My Name is Joseph

Pearls and Handsome Men

I sat down on the hospital bed in the small, white room. It smelled strongly of antiseptics. I took a deep breath. For some reason the smell calmed my jittery nerves—or was it anticipation? I closed my eyes as my body relaxed, glad to have the distraction of trying to figure out what had caused my mind to find the smell of cleaner calming.

I tried a few moments, but when I came up blank, I just kept my eyes closed and allowed my mind to wander. Thinking about everything, the army, my new job, the simulations, God. I must have been very deep in thought because I did not hear that someone had entered the room until they spoke.

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Pearl Thomson looked up from her clipboard just long enough to grab the doorknob and walk into the third check-up room. She was a young woman, only nineteen, who during high-school had been split between the desire to be a doctor and the desire to be in the army. She had decided, therefore, to get her nurse's assistant license and work in the army for a few years. This would later pay for her medical school; so, she had killed two birds with one stone.

She did not glance up when she stopped just within the door. Instead, she surveyed the information on this patient one last time. She always made sure that she was ready, naturally being very detail-oriented, but the doctor she worked under had been very specific that today she needed to be perfect. They were going to be checking the fabled young man who had won the position of head-strategist, after all. She honestly was not sure to think of the things she had heard about him. Most of the stories sounded more like fantastical tales meant to keep morale high, or something of that sort. She shrugged to herself before looking up. It's not like it mattered either way, she was just doing her job.

But as soon as her eyes saw his face, she froze, her breath catching in her throat. On the hospital bed sat a young man, most likely no older than herself, with shockingly blonde hair. His eyes were closed and his face relaxed--showing an almost palpable peace. His face was insanely handsome. It was perfectly symmetrical and not one blemish marred his youthful yet masculine profile. His jawline was strong and chiseled. The soft fuzz on his cheeks betrayed that he had not shaved that morning, but also that he had only just gained his facial hair. His nose was small and straight, and his lips were bright-red, like he had been licking them. She had certainly never seen someone so handsome--or was cute a better word?--in her life.

Not only that, but his arms and shoulders were broad and muscled, not too much--like those crazy body-builders who almost looked like giants--but just perfectly. His torso formed the perfect v-shape and she could see the strength of his legs even through the thick army pants he wore. She glanced back at his face and took a deep breath. Surely there was no one more handsome anywhere in the world. How had she not heard rumors about that? But she shook her head. She was one of the six women at this base, and she had never seen him herself. How could the others have?

She gazed at him in a daze for a few more seconds, trying to chase away the strange awe that had settled on her. Now, she somehow almost believed all those outrageous tales. She shook her head at herself. What had gotten into her? None of these thoughts were rational in any way. She glanced down at her clipboard again, trying to take her mind off of this extremely handsome young man. She glanced around, trying to find his name on the sheet. Pearl, seriously? See a handsome guy and get completely flustered? That is not you! Focus!

There it was. His name was Alexander Reagan. She took a deep breath through her nose. She needed to give him a check-up. She needed to focus. She lifted her chin, and glanced at him again. She was a soldier, and she was doing her job.

"You are Alexander Reagan?" She said with the most passive voice she could muster.

His eyes popped open and she froze, again, as the bluest, deepest, most amazing eyes she had ever seen met hers.