Chapter 10. He
Lilly Bradley
I arrived at the hospital reception, and an older woman smiled kindly at me.
"Good evening, is Dr. Harry Bradley here? He's the new head of surgery."
"From your beautiful accent, I can tell you're one of Dr. Bradley's daughters." I smiled at her comment.
"Is my accent that noticeable?" I wrinkled my nose.
"It's adorable, I love it. Let me find him for you. Give me a moment." I nodded and while she made the call, I looked around the lobby. It was larger than the one in London, the colors were neutral, and I liked it. "The doctor will be down shortly, he says to wait." I turned back to her.
"Thank you, very kind of you." She smiled in response and then continued answering a call.
I walked over to the nearby seats, took a place, and went over what had happened earlier, frowning as I realized something.
"Did he say his name? I don't remember if he did..." I tried to recall if the man had introduced himself, but my thoughts were interrupted by my father.
"Lilly, is something wrong? What are you doing at the hospital? I didn't know you were coming." I greeted my father, then looked at him.
"I came from a dinner." I didn’t go into detail, but I had trouble getting a ride. And since I knew you were still here, I thought I'd come and we could go home together.
"You arrived just as I was finishing up, let me hand over a few things to the night staff, and I'll be right back." He frowned. "If you had trouble getting a ride, why didn't you go straight home?"
"Actually, I got a lift to come here."
"Alright, you can give me the details in the car."
"Okay, I'll wait." Then he left, and I took a seat again. I looked at my phone and typed a message to my sister saying I was with our father and that we'd be home soon. I didn’t get an immediate response, so I put my phone back in my coat and returned to my thoughts. I went over it again and again, and he definitely didn’t say his name, and neither did I. At least, I think so.
A few minutes later, my father came down, and we got in the car to head home. During the ride, it felt strange to be on the opposite side; in London, we drove on the left, not the right.
"Don't you find it difficult to drive on the other side?" My father let out a laugh.
"A bit, but it's a matter of practice. Like everything in life, if you fall, you get back up, and you learn to keep your balance to stay steady."
"I'm debating whether to buy a car." The car stopped at a red light, and he looked at me, puzzled.
"Why are you debating?"
"The traffic is horrible."
"It's just like in London."
"That's not true, it's worse here."
"Well, you'll learn to adapt to your new life. Come on, get yourself a car, or you'll waste your money."
The light turned green, and we moved forward.
"I know." I looked out the window, distracted by thoughts of the man from the dinner.
"Something's bothering you, is there a problem?" My father brought me back to "earth," I turned my face to him and shook my head, but then I remembered we were alike, so I nodded, admitting he was right.
"Don't try to fool this old man."
"I know, I forgot we have the same expressions when something worries us."
"Come on, tell me, we still have a way to go before we get home."
"Well, I'm worried that, out of the whole family, I'm the one who can't find a job."
"Sweetheart, don't pressure yourself. Take your time to find the right one, it’s strange to see you like this, you’re persistent."
"Since we got here, I've left applications everywhere, I've gone to interviews, and I still can't find one."
"Have you tried looking online? There are job boards in the city you can apply to as well."
"I'll start looking tomorrow," I said, motivated and with a big smile.
"There's the Lilly I know," my father commented with a big smile. "Now tell me, who did you go to dinner with?"
"Oh, that dinner," I murmured. "I did Leah a favor. She had agreed to have dinner with the son of one of Mom's patients, but work kept her from going."
"That's not right. Your mother knows she can't get involved with a patient like that."
"I said the same thing, but anyway, we didn't have dinner because it seemed he was also forced to go by his mother. So, we made it easy and went our separate ways."
"You should have taken advantage of the free dinner," my father joked while driving.
"Very funny. I would have, but I wasn't hungry. Besides, it was a too fancy restaurant. What if I had to pay for my meal? I wasn't going to spend my money on a tiny, expensive dinner. Better..." I looked at my dad with a big smile. "...we have some burgers. Those big ones that really fill you up." My dad and I burst out laughing, remembering the delicious burgers we had the first night after we moved.
"That sounds good. Ask Leah and your mom if they want some, so we can order and pick them up."
After a delicious family dinner, I brushed my teeth, put on my night cream, braided my long hair, and put on my pajamas. I was ready to grab my iPad to watch some Netflix series, even though it was past eleven. I didn't care.
"How was the dinner? I didn't want to ask in front of our parents," Leah asked, coming into my room.
"Apparently, even Mom didn't want to ask. But I'll just say it was a bit awkward."
"I figured. Was he attractive?"
I raised an eyebrow as I sat on the bed, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
"Yes, quite. Very much so. I don't usually like guys with beards, but it suited him perfectly. His voice was rough but also sexy." I started to recall the moment, my gaze getting lost on a spot on the bed. "Broad shoulders, I remember smelling mint. It was clear he spends time at the gym," I looked at Leah, who had a big smile on her lips. "What?"
"Wow, the guy really caught your attention."
"No, no, I'm just answering your question, that's all."
"I could swear you didn't have dinner because of the big burger you had."
I wrinkled my nose and smiled, caught.
"I know, when I start working, I'll exercise. The street food here is delicious."
"I know! I've been craving onion rings," we started laughing. "Oh my God, we're such foodies."
"You are!" Laughter filled the room.
"And then?" she continued, curious.
"Well, he seemed uncomfortable, so I made a quick exit. I left, waited for a car, but none came. So, I started looking for a taxi, but there weren't any either. I think he finished dinner and saw me there, probably thinking 'She should have had dinner,'" I laughed. "And he offered me a ride, so I told him to drop me off at the hospital."
"Why the hospital?"
"I didn't want him to know even the area where I lived. He was a stranger, Leah."
"Okay, thanks anyway for trying to have dinner."
I threw a pillow at her, and she caught it.
"Trying? I went, I sat down, but I didn't eat. So, it's not really 'trying.'"
"Well, thanks anyway."
"Why were you out so late?" I asked, curious. She rolled her eyes.
"It seems my boss is overloading me because I'm new, and the others are following suit. They seem to enjoy it."
"Leah Bradley stayed quiet about that?"
"I'm new. I can't show my true personality; they'd be scared," she laughed.
"I don't doubt it." She grabbed another pillow and threw it at me for my comment. "Admit it. You're too... tough." She made a face because she knew it was true.
That's how we Bradleys were.