Doctor Charmer (Doctors of Eastport General)

10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Ivy

T he sounds of Christmas carols surprise me when I step into Chelsea and Griffin’s hospital room. Chelsea’s singing a hip-hop remixed version of the classic “White Christmas” but halts as I enter. My sneakers squeak across the recently mopped linoleum that carries that unique hospital scent of bleach, spearmint, and lemon.

She props herself up on her elbows, her leg dangling in the sling strung from a metal mount attached to the frame of the bed.

“Hey, Chels.” I place the three bags of goodies on the empty food tray in front of them.

“Coach, good to see you. What you got there?”

“I brought you guys some food and some distractions.” I flip two of the bags to show the McDonald’s logo. I remember living off McDonald’s and Wendy’s when I was their age. It seems like yesterday but is now over a dozen years ago.

“Gimme.” The radiant smile on her face is the best reward.

“McNuggets or burger?” I hold up each bag, giving her first choice.

She steals a glance over at the empty bed. “I’m a fast eater. Can I say both, and we don’t say a word to Griffin?” she jokes and points to the nuggets.

I put the Quarter Pounder bag back on the tray and walk to the side of her bed, handing her the bag. “Where’s your knight in shining armor?” I slide my hip onto the side of the bed, and she scoots over to make room.

“They took him down for more X-rays. Every hour, they’re checking in on him.” She rips open the bag, snatching the container of McNuggets and setting them on the bed in front of her. I sneak my hand into the bag for a couple of fries, stuffing them into my mouth. Her eyes go wide with false shock.

“Bag fries. They’re the best part of the meal.” I watch as she devours three nuggets in record time. You’d never know she was fed lunch less than two hours ago.

“I think the nurses have a thing for Griffin. That’s why they keep coming in so often.” Her words catch me off guard. I’ve heard her say similar things about her teammates. In the past, it sounded like judgment, as in how could they fall so easily for him. This is the first time I hear what sounds like jealousy and envy. She had clearly and publicly put him in the friend zone. But for the first time, I suspect different.

“The way they fawn all over him. This one nurse looks in the room at him every time she passes by, which is like… a lot. If I wasn’t here, I bet she’d probably just sit here all day and stare at him. Creepy, right?”

I don’t tell her she’s imagining something when she’s already convinced herself otherwise. “Everyone knows he’s a looker. I’ve seen the post where you gals rated his hotness level.”

“I didn’t vote.” Her snapback is hard.

“If you did, where would you have ranked him?” I ask out of curiosity.

She shrugs and stuffs a fry into her mouth to delay responding. “Doesn’t matter. His head is already big enough.” Her non-reply answers for her.

“Well, consider yourself the lucky one. You get to spend all this quality time with him and can be yourself. No silly giggling at his jokes that aren’t funny. No pumping his ego up with false flattery.” I hop off the bed, grabbing the other bag I brought, and dig in.

“I would never do that, even if I was interested in him. Is that what the girls do? And they wonder why guys break up with them when they discover who they really are.”

“Exactly.” I pull out a deck of playing cards from the bag. “Which is why you are the lucky one. Because guys do the same when they are in front of a girl they want to impress. But you don’t have that issue. You have an opportunity to get to know the real Griffin.” I rip the plastic wrapper off and open the cardboard box of cards. “Guys love to play games. They hate to have serious one-on-one, meaningful conversations. But if you get them involved in a game, their true personality seeps out.”

I shuffle the deck on the bed next to her, and her eyes go wild, as if I’m a kangaroo driving stick shift. “Don’t look at me like that. I had a life before becoming your coach.” I paint on a plastic smile, my words hitting harder than expected. I had an amazing life once.

“When I was in college, me and my friends would play this game called Aces Up.” I place the deck face down on the bed between her and pluck the top card, flipping it over. “Three of hearts. Hearts are things you love. If you get this card, you have to name, in this case, three things you love. Try it.”

Chelsea stares at the card for a moment, her brow pinching. “Volleyball, my friends, and these fries. Can I say that?” She laughs and looks at me for approval.

“Do you love fries?”

She twirls one between her fingers and nods.

“Then absolutely. Your turn.”

She flips the top card. “Four of clubs.”

“Ooh, this is good. Clubs are things you have done or want to do in a group.” I tap the black symbol of the club, hoping it connects for her. “Dancing, volleyball, duh.” We both giggle. I glance out the picturesque window. “Skiing.” I think of me and Reggie outside earlier. “And snowball fighting.” A cheerful smile pulls on my face. “Your turn.”

I flip the next card and turn a second card when I spot the heart. “Two of spades.” I laugh.

“What? What does spade mean?”

“Something you hate.”

She doesn’t hesitate. “Math and missing out on the tournament.”

“I hear you with that last one. I’m so sorry about that.”

She shakes her head. “Not like you were driving the truck. He was probably a fan of the Eastport team sent to take us out.” She adjusts on the bed. “So if I play this game with Griffin, you think he’d stop being so concerned with being cute and flirty, and I’ll get to see the real him?”

“What me and my friends found is that you’ll get to know what he likes, hates, and values. From there, it’ll be up to you to determine if that’s someone you want to get to know better and build a relationship with.”

“He seems like a nice guy. He sends his little sister a funny meme every morning so she starts her day off with a smile.”

“A diamond,” I say.

“Diamond?”

I tap the deck of cards. “The fourth suit in the deck. Diamond. It’s a treasured memory.”

“Valuable… like a diamond.” Chelsea makes the connection.

I let her words marinade as we sit in silence. The distant sound of footsteps in the hall momentarily drowns out the beeps from the machines in the room.

“Am I a shallow person if I say I might be interested in him? You know… like that.”

I sense it took a lot for her to pull this question out into the light of day. “No. It makes you human. We are built to be attracted to the handsome. The confident. The skilled dude that also has a protector streak.” I picture Reggie rushing down the hospital hallway, his lab coat billowing behind him like a superhero cap. “It’s up to us to look past the shiny exterior and get to know the man beneath and see how much of it is real and how much is a mask they slip on to hide their imperfections.”

She nods.

“Remember.” I hear the shift in my voice, the words coming out like a warning. “He’ll be doing the same. Let him get to know the real you. The true you. The beautiful you. Only once both are you fully exposed, seen by one another, will you know if it’s a match.”

She nods just as the doors swing open, and Griffin strides in with a nurse in tow. She directs him to the bed, and he takes in the snacks and the cards on Chelsea’s bed. “Hey, you two plotting to take over the world or something?”

“Or something,” I scoff and point to the bag on the tray next to his bed. “I came bearing treats.”

The nurse pushes the tray closer to his bed, her hand resting on his shoulder with a gentle stroke. I turn and catch the raised brow from Chelsea, her lips practically screaming told you so.

I jut my chin at her and then toward Griffin, my message not nearly as subtle. Get him. Now.

She waits for the nurse to reconnect the monitors to his arm and step back before speaking.

“I’ll leave you two to it. The rest of the team checked out of the hotel this afternoon. I ordered a van to take them back to campus. Dahlia and Victoria are going to be released this evening. I’m going to go check on them next.” I wave. “Text me if you need anything. I’ll be nearby.”

I pull open the door just as Chelsea speaks. “Griff, you want to play cards? I just learned this new game I think you’ll like…”