Chapter 5 Doctors

By Rocío

I walked into my parents’ house and they were already asleep, so after drinking a glass of water and brushing my teeth, I went to bed, covering myself with a light blanket, but I still felt my skin burning.

Could it really be that Ramiro and I will end up together?

I have to put aside that almost absurd thought—the idea that just because he’s extremely attractive, he only wants to have fun. There are normal men who don’t take anything seriously.

Ramiro isn’t a child, and I suppose he’d never make fun of a woman just for his own amusement.

In the end, I never found out what he does for a living; he speaks properly and is well-educated.

That’s a key factor for me.

I couldn’t be with a man who, at a certain age, still talks like a teenager—and honestly, there are plenty of men like that.

I’m not saying I’m looking for someone with a college degree; I just want a man who knows that if he’s 30—even though that’s still very young—he should act his age.

I finally fell asleep, dreaming of some wonderful kisses.

I accompanied my father to the city clinic—there weren’t many others; just an emergency room, which had grown and turned into a hospital, though it isn’t a high-complexity facility. For anything more serious, there was the clinic we were going to at that moment, or else the hospital in the neighboring city.

We were in the main lobby when I saw Karen coming toward us with Matías in her arms.

When I looked closely, I saw that Ramiro was with her.

They approached when they saw me. “What

happened?

” I asked before saying hello. “Matías

has a bronchospasm.”

“Does he have a fever? Have you seen the doctor yet?

” “Yes.” “Did the

doctor prescribe an inhaler? Corticosteroids? Nebulizer treatments?

” I started with the routine questions—I’ve got the doctor in me.

That’s when I saw a wonderful smile spread across my face; I couldn’t help but blush. “Hello

, Don Julio,

” Karen greeted him. “Hello

, dear,

” My father says, and he gives Matías a kiss.—Let me introduce you

to my brother-in-law.—Nice

to meet you,

Ramiro says, and then he comes over to me and gives me a kiss that landed halfway between my cheek and my mouth—he couldn’t kiss me on the mouth in front of my father.

I hadn’t mentioned Ramiro at home; a kiss wasn’t appropriate.

My father didn’t notice, but my friend’s smile told me she’d seen exactly what her brother-in-law had done.—Ramiro…—Sorry

, you’re so close to me and I’m all flustered.

He whispered in my ear; my father didn’t hear him, but he did notice a certain closeness. As for me, I must have been blushing like crazy.—

Yeah, sweetie, don’t worry. You know that as soon as there’s a little humidity, Mati gets bouts of bronchospasms.—

The next time you travel to Buenos Aires, Gabriel is going to check him out personally.

I pointed him out in a concerned tone. “Gabriel

?

” Ramiro asked me. “My

boss,

” I replied.

Just then, Bautista—the owner of that clinic, who was also the father of Sandro, a friend of ours—approached us.

“Small town, big hell,” they say; I don’t know if that’s true, but we all know each other—that’s for sure.

He greets my father and then turns to us. “I

can’t believe how the years have flown by, but I swear I can still picture you two playing with Sandro.”

My father nods.

A doctor approaches and tells him there’s been an accident involving a bus coming from another country; a dozen injured people, with varying degrees of severity, are on their way.

“We’re short on doctors,

” he says with a worried look.

He looked at me immediately. “Ro

, I have to ask you a huge favor.” “Yes

, tell me, Bautista.”

“Can you give us a hand? Are you on call or just in the ICU?

” “ICU, but I usually spend quite a bit of time on call. Don’t worry about it—I’ll help you, gladly.” “Can

I help out?” “I’m a doctor, a surgeon, and a cardiologist,

” Ramiro said, astonishing me greatly.

Karen smiled at my astonishment.

-“Honestly, we didn’t have time to talk last night,

” she said quite freely.

“Although I had a hunch something had happened, because we didn’t have time to talk, so I couldn’t tell him anything.”

That’s when my father looked at Ramiro and sized him up with his gaze. “Of

course, thank you.”

Bautista replied.

We decided that Karen would drive my father—it was only a six-block detour—and even though Mati had a cough, she wouldn’t lose much time.

They left, and Ramiro and I were given scrubs, gloves, and face masks.—I already

knew you were perfect.—Am

I perfect because I’m a doctor?

—Because you share the same calling as I do.

I was thinking to myself that it was wonderful to share that calling.

I couldn’t tell him that, because at that very moment the ambulances started arriving and everything turned into chaos.

Bautista came to introduce us as doctors so that the clinic staff would give us the support we needed

. I personally knew several doctors and a few nurses.

We didn’t work with the same patients; although the emergency ward was spacious and we shared the space, there were many partitions separating the different beds so that patients wouldn’t see what was happening to other patients.

There were other small examination rooms where people who required some initial care were kept before being referred to the appropriate unit.

The most seriously ill patients were taken to intensive or intermediate care. “Charo

, I need you to…” “Ask

another nurse—I’m busy,” that nurse replied.

She had gone to high school with Karen and me, and we’d never really gotten along very well.

I’m not a troublemaker, and I’ve always let her nonsense slide, but at that moment, it wasn’t a personal issue.—

Nurse, you didn’t understand me; the patient urgently needs what I asked for.

I told her very seriously.

Charo turned red with indignation, but she didn’t take long to bring me the supplies I’d asked for.—

Do you want anything else? Doctor!

—Not right now; we’ll talk later.

It wasn’t a threat; I was simply going to make it clear to her that while we’re working, personal issues have to be set aside.

About four hours later, after seeing several patients, I went to get a coffee and happened to run into Ramiro.

Charo approached us immediately. “Do you need

anything, Doctor?

” she asked flirtatiously.

My expression must have said what I didn’t say, because her smile—directed at Ramiro—grew wider.

“Yes.” “Tell

me.”

“Actually, I just needed to see my girlfriend.”

she said, coming closer to me and planting a kiss on my lips.

I smiled at “my boyfriend,” ignoring Charo. “Come

on, let’s get some coffee.”

I took him by the hand to the machines in the side hallway. “You know

your way around here,”

Ramiro said to me. “Yes

, I’ve never worked here—luckily—because I think some people would make my life miserable.”

“You? Bautista really likes you; it’s obvious.” “Yes

, of course, but Charo, the nurse who just came up to you, didn’t even want to bring me what I asked for a patient.”

Ramiro smiled and told me she’d taken very good care of him.—Of

course! She liked you!

—I’m irresistible; I know it.

My expression must have changed—that’s what I’m afraid of—because beyond the attraction I feel for him, I suppose he must have plenty of women like Charo around him.—I’m not

interested in that nurse or any other woman; I really like you—so much so that I can’t control myself when you’re near me. Right now, I’m dying to take you in my arms and…—

Doctor, do you need anything else?

Charo insisted, approaching us and interrupting our conversation.—No

, thank you, unless Rocío needs something…—Not

for now,

I replied; however, Charo didn’t move from our side,

trying to be part of our conversation.

I was annoyed, but I didn’t want to say anything.

Until it occurred to me to talk about a patient I’d treated, using the most obscure medical terms I could think of—even though she’s a nurse and knows a thing or two about medicine.

Ramiro answered me, ignoring Charo’s presence.

Then he told me he was going to make a reservation at the restaurant we’d agreed on.—Perfect

.

I replied. “Is

there a bar inside this clinic?

” Ramiro asked.

“Yes, doctor, I’d be happy to show you.” “No

, thanks,

” he replied.

She still hadn’t moved, until I got fed up and, taking Ramiro’s hand, told him I’d go with him to Bautista’s office. “She’s

a jerk.”

I blurted out, without holding back. “Jealous

?

” he asked, teasing me. “Should

I be?

” “Of course not.”

“Thank goodness, because that’s when I think your good looks work against you.” “I already

told you that’s not going to happen.”

We arrived at Bautista’s office just as the door opened; another doctor was coming out, and he introduced us. Although I recognized him by sight—I’d accompanied my father to that clinic many times—“I

didn’t know you were a doctor.”

I smiled at him. “Ramiro

Alonso Brandsen, nice to meet you.”

At that moment, they both looked at him.

“Is he the owner of the Brandsen clinics?

”The doctor we were just introduced to asks her, “Yes

, it seems they’re better known than I thought.” “It’s a

pleasure—I actually did my internships there.” “I hope

you had a good experience.” “The

best experience, doctor.”

Then we went into Bautista’s office, and the doctor left. “The

fees…” “Forget

about it, Bautista.”

“No, please.”

“I’ll say the same thing Rocío did: count on me for any emergency, but forget about the fees—it’s not appropriate.” “Thank you very

much.”

“I’ll check on the patients, and Rocío and I will head out. If you need to contact us, don’t hesitate.”

Ramiro said, implying that we have a relationship—or at least that we’re friends.

They exchanged phone numbers, and then, together, we made the rounds before leaving together.—I came

in Karen’s car.—I’m

driving my own; don’t worry.

It’s not his super-luxurious SUV, but I’ve always been proud of my beautiful car.