“The on-call intern came first. He had no idea what he was looking at. The nurse told him to call the physician on duty at home.”
“And did he?”
“He was too scared. Remember – it was Friday night.”
“So?”
“The nurse realized that he was confused and that I had something serious. She called the doctor on duty, who was also the deputy director.”
“And?”
“He finally came – two hours later. He said he had family obligations to take care of first,” she said bitterly. “The pain was unbearable, and the leg was really black. By the time he came, the damage was irreversible. The bastard apologized, and that was it.”
For the first time, I heard the repressed fury in her voice.
“The next day, they transferred me to New-Hope Medical Center. My parents demanded it. And since then, I’ve been in internal medicine. If I’d been in your hospital back then, this wouldn’t have happened.”
Her arms dropped for a moment, then she wrapped them around me tightly.
“You’re the first doctor I’ve ever dated,” she whispered.
“Since I was fourteen, even then, the doctors never stopped hitting on me.” Her embrace, and her words, sent a shiver through me.
“So I’m bothering you too?” I said, half dazed. In response, she pushed me down onto the bed with a sudden intensity.
“You think I showed you this scar so you’d run? I want youmore than anything. I wanted you to know it from me – not from them.”
I pulled her close. She didn’t resist. The gravity between us only grew stronger.
Chapter 13
First Sabbath
The next morning, I woke up to the aroma of coffee. It felt as if I had been living there for years.
“Do you want to meet my friends at the beach?” I asked. Lily stood above me, looking stunning in my blue-green T-shirt, which fit her as if it had been tailored especially for her.
“We can go to the beach if you want,” she said, “but you should know, I’m not taking off my pants.”
“Do whatever you want.”
“And if someone asks?” she said hesitantly. Her worries about the scar and the insecurity she carried touched my heart.
“Answer like you usually do when you’re at the beach.”
“Ralf never liked the beach.”
“And the boyfriends before him?” I asked, transparently fishing for history.
She threw herself on me.
“How many do you think I had?” she laughed, her face glowing. “I never had boyfriends before Ralf. Just some friends here and there, but he was the most serious. You know? When you think about it, it all happened so fast. Only a few days ago, I was still with him, and now it feels like you and I have been together for years.”
We got out of bed and went into the tiny kitchenette. The apartment was really small, but the sunlight flooding in through the living room window made it feel much larger. For the first time, I saw her paintings illuminated by morning light.
“Wow … Lily … wow,” I gasped, breathless at the sight.
“What a difference between night and day. The sunlight gives the paintings such power.” Nothing in that morning’sexcitement hinted at what was about to happen. My heart was still broken from the story of the night before, but I was determined to prove that even without plaster, a broken heart could be mended.
