Knotted in Love

Part 6

Karishma sways her white coat with a cup of coffee through ED door that separates the elevator and the emergency department area. Her long auburn hair is tied up into a pony tail while her eyes are sparkling as bright as the gold band on her finger. She grabs her stethoscope from her pocket and puts it over her neck before getting to the nurses' station. The hustle and bustle of the ED make she feel alive. Orthopedics is fun but it doesn't get her adrenaline pumping. She belongs here and she always knows it.

"Let's go out somewhere after shift." Jack who appears out of nowhere leans against the counter while making an undeniable offer. He doesn't even look at Karishma while saying all that. His eyes are on the tablet and his mind isn't partially elsewhere.

Karishma takes a tablet from a nurse and whispers thank you before facing Jack. "I can't. I have a date."

"With whom?" Jack pokes to see Karishma's new assigned case. He needs to know as her attending physician.

"What do you mean 'with whom"?" Karishma scoffs as she starts to make her way to a treatment room with Jack following not an inch away. He just wants his answer and he will go on his way. He believes in Karishma so much that he will let her handle the case and listen to her medical decision later. "Who else can I go on a date with?"

"You're married. It's called a dinner."

"You're bitter because Alice is actually 'dating' a guy that is not you." Karishma points out the fact that somehow feels like a silver bullet travelling through Jack's cold heart.

"I'm not bitter." Jack begs to differ and chuckles awkwardly. "She can date whoever she wants. We've never dated. We've never agreed to date."

"You've never agreed to date anyone." Karishma whines annoyingly.

Jack chooses to be quiet now although he feels so frustrated by that comment. "Send a smoke signal if you need me."

"Okey dokey."

Karishma enters the treatment room and rubs the sanitizer on her hands. She smiles for the patient who is lying on the bed adjusting his sight from the ceiling towards her. He smiles although his eye is swollen and his head is bleeding.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Singh." Karishma introduces herself as usual while putting on her latex gloves.

"I'm Chris. I wish half of my memories were left at that curb as well but they weren't." The man sighs lightly as Karishma starts to examine his wound. He rolled his eyes. "I tried skateboarding."

"Well, I'm sure Tony Hawk had got several wounds before he turned pro." Karishma puts her penlight away after checking his swollen eye. She is now looking at his small cut on the left side of his forehead. Along with the evaluation from the EMT, nothing seems out of ordinary or concerning. He is conscious, can answer every question that is thrown at him and doesn't show any sign of any severe concussions.

He chuckles in his throat. "I'm just trying out all the things I have to skip when I was married. I just got divorced."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Karishma responds whispery while her hands are busy stitching his wound to prepare him for a CT scan.

"Are you married, doctor?" Chris asks to kill time. He needs a little distraction from a needle and a thread that are running through his skin to close up his failure.

Karishma turns to grab a clamp and pauses with a polite smile. "I am."

"Oh, good." He turns his wheel all the way to the right and hopes to save the conversation. "Marriage is good."

Karishma chuckles as she sews the last thread on his wound. "Then, why did you get divorced?"

"Marriage is good." He repeats himself as he tries to be as still as possible. "But marriage is not for everyone. At least, not for me."