"So you have concentration problems," shesuddenly says into the silence between us. It's clearly not a question but a statement.
Heaven, why can't she just let it go? "I'm doing excellent."
"When you repaired my stove the other day, you seemed unusually tired," she continues as if she hadn't heard me. "And confused," she adds.
Great. "That's your imagination," I quickly retort even though my gut feeling tells me it won't help either.
"When was the last time you had your blood tested?" With skillful movements, she guides the curved needle through my wound. She appears completely focused, yet she can still effortlessly think about my overall health.
"Listen, nothing is wrong with me. Everything is fine." As if on cue, my temples start throbbing. I suppress the urge to massage them. "Really."
She cuts the thread and sets the needle aside. "If that's the case, then you have nothing to fear if I take a few vials of blood and send them to the lab."
Oh, but I do mind! "Haven't I lost enough blood today?"
"A man like you..." For a moment, she looks at me in a way that makes me swallow hard. "... can handle it." Her grin is sugary sweet, and her lashes flutter excitedly.
I can't help but stare at her. I probably look like a dumb idiot to her right now. But my mind is so blank that I can't come up with a response.
Suddenly, she looks startled. "Alright, then we've settled that." Hastily, she turns her attention back to my thumb and inspects the wound. "Yep. I can close itnow," she says even though from a distance and without her silly glasses, I can see that there are still several injured blood vessels left untreated.
So that's how it is. The city mouse is more cunning than she appears at first glance. No one can deceive me so easily. But she's different.
"Chapeau," I say admiringly, pretending to tip my hat with my uninjured hand.
Her smile is brighter than any light I've ever seen. She performs a small curtsy with her head bowed. When she looks up again, her cheeks are flushed. And they remain that way until she says her goodbyes twenty minutes later, with a mischievous grin on her face and five filled blood collection tubes in her hand.
