Office Affair

Dominic, I'm not a baby!

Alice dragged the stool closer to Anya's bed as soon as Dominic left. She looked at her intently, with thousands of questions in her eyes.

"What?"

"Nothing. I mean...Are you and Dominic..."

"No! No, of course not. He's my boss."

"But the way he held you when I walked in..."

"Oh, yeah. I cried and he comforted me. Despite being my boss, he's also my friend. Which is a problem, because I keep seeing more of his friendly than a bossy side."

"But why did you cry?"

"Well, I was upset with the whole situation. I mean, I only wanted to ask him to let me go home earlier, because I wasn't feeling well, and the next thing I know I'm strapped to this beeping machine and in a hospital gown. Still, as Dominic said, I'm overworked and I need to take it slow. I'll be fine in no time."

"Promise?"

"Absolutely. Now tell me, how are you?"

"I'm all right. I'm meeting David at the center."

"You two have got a thing going on, right?"

"I don't know. It looks like it," Alice smiled and, seeing Anya yawn, stood up.

"Are you going already?"

"Yes, I am. You need to rest. I will come visit you tomorrow."

"Ok sweetie, have great date."

"It's not an official date. It's...hmm...a tryout, I guess."

"That sounds interesting."

"Yeah, it is. Please, take care of yourself."

"I will. Look at this place, it's more comfortable than my bedroom. I will be fine. I promise. Go."

Now that she was all alone in a hospital room, she had the time to think about her reaction to seeing Dominic sitting right beside her. She always thought that in situations such as this, she would want to see Alice. However, Dominic was the right person to be there and there was not a shadow of doubt about that. He was the right person to sit on the bed and caress her hair.

She remembered waking up alone the first time she was at the hospital, at the tender age of four. Although, this wasn't entirely true. She woke up surrounded by crying children. It took her mom a while to get there from work, and Anya understood that. Which didn't make her feel any less afraid that she will be stuck in that bed for ages, rather than days.

But now, lying in this bed, she couldn't help but notice that something was wrong. Well, not wrong but definitely different. She couldn't pinpoint it until she realized that the nurses came in to check on her much more often than the last time. Once, it would have made her feel safe. Now, it just made her nervous.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Why do you keep coming in so much? I'm all right. My heart is under control."

"I've been told to take a good care of you."

"Who said that?"

"Well I can't remember the name, but a young handsome man told me that..."

"Oh, I see! Well, you don't have to keep an eye on me so much. If there's anything I need, I'll call you. All right? Please, I'm tired. I want to go to sleep," Anya yawned again, seeming very tired. Her voice was slow and shallow, as if she was already falling asleep.

"Of course. I will leave you now. Try to have some rest." The nurse went out the door, and she opened her eyes and grabbed her phone from the purse that Dominic left on a small table beside her head. His number was on her speed-dial. The phone rang only once, when he picked it up.