Loving Jane

Fifteen

I couldn't forget what Aileen had said. You like this guy, and maybe not just a friend. Do I like him more than a friend? Yet my response to her words also echoed in my mind.

"No, Aileen. He is just a friend and nothing more." I affirmed.

"Sure, whatever you say, Jane." She retorted and dropped the topic when the delivery guy arrived with her mail.

However, the weekend had passed. Yet her words lingered in my mind at the back of my mind. It didn't dominate my waking consciousness since I'm able to function normally at work. Or so I thought. After the morning rush hour past in the grocery store, I found myself being idle in the register. I was wiping the counter from the moist droplets of the last customer's meat selection. I didn't realize I was in a daze until a customer started waving their hands in front of my face. To make matters worse, it wasn't merely another customer. It was him, the man who was the root of my recent distress.

"Seb, what are you doing here?" I asked in surprise.

He held out a basket of groceries and then placed them on the counter. "I'm shopping." He smiled. "I didn't know you worked this close to the hospital."

I arched my eyebrow. "I don't. It's a good fifteen-minute drive from there to here, and it's out of the way, Sebastian. There's a closer grocery store in the area that's like ten to fifteen-minute walk."

He nodded, looking away. He started unpacking his basket to find something to do. "I know. And I'm just trying to find an excuse."

I picked up and started scanning his purchases. The sound of the scanner drowned out a bit of the awkwardness. "Who told you I worked here?"

"No one, actually. I got lucky," he replied nonchalantly.

I scoffed. "Are you stalking me for real this time?" I lightly accused.

There was a brief pause. I looked up and found him watching me with an apologetic smile. "I wasn't stalking, I promise. I did get lucky this was the first grocery store I went when I thought about checking your workplace."

I stopped what I was doing and made a soft choking sound of surprise. Then I was beside myself and started chuckling. "I can't believe you actually admitted you were going to stalk me. You know you have my number. You can call and ask me where I worked, Seb."

"I did plan on doing that a couple of minutes ago on the drive here. Only if I didn't find you here. But I did," he sheepishly replied.

I grinned and finished scanning his purchases. I peered at the register and shortly announced the total bill of his items. He pulled out his wallet and handed me a couple of bills. The brief silence between us as I got his change was eerie. Yet once I handed the money back to him, our hands briefly touch. I quickly pulled my hand away and quickly turned to his purchases, putting them one by one inside the paper bag.

"So, how's the job here?" He spoke again to fill the silence.

"It's been great, and very therapeutic," I jested a bit.

"Really? Therapeutic, how?"

"Meeting different kinds of people is humbling. It's given me a sense of security to know I'm not responsible for anything grand but only give the minimum expectation, which is hospitality. Also, the normality of it. The job can be peaceful if only you are." I admitted with a smile.

"I know what you mean," he said, nodding.

I glanced at him and arched my eyebrow. "Really? How so? I don't think there's anything normal being a resident doctor."

I waved his hand in dismissal. "I didn't use to be a doctor, you know. During college, I took a part-time job in the service industry. It was great training for me on how to handle different kinds of people. It gave me a humbling insight into humanity."