“Well...” she half smiled “I actuallydidtake care of old little old ladies.” She leaned against the arm of the loveseat, twirling a strand of hair, a nervous habit she had tried to break for years.
“I worked as a Personal Support Worker in people’s homes. And of course, many of my clients were elderly.”
He listened intently. “So you obviously enjoy working with people; helping them.”
“I do. I really do. Does that sound weird to you?”
“Absolutely not,” he said, his gaze glued to her.
She felt a little ill at ease “Well, actually, that’s all in the past. I left my job about six months ago.”
“Why?” He was being a bit intrusive but endearingly so.
“Well, you know; Robert made a good point when... Robert, that’s my fiancé,” she explained, uneasy.
“He said with his salary, we really didn’t need mine... and I could take some time to plan the wedding and keep up the house.”
“Don’t you miss the little old ladies? You must get close to them.”
“I do, absolutely. Some of the patients have been like family,” she explained. “It’s hard when they pass away,” she added.
“I can imagine.”
“I’ve stayed in touch with most of them. I go by and visit quite often.”
He smiled at her
“What?” she asked, feeling a little uneasy.
“Nothing...” He smiled. “You’re like Mother Teresa.”
“Well... not exactly,” she whispered as she gave him another sly smile. Why did she keep doing that? Playing with him?
A silence fell between them.
“Anyway, right now I’m looking into a nursing program ... I’ve just been looking at some school catalogs.”
“That would great. You’d still be helping people.”
“Exactly. I have a Bachelor in Business with a specialty in Marketing. Robert always says I should be working in Business, but I did that and I was miserable because I wasn’t helping anyone. I want to make a difference. I guess it’s stupid—”
“No it’s not. I get it.” Michael was sympathetic.
“But I know, Robert was saying the nursing program would be a lot of studying and I already have a Bachelor... ” She looked away towards the window - she could see the lush garden “and with us getting married...”
He clunked his glass on the oak coffee table and shook his head. She was startled and stared at him as he got up, and sat next to her on the loveseat.
“Robert, Robert... What does he know?”
She just looked at him; completely taken aback.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to overstep here but it seems to me that you should listen to him a bit less and a bit more to yourself.”
She looked down, speechless.
He leaned his head down a bit, closer to hers. She could smell his aftershave and the scotch on his breath.
“I’m sorry; it’s probably none of my business—”
