Chapter 86
TAMARA followed Thaddeus with her gaze as he continued to walk away with the Hospital Director. With the way the director talked to him, it was as if he’d known him for a while.
“Is that Thaddeus?” she asked in a knotted forehead. “Or, they’ll just look alike?” She then remembered that the man got surprised when their eyes met. “If it was really him, what is he doing here? And, why he’s talking with the hospital director?”
Tamara was about to follow them when staff from the back office called her name. “You’re the new nurse, right?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “I’ve got my clearance,” she said and went inside the office. “Good morning…”
All of them looked in her direction, but the man on the table in front of her spoke. “So you’re Tamara Carpio, RN from St. Ignacious Hospital. And, you were suspended because of…” The man stopped reading. “I think it’s unnecessary to read this since you have been hired. I just hope that what happened to your former workplace won’t happen here, Nurse Tamara.”
Tamara smiled at him and all the staff around the room. “I will do my best, Sir.”
After explaining to her the basic rules, Tamara was told to start tomorrow at the ER. She excitedly went out of the room and was about to call Thaddeus when she saw his messages:
‘I’ll wait for you in a coffee shop three blocks away from the hospital.’ – Thaddeus.
Tamara’s brows furrowed. “So it was really him?”
A few meters away from the coffee shop, Tamara can already see Thaddeus sitting on a table beside the window. The man was still wearing the formal suit that perfectly fits him. Tamara felt like a female lead character in a Kdrama, and Thaddeus was the male lead waiting for her in the café.
As soon as she entered the coffee shop, Thaddeus looked in her direction and waved his hand. Almost all the women inside the café turned in her direction. “How’s your appointment?”
Tamara gave him a peck on the cheek before sitting on the chair in front of him. Thaddeus looked surprised at what she did, but Tamara did it on purpose. She wanted to let the ladies here that this handsome man is hers.
“I’ll start tomorrow in the ER,” she said and smiled broadly. “I know it was a tough start, but I can do this.”
Thaddeus smiled at her. “Just stay focused and believe in yourself, Tamara.”
“I will. Just stay by my side, Thaddeus…” she said, then remembered that she saw him earlier. “So why are you in the hospital? And why you’re wearing that kind of clothes?”
Thaddeus fixed his suit collars. “Is it bad? I thought it suits me.”
“It is Thaddeus. You looked so dashing in that attire that I thought it wasn’t you,” she said and smiled sadly. “But you just ignored me…”
Thaddeus took her hands to the table. “The hospital director was my client,” he said in a lower tone. “He asked me to dress like this because he doesn’t want his staff to suspect him from having an out-of-this-world experience. You know that doctors don’t believe in shamanism.”
“Oh,” she nodded. “Then why did you ignore me?”
“He doesn’t know that one of his future nurses is my girlfriend,” he said without hesitation. “I don’t want him to ask personal things.”
Tamara felt her cheeks redden. “Girlfriend…?” she repeated, then lowered her head. She suddenly felt shy in front of him.
Thaddeus chuckled. “Why do you look shy?” he squeezed her hand. “Do you want ice cream?”
Tamara looked up at him and nodded. “I want double dutch,” she said, smiling. But as soon as Thaddeus looked away from her, Tamara’s smile faded.
She’s not convinced with what Thaddeus said to her about his sudden visit to the hospital. Tamara has a feeling that there’s more to it. Will she ask Thaddeus about it? What if it will make him comfortable? She sighed. She doesn’t want to make any move that will make Thaddeus decide to leave her.
Then, maybe the hospital director was just one of his clients. She remembered that Shamans don’t marry or enter a relationship because of some lifestyle complications. Probably, this is one of it…
Tamara bit her lower lip. Why she’s having a bad feeling towards it?
“What’s on your mind? You seem occupied,” Thaddeus asked her after their orders were served.
She smiled. “It’s nothing… I’m just excited for my first day tomorrow—”
“Excuse me.” A cute lady suddenly approached their table. “Can I have a picture with you?”
Thaddeus looked at her as if asking for permission. “Ah, why? Do we know each other?”
The lady looked at Thaddeus closely, and Tamara wanted to swipe her away. “Aren’t you Jung Jinyoung?”
“Jung Jinyoung?” Thaddeus repeated in a knotted forehead, then looked at her. “Is he the Kpop artist that you once told me?”
“Yes, babe,” she said and smiled sweetly at Thaddeus. “I told you, you looked like him.”
The girl glanced at her but seemed to not care that she was the girlfriend. “Even if you’re not him, can we take a picture together? You’re so handsome. And I think I like you.”
Tamara’s mouth fell open. She can’t believe that kids these days don’t have manners. “Excuse me, kiddo. Can’t you see? My boyfriend is uncomfortable with you.”
“And, I’m sorry, I’m not the person then you’re talking about,” Thaddeus said and stood. “Babe, let’s go.” He offered his hand to her.
Tamara felt her heart almost skip a beat. But it’s not the right moment to act like Maria Clara. She took his hand, and they walked out of the coffee shop with all the people around looking at them.
“I guess I have to get used to those scenes when we’re in public,” she said and laughed. “Why do you have to be so handsome, Thaddeus?”
Thaddeus scowled at her. “I like the ‘babe’ endearment,” he said and intertwined their fingers. “Just how I like our hands to stay like this.”
Tamara’s chest hammered. “Where did you get that cheesy line? Are you reading romance books now?”
The man chuckled. “It’s hard to not be sweet and cheesy whenever I’m with you,” he pulled gently to start walking. “Where do you want to go?”
Tamara thought as she admired his attire. “I wanted to watch movies—” Her phone suddenly rang. “Oh, it’s Mark. I thought he has forgotten about me,” she said and answered his call. “Mark—”
“Tamara, we need to talk now,” Mark told her from the other line. “But, don’t mention it to Thaddeus.”
***
