Meanwhile, Dr. David had taken Marisa to the park. She sat on the bench while he went to get her something to drink.
“Here, have some tea. You’ll feel a lot better.”
“Thank you.” Marisa tried to smile as she took the drink from his hand. At first, she just stared at it. Then, she took a drink.
“Feeling any better?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Sorry you had to see me like that.”
“No need to apologize. What was it that made you so upset?” Marisa didn’t answer right away. As she stared at her drink, she formed a fake smile.
“My own stupidity.” Dr. David looked at her surprised.
“I was hoping for something that I knew wouldn’t be possible. It seems like that’s what I always do. In the end, I only have myself to blame. I’m nothing but one big fool.” At first, Dr. David didn’t say anything.
“I don’t think you’re a fool.” Marisa lifted her face. Dr. David scratched his cheek.
“I’ve always thought you were very talented and determined. Since the day we met, I’ve watched you work and I was inspired by it. I watched how you gave it your all and never took your patients problems lightly. You’re always certain to give them everything they needed whether big or small. I’ve always thought that was... inspiring. Not just for myself, but for the other doctors too.” Marisa looked at him with a surprised look on her face.
“You really think so?”
“I sure do. I bet that whatever it is that’s really troubling you, you’ll be able to get through it no problem. Cause that’s just the kind of person you are.” Marisa couldn’t help but smile as she wiped her face off.
“Thank you, Dr. David. I feel much better now.” Just then, Marisa’s phone rang. She picked it up to see it was Maggie.
“Just a second, Dr. David. I need to take this.” Marisa got up and walked over to the swings.
“Hey, May May.”
“Hey, what’s up? You sound kind a down.”
“Well actually, I need a bit of a favor.” A moment later, Marisa came back.
“Dr. David, I’m sorry to ask this of you, but could you give me a ride to the hospital? That’s where my car is.”
“Sure thing. I was heading down that direction anyway.” With that being said, they hopped back into the car and headed over to the hospital.
About a half hour later, Marisa found herself at Maggie’s house. They were sitting in the living room while Marisa told Maggie what had happened.
“Why that inconsiderate, air headed, dimwit! I can’t believe he would say something so cold!” Marisa just sat there with her knees folded up and her arms wrapped around them.
“When he said that, the only thing I could think of doing was running away. It might not have been the best thing, but I didn’t know what else to do. Even now, I can’t think of anything else I could have done.” Maggie let out a sigh.
“Macy, you really do care about him don’t you?” Marisa stared at the wall for a minute.
“At first, I wasn’t sure what to think. He seemed like just an ordinary guy. Yet, as I grew closer to him, I found myself thinking about him more and more. Everything he said affected me so much. Seeing him smile filled me with so much joy and being lead by his hand was so warm and comforting. Just being around him made me so happy.” Just then, Marisa buried her face in her knees.
“I think...I might be in love with him.” Maggie just sat there.
“Do you think he feels the same?” Marisa lifted her head.
“I don’t know. There are some things about him which still confuse me. I don’t always know what he’s thinking.” For a while, the two of them just remained quiet.
“So what are you going to do now?” Marisa just remained quiet. She had no idea how to answer that question. Finally, Maggie stood up.
“Well, there’s no use crying over it. Why don’t we just watch TV, have an early dinner, and just forget this whole thing ever happened.” Marisa smiled as she stood up.
“Sounds good.” Later the evening, she hopped into the bed Maggie made for her. Even though she tried, she just couldn’t get to sleep. As she tossed and turned, she couldn’t stop thinking about Thomas.
“This is ridiculous! Why is this stupid thing bothering me so much? At this rate, I’m going to drive myself crazy.” Finally unable to take it any longer, she decided to step outside for some fresh air. Careful so as not to wake Maggie, she tiptoed to the front door. As she sat on the front porch steps, she looked up at the stars and moon. The evening chill made her shiver as it ran down her back.
“It sure is a chilly night. I wonder if Thomas had to work late like Jarred did.” Marisa rubbed her arms down as she tried to warm herself up. She remembered how her mother used to hold her in her arms and shield her from the cold.
“I wonder what it would feel like...if Thomas did that to me. I’m sure Jarred does it to Maggie.” At that moment, Marisa let out a chuckle.
“It’s funny, Maggie told me I should just forget about him and there’s a part of me that agrees with her. But still...I can’t bring myself to do that. I care about him too much. Even if he is a little cold to me, I just want to be by his side. More than anything, I want to be close to him because...” Marisa looked up at the moon. She was almost positive she saw Thomas’s reflection. As she reached for it, she found tears coming out of her eyes.
“Yes, it’s all so clear now. The reason I feel so strongly about this whole thing. The reason I can’t allow myself to forget any of it. It’s because I... I love him. I love him so much...Thomas.” At that moment, Marisa’s hand dropped. A few minutes later, Jarred came home from work. As he was walking up to the front porch, he spotted someone leaning against the wall. It was Marisa. She was fast asleep. As he looked closely, he noticed she had what remained of a tear in her eye. He let out a sigh as he carefully picked her up.
“I understand that this whole thing must be really getting to you, Marisa. But there’s no sense in catching yourself a cold over it.” With that said, he carried her inside the house and laid her down in her bed. Just as he was pulling the covers over her, he looked to see Maggie in the door way. She had a sad look on her face.
“She really is serious about him, isn’t she?”
“Would you rather she not be?” Maggie hesitated.
“I just want her to have someone who can truly make her happy that’s all. After all, she wished the same thing for me. I just hope her heart won’t be crushed again like last time. She somehow managed to recover from a broken heart once. I can’t imagine she’d be able to do it again. And if that were to happen... I don’t even want to think about what she’d be like.” Maggie tried really hard not to show how worried she was. Jarred came up to her and took her hand.
“Don’t worry, babe. No matter what happens, she won’t be alone. She’ll have the support of good friends like you. I think she knows that too.” Maggie tried to smile.
“Yes, I suppose you’re right.”
The next morning, Marisa woke up to find herself in bed.
“That’s strange. The last thing I remember was stepping outside for some air. How did I get back in here?” Not sure what to expect, she got out of bed and headed for the kitchen where Jarred was sitting down reading the morning paper.
“Good morning, sleepy head. Feeling better?”
“Yeah, I’m alright now. Sorry to cause you and May May so much trouble.”
“Not a problem. After all, you’ve been through a lot lately. You deserved a good night sleep at a friend’s house.” Marisa chuckled.
“Where’s May May? She still sleeping?”
“Nope. She had to go to work early today. Said for me to tell you to hang in there and that you’re welcome to come over and talk whenever you want.” Marisa couldn’t help but smile.
“Thanks. She always has been a true friend to me.” After getting herself all cleaned up, Marisa decided to head over to W.O.O.H.P. to try and talked to Thomas.
“I’m not sure if it will do any good. But it doesn’t feel right just leaving things as they are now.” She still had a ways to go when she thought she heard a rather unpleasant sound.
“What’s that? It sounds like something is grinding. Maybe I’m just hearing things.” The sound kept getting louder and louder. Suddenly, Marisa heard a frightening bang! She looked down to see smoke coming out from under her car. As quickly as she could, she pulled over to the side of the road. Rushing to the front, she opened the hood. As soon as she did, a wave of black smoke blasted out. She covered her face as she couldn’t help but cough. Finally, the smoke cleared.
“Great, now what am I supposed to do? I’m not a mechanic.” Marisa tried to think of her options. She could call her dad, but he was at work by now and it would take at least an hour for him to come help her.
“I guess I have no choice but to call Jarred. He does know a little bit about cars.” Just then, she heard a car pull up just ahead of her. She raised her head. She couldn’t believe it. It was the same white car with blue stripes that she’d recognize anywhere
“Don’t tell me...” Sure enough, it was Thomas. At first, he just stood there. He seemed just as surprised as she was. Finally, he started walking towards her.
“Thomas...what...what are you doing here?”
“I was about to ask you that. I saw the cloud of smoke from around the corner and came to check it out...I...I never thought it’d be you.” Marisa looked down at her feet.
“I...I was on an errand when my car gave out on me.”
“I see.” Thomas looked inside.
“I may not be an expert, but it looks like your radiator is shot.”
“Can it be fixed?”
“I think so. Though I don’t have all the know how to do it. Plus, it’s not like I have a bag of tools with me.”
“I see.” For a long time, the two of them just stared off in the distance.
“If you want... I could take you to W.O.O.H.P. I’m sure one of our mechanics would be able to fix it up.” Marisa hesitated but realized it was her best option.
“That would be nice. Thank you.” With that being said, Thomas hooked Marisa’s car up to his. In no time, they were driving down the road.
For a while, neither one of them could bring themselves to speak.
“I should say something. I have to apologize for yesterday. I have to put my thoughts into words. Even if it doesn’t change anything, I have to say it.” Marisa took a deep breath as she prepared to speak.
“I’m sorry.” Marisa’s face brightened as she realized Thomas spoke up before she could.
“I said something incredibly insensitive to you yesterday. Something I never should have said to anyone let alone you. At first, I thought nothing of it until Yoshi and Marcus made me realize how foolish I was. There’s really no excuse for me saying something so cruel to you. Even so, I want you to know that I’m very sorry I hurt you so badly.” At first, Marisa didn’t say a word.
“Please, Thomas, don’t apologize. It will only make me feel worse. Besides, I kind of put you on the spot yesterday. I had no right to do that. I was just being my stubborn selfish self.” Thomas looked over at her.
“What’s wrong with that?” Marisa looked at him confused.
“There’s nothing wrong with being a little stubborn and selfish. If you have something on your mind, you shouldn’t be afraid of letting yourself be heard. Even if you are afraid, it’s okay to be. As long as you remain true to yourself, you’ll be able to summon the strength and courage you need to do just about anything.” Marisa stared at him as he broke a smile. At first, she just sat there.
“Is that what you came all this way to tell me?” Thomas formed a confused look on his face.
“It’s quite a ways to get to W.O.O.H.P from here, so I’m sure you know a shorter path. But the only reason I can think of that you’d come out here was to tell me that. Is that true?” Thomas chuckled.
“Figured that out did ya? Yes, you’re right. I needed to see you so I could apologize in person as soon as possible. I traced your cell phone signal and followed it to where I found you. Although, I did get distracted when I saw that smoke.” Marisa couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
“The truth is, I was on my way to see you too.” Thomas’s face brightened.
“Late last night, I sat down to think about what had happened and I realized I didn’t handle things the way I should have. After all, running away is never the answer. Yet, I couldn’t think of doing anything else at the time. Which is why...I needed to see you. I needed to know if there was something I could say or do to correct that mistake. But...now I see, I had nothing to worry about.” Marisa formed a smile on her face.
“I’m so glad, Thomas. I’m so glad we can talk like this again.” Thomas just sat there at first, then he broke a smile.
“Me too.”