," she heard his booming voice call from inside. She heaved a sigh, trying to calm her nerves before opening the door.

She saw him almost immediately she stepped in. He was leaning back in his chair, arms poised in front of him like he was just about reaching out for something. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw her and slowly, he removed the glasses that was perched low on his nose.

"Hello, Sophie. I figured I'd be seeing you but I wasn't expecting you till tomorrow." He offered her a kind smile as he spoke, gesturing with his hand for her to take a seat.

"Good afternoon, doctor," she greeted amicably. There were two empty seats across from him so she took one of them. Replying to his statement, she said, "Actually, you won't be seeing me tomorrow. Or the day after."

He seemed confused at her words. "Why's that?"

She shrugged and told him honestly, "Alex doesn't want me there."

Her reply must have been enough an explanation because he gave a slight nod in response, saying nothing else. Then they both plunged into silence.

He waited for her to say something but when she didn't, he spoke, "I assume you're here for a reason?"

"Oh, ye-yes, I am," Sophie replied hastily, scolding herself internally for zoning off. Clearing her throat, she shifted in her seat so that her arms were now placed on the desk and she leaning slightly on them. She toned down her voice in a conspiratorial manner, "So the thing is, doctor... Alex won't tell me about this surgery and Raymond is kind of angry with me right now so I'm not getting anything from him either. You're the only other person I thought I could come to--"

"You want the details," he finished for her blankly.

She shut her mouth that had been halfway open and nodded. "That about sums it up."

He made a show of scratching his ear, obviously weighing his options. Sophie held her breath, waiting. She knew there was nothing she could do if he refused to tell her. He must have noticed her desperation though because he finally sighed, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Okay. About three months ago, Alex was involved in an accident. You know that already."

Sophie nodded, silently urging him to continue.

"While the accident in itself didn't incur much damage, we did discover during our tests that Alex had gastric polyposis."

"Oh." Sophie knew a bit about stomach polyps but her knowledge to some extent was limited. Her stomach knotted and she knitted her fingers together to stop them from shaking.

He must have noticed how she'd stiffened because her offered her a smile, "They're not malignant, Sophie. The polyps are not very large and hopefully, the surgery will get rid of them once and for all. His condition isn't exactly life threatening. "

That's the same thing you've always said. Sophie realized she'd said that out loud when the doctor winced, his back tensing. "I-I'm sorry, doctor. I didn't mean--"