Chapter 15: SLEEPLESS NIGHT

The two of them had zilch in common but the chemistry between Audrey and Dmitri was sizzling.
"Half of me loves this, half of me hates this," a conflicted Audrey thought after she finally broke out from her daze at the cafe and went straight to her room and lay down on her bed. "I want to go to sleep for I have a long day tomorrow, but I just cannot. Ughh. I can't believe it how hard I'm crushing on that doctor," Audrey thought with a sigh.
On the other side, Dmitri was faring no better.
He was all consumed by her thoughts and kept replaying their interactions as he lay on one arm on his bed and gazed up at the ceiling.
"The Lord knows which devil possessed me and I did that," Dmitri murmured as he recalled how their meeting had ended with his spur-at-the-moment brazen act.
"He's the last thought in my mind before I drift off to sleep and the first thought when I wake up in the morning," thought Audrey as she brushed her teeth the next morning. "I have got it bad. There is no shadow of doubt now," she shook her head and got ready for the day.
Charming doctors took a backseat in her mind while zestful, pretty girls occupied the fore of the brain in Dmitri"s case.
"Psst. Psst. Dmitri !" Hazel half whispered, half gritted out as she nudged him beside her. "The Director is asking you something, nerd," she woke up the doctor who had dreamily wandered off to La La La Land where only Audrey and he existed.
Startled, Dmitri focused back his attention on the now silent room and scanned around to find everyone looking at him with an expectant gaze, especially the Director who had his head cocked at one side.
"Well, Dr. Dmitri ? Do you think it is a good idea ?" The Director asked with a raised brow and his ever present grim expression behind his round, golden rimmed glasses. Dmitri always saw him as a strict grandfather figure.
What was Dmitri supposed to say ? Not a single word had fallen into his ears ever since the coffee cup in front of him had reminded of coffee spilling elsewhere and you know whom.
The Director cleared his throat again and Dmitri"s eyes darted to the board behind him, hoping against hope that it gave him a hint about what was going on.
"Uh-uh umm," a panic-stricken Dmitri hesitated before saying, "Yes, I agree, Sir" and almost grunted when he felt Hazel pinch him under the table.
"Then it is settled. Dr. Dmitri and Dr. Hazel will cover the extra shifts on the weekend. Thank you for all your help, Doctors," the Director said and left Dmitri with his jaw hanging.
"You dodo," Hazel hissed. "What did you get us into ?!" She cried out after they all came out of the Director's chamber after the meeting. "This was so not the way I had imagined my free weekend to go !!"
"I don't know. What was that all about ?" Dmitri asked with knitted eyebrows.
Hazel studied his face for a long time before she answered and then finally said, "Is everything okay with you, Dmitri ? You don't look like your regular self. You also looked lost all through the meeting. What is up with you ?" she demanded, noting Dmitri"s strange behaviour ever since he set foot in the hospital.
"Nothing."
"Nothing ?"
"Hmm nothing."
"You are smiling more than usual for no rhyme or reason."
"No, I am not."
"I will give you one more chance, Dim. After that you will be doing my night duty on the weekend too."
"Fine."
"Good. Now tell me."
"No, I meant that I will take your shift."
"Dmitri," Hazel warned. "Spill the deets or else you know I will keep haranguing till you tell me the truth !"
The last part was true. When Dmitri had braved through a bullying match at the orphanage and emerged with a gifted black eye, Hazel had made it a point to know who had been the culprit. She had not hesitated to follow him to the boy"s bathroom and demand answers.
And he was not ready for a repeat incident in a hospital nonetheless.
So here it went ...
"Argh ! She just pops into my head from nowhere and for no apparent reason. She has been staying rent-free in my mind," Dmitri whined.
"She ? Who ?" Hazel asked in surprise.
"The one on whom I spilled my coffee .... twice," he revealed.
"Twice ? The cafeteria girl ? When did you bump into her again ?" Hazel asked in astonishment. "You had left the hospital yesterday evening quite sane," She teased although her heart ached when she put two and two together. "Weren"t you supposed to go to that boring Book Café of yours, I guess ?" she taunted and Dmitri threw a stinky eye at her when she called his favorite place "boring".
Damn he looked handsome even when frowning !
"What got me there doesn't matter. What does is that: I left with a big, fat crush on her after bumping and spilling my coffee on her again in the Book Café," groaned the doctor. Now he sounded like a bigger fool when he said everything aloud.
"Oh my ! Congratulations are in order !! Someone finally managed to penetrate through the walls of the ice queen," Hazel teased while brushing off her own feelings of love for Dmitri aside in a secret corner of her heart.
"Hey ! You take that back. I am no ice queen !!" Dmitri retorted and after a childish fight of throwing cotton balls at each other that ended up at the same place from where they were picked, taking flight no further, the two sobered up from their laughing fit before Hazel felt a stab in her heart.
Her crush had found his own lady love and it was not her !
"So are you going to pursue her ? Let her know that you like her ?" Hazel asked.
"Yes, yes, certainly," Dmitri sarcastically drawled who was afraid that there was no reciprocation of his feelings especially after the bumbling coffee encounters and his brazen act yesterday.
"Wow ! Finally the good god knocked some sense in you," Hazel played along, resisting the urge to thump her friend"s head.
"Of course and then I will ask if she feels the same."
"Oh and ask her if she's thinking of you half as much as you are thinking of her," Hazel supplemented.
Dmitri rolled his eyes at his crazy friend and spoke seriously, "I will never know if something could have happened between us."
"Why don't you call her and check ?" Hazel advised.
"Call whom ? I don't even know her name, forget about having her contact number," Dmitri replied.
"Oh ! So your love story has a twist !! You're in love with a mystery girl" Hazel sang out mockingly.
"Shshhhh," an embarrassed Dmitri hushed her. "The whole hospital does not need to know !" he added.
"So you guys have been fighting for a while, I mean at all three encounters and now you're in LOOOOOOOVE," Hazel continued in a taunting tone, not paying attention to the frowning doctor beside her.
"Uh - huh ! The bottom line is that I'm wildly, insanely and infinitely in love with her," Dmitri"s sarcasm broke all records.
Unfortunately for him, a nurse heard him and teased, "The L-bomb has been dropped huh, doctor ?"
"Oh yes, they are officially crazy about each other" Hazel replied and the nurse went away laughing after hearing the two goofy friends get at it again.
"From my side yes," Dmitri murmured at Hazel"s previous comment and looked down at his papers in dismay.
Hazel squeezed Dmitri"s shoulder and softly said, "You are serious about her, aren"t you ?"
"Yeah," Dmitri replied back. "She's by far the most thoughtful and generous person I've seen," he added dreamily.
"Now, how on earth did you come to know about her generosity ? You seem to be far more generous in handing over your heart, sleep and peace of mind to a stranger," Hazel frowned.
"I saw her paying for a stranger's drink under the 'Buy A Drink For a Random Customer" program in the Book Café and mind you, the drinks are not exactly cheap there," Dmitri replied while admiring Audrey"s thoughtful gesture.
"Alright, Lover Man. Back to your appointments now. You have other"s love products to deliver," Hazel urged.
"Did you just call babies as love products ?" An incredulous Dmitri asked.
"Sure."
This woman, Dmitri thought with a shake of his head.
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