CHAPTER 221: Temper, temper

When Julia went to treat her first patient of the day she was surprised to find that it was someone she knew quite well:  George Sneedley.

"Good morning, George" she said cheerily but a look at the man's face soon wiped the happy expression off of her face.  "Oh dear, those are some strange markings on your face...let's see if we can get to the bottom of what's caused that."

George smiled meekly back at her.  She had always found him to be a quiet, often reticent man who only really came to life when talking about odd, often esoteric topics of conversation such as uniforms and the superiority of stockings over tights.  

"So when did these skin markings start to appear?" she asked.

"Yesterday morning"

"I see...had you bathed beforehand?" 

"I bathed the previous evening" he replied with an almost apologetic tone to his voice.

"Not a morning person then?  And did you use your regular brand of soap or a different kind?"

"No.  My regular kind."

"Did you apply anything to your skin that you wouldn't normally use such as a moisturiser?"

"NO!" replied George, sharply.  "I do not use feminine products on my skin!"

Julia didn't instantly reply, shocked as she was by George's raised voice and sharp manner.

"The only reason I asked is that sometimes women get skin rashes when applying too much make up, which clogs the pores and causes a reaction in the skin.  I know they test things so this doesn't happen but it can still happen...but obviously you wouldn't use lots of foundation make up..."

"OBVIOUSLY NOT!" George snapped again.

"Let me run some tests...it could be blood related." she said, wondering what on earth was triggering George.

As she was about to leave there came a voice over the loudspeaker.  Julia recognised it as being Harper Newell, a nurse she knew and a friend, who was speaking and there was urgency in her voice.

"Paging a crash team to the lobby...paging a crash team to the lobby.  We have a patient emergency."

Julia, without any authority, ran to the lobby to see what was going on.  She wasn't officially part of the crash team but George Sneedley's room was the closest to the lobby so she thought she could get there within seconds.

A woman was lying flat on the floor and a child was next to her, looking confused and frightened.  

"Are you her son?" asked a nurse.

"No...ma'am...erm...she just collapsed all of a sudden!" said the boy.

"Step aside, I'm coming through!  Said Julia.  She knelt down next to the woman and checked to see if she was still breathing.  "She's alive and breathing" said Julia to the crash team.  No visible signs of injury...OK, let's get her on the gurney and get her to triage" 

The team wasted no time in doing what Julia ordered and before long they'd taken her to triage, where she was then sent for further examinations.  Julia was then told she was no longer needed by more senior doctors.

She collected the swabs taken from George and took them down to the lab for analysis.  As she guessed, it was a skin allergy and easily treated.

"Sorry about before, George, but there was this emergency in the lobby and I had to attend to it."

"Huh, how selfish of them"

"Aaaaaaaanyway, George, I have your test results back and it is a skin allergy that's causing the blotches on your face.  If you're using a new kind of soap or skin treatment..."

"WHICH I'M NOT!" he said, loudly and indignantly

"...OK, then it's advisable to avoid using certain ones in future, especially those which has an oil base..like the kind you find in make up"

Julia was met with a hard stare. 

"That's just an example.  Anyway, here is a prescription for some tablets for you to take..."

George snatched the prescription, let out a loud "harumph" and ushered Julia out of his room.

At the end of her shift Julia returned home.  There was excitement and also George's strange, defensive behaviour but what she was now looking forward to was an evening at the humour and hijinks festival.  Julia was a member of the Dishonourable Company of Pranksters: Practical jokers extraordinaire.

One of the reasons she was looking forward to going was that she had invited a new friend, Blair Herrick, to join her.  Blair was a chemistry postgraduate student, intelligent, interesting to talk to and even Julia had to admit that he was a good looking man...not that being handsome rated highly in her list of things she liked about men.  No, to her, being handsome was merely a bonus.  Still, just picturing him made Julia feel....sensual.  It was a very new feeling for her to experience.

She thought about changing into an outfit that most people would consider to be more alluring but the festival usually involved someone getting a custard pie in the face, or wet, or covered in gunge so she opted for her regular, practical outfit.

She headed down to the festival and kept a sharp look out for her 'date', even though she didn't consider this to be a romantic date; it was just going to be two intelligent, sophisticated people enjoying one another's company and if anything were to arise then Julia would take a measured, calm approach and not act like a silly little girl with a crush.

She took a fortifying drink of punch from the Prankster's bowl; a secret recipe known only to the Grand Prankmaster, and sat down, awaiting the arrival of Blair.  Sure enough he arrived, looking stylish in a grey blazer and black turtleneck sweater.

"Hi, Julia.  How's it going?" he said.

"Fine...fine...I haven't been here long.  Did you find this place OK?" she replied.

"I couldn't miss it.  Signs everywhere, people handing out flyers for comedy acts.  So this is the Humour and Hijinks Festival is it?  I've never been before." said Blair.

"This is it" replied Julia, looking around her at all the other attendees; some of whom she knew.  "It's a comedy and practical jokes evening, a bit of fun.  Over there you have the Pranksters and opposite them are the Jokesters.  The Prankers like..."

"Pranking?" Blair interjected.

"That's right, so expect whoopee cushions, custard pies and buckets filled with confetti.  The Jokesters like firing off quick fire jokes and puns..."

"Ugh, puns..." Blair recoiled with a look of disgust on his face.

"I know!  Anyway we have these competitions; who can play the most practical jokes in 3 hours or who can tell the most one liners"

"It all sounds a bit silly" said Blair.

"It is.  That's the point.  A bit of levity in our otherwise serious lives.  That's why I joined; to take a break, to show a different side of myself."

"Have you always been a joker?" asked Blair.

"No...it's a recent thing.  I developed that side of my personality in college.  There were fellow med students who wanted to play practical jokes on campus but lacked ideas...so they came to me because they thought I was smart."

Next to Julia and Blair were three men talking loudly, using very florid words and terms.

"I find that when dealing with the none-too-bright and barely hominid types a well phrased witty riposte or play on words usually shuts them up as they try to work out what's been said to them."

"Jokesters..." whispered Julia.  "They're gearing up for a pun assault, I can tell."

"They're blabbing their plans!  Geez, do they have to be so loud?" said an increasingly annoyed Blair.

"For example..." continued the very loud man.  "...I was called a 'bastard' the other day and, quick as a flash, I responded with 'ah-ha!  Better to be conceived by a MISS, than to be MISconceived!' and he had no response.  No response at all!"

"Oh very witty, Damian, very witty." said one of his friends.

"No it wasn't!" said Blair out loud.  "That's just being pretentious!"

"Excuse me, sir, are you referring to my friends and I by that statement?" said a man with an immaculate pencil moustache and bright bleached blonde hair.

"Can you noisy fruits not be so loud and....so damn annoying!" said Blair, raising his voice.

"Fruits?  I'm just as God made me!" responded the blonde man with great indignation.

Julia felt Embarrassed at this scene.  "Blair, just leave things alone...it's meant to be a fun evening."

"Well...people like that get on my nerves!" said Blair.

"By people like that you mean?...." said Julia, nervously.

"Well...you know the type.  Gentlemen of the Lavender persuasion who are loud show offs.  Like that goddawful Truman Capote!  Every time he's on TV I have to change channels."  Blair's brows were furrowed and his cheeks were starting to go red.

The penny was dropping with Blair.  He had all this anger in him that he had concealed until now, the presence of three homosexual men had pushed a button in him and now he wasn't so handsome and charming.

"Look, this place isn't my scene...let's say we split from here and get a drink somewhere?" said Blair.

"I....enjoy the festival.  I'll stay." said Julia, looking disconsolate that, once again, a man who showed such promise had turned out to be a jerk.

"It's like that, is it?" said Blair, tetchily.

"It's like that" she replied.  "Goodnight, Blair."

He got up and stormed off, shaking his head all the way to the subway station.  Julia went in the opposite direction to seek some comfort by watching the stand up comic.

Julia was left with a sinking feeling that left her sick in the stomach.  Another prospect dashed.  Not even the comedy could cheer her up.

"He left you high and dry, eh?  Well, you dodged a bullet in my opinion" came a voice from her left.  Julia turned to see who was speaking to her and it was the man with bleach blonde hair.

"I left him as much as he left me.  Another winner I backed..." she said, with a heavy sigh.

The man was about to reply when there a came a voice over the loudspeaker.  "The result of tonight's contest is in.  Pranksters 7, Jokesters 4.  Therefore I declare the Pranksters to be the winner of this evening's Humour and Hijinks Festival, proudly sponsored by Crelm Toothpaste.  Crelm, for a minty fresh smile as you laugh the night away."

"Congratulations, Prankster..." said the blonde man.  "...in time honoured tradition the losing team buys the winner a drink.  Would you stay and have one?" 

"This isn't a rebound thing, is it?" asked Julia.

"Honey, you're not my type.  This is a genuine offer of camaraderie and consolation."

"Alright...I'll accept your offer but I'm done with men for the foreseeable!"

"That makes less competition for me!" said the man with a mischievous grin.  My name is Diego, what's yours?"

"Julia"

"Pleased to meet you Julia, what's your tipple of choice?"

Julia told Diego what she wanted and in a flash he went over to the Tiki Bar, snapped his fingers and was served instantly.  Almost as quickly as he had left to go to the bar, he was back with two exotic cocktails.

"Here's to comedy!" he said, raising a glass to hers.

"To comedy!" Julia replied.  "I'm sorry about my date...the things he said."

"You don't have to apologise for him being a jerk." Diego replied.

"I know I shouldn't but...that's the third time I've struck out in as many months!  I mean, I'm a doctor, a serious professional and I spent years avoiding romance and now...now..."

"You're inner romantic has been stirred up and it won't quieten down?"

"Yes!  That's it!  I'm sorry to be all 'poor me'.  I don't want to keep you from your friends..."

"They're not really my friends.  I mean, one of them stole some of my artwork back in the Spring and he's doing community service for my gallery so I tolerate him for now.  He does tell a good story though so it's not so bad being in his company."

"Are you a painter?" she asked.

"Art critic.  I haven't the time to paint.  I should but I prefer the company of people too much to be the tortured artist.  Let's see if my hopeless romantic soul can help yours.  Tonight's date was a jerk, what about the other two?"

"Blair...the guy you saw tonight, seemed alright.  He's a chemistry postgrad, intelligent, articulate and knowledgeable so I thought he'd be a good match.  Before him was Jude, a successful stockbroker, was successful and charming but he's still infatuated with his ex-wife and was such a lazy slob!  And then the guy who ruined it all for me:  Vincent."

"What was wrong with Vincent?" asked Diego.

Julia sighed.  "Nothing.  He was charming, intelligent, handsome...if you put such store in things like mere physical attractiveness...and so, so nice.  I mean selfless!  He went to work in the Congo helping victims of the civil war there."

"Oh unrequited love!  How well I know thee!" sighed Diego.  "I take it this Vincent was the catalyst for your romantic stirrings and since he left you've tried to find the nearest thing to him?"

"You seem to know me so well!" said Julia.

"Like I said, I'm a people person." said Diego.

"I don't like all this!  I want the romance to go away!  I want to be the strict professional woman of science again!"

"The genie's out of the bottle, honey.  As I see it, you've got three choices:  1, go to the Congo and find Vincent.  2, become a nun.  3.  Keep trying until you find someone as good or even better than Vincent.  Now with my list of contacts, I'm sure I can steer you in the direction of someone like that.  Let Diego Lobo be your guide!"

 

CHAPTER 220: Bury The Past

Summer Holliday was working out on her least favourite fitness machine:  The weight lifting chair.  She much preferred running on the treadmill whilst watching the TV but all three were being used so she made do with the "torture chair" as she liked to call it.  As she was facing the doors to Movers n' Shakers gym, she could see everyone arriving and leaving.  One new arrival was smiling at her and walked over in Summer's direction.  This new arrival, a young black woman in a turquoise outfit, seemed to know who she was although Summer was struggling to put a name to the face.

"Hey, Summer.  Hard at work I see" said the newcomer.

"Err...yes.  Hey, is that you, Joanna?  You look so different!"  Summer stopped working out and stood up so she could get a better look.  "I didn't recognise you with that hairstyle"

"It's new...in fact everything you see is new.  I had my hair done and bought this outfit" replied Joanna.

"You look fab, Joanna.  So why the new look?"

"My usual look is kinda...of the streets, you know?  I'm a college girl now and I want to look like I belong on campus.  I take note of what all the students are wearing and I went for this, the hair...I even did my make up to look more with-it.  Whaddaya think?  Does this look collegiate to you?"

"I don't know, I never went to college...unless you count catering college.  But that's totally something Barbara or my friend Suzy would wear.  You look amazing."

Joanna nodded and said thanks.  "I should have come down here first and then had my hair styled but it's the end of the first semester and I'm at a loose end these days; I'm not used to vacations and time off!"

"You worked solidly before going to college?  What line of work were you in? asked Summer.

"Erm...hospitality, kind of..." replied a sheepish Joanna.  "Nothin' spectacular...ah it was a shit business, I'm glad I'm out of it."

"A lot of long and odd hours, eh?" said Summer, innocently.

"Oh very odd...anyway, movin' on.  It's busy in here today! I was hoping for a go on the treadmills."

"Good luck with that!  Clinton, the personal trainer, has his own private mentoring group over there and they've taken over the machines."

Jeremy entered the gym and walked over to the ladies.  "Joanna, hey, you look great!  I like the new look"

"Thanks, Jeremy.  I'm gonna change into my work out clothes but I'll catch you cats later, dig?"

"Cats?  Dig?" said a confused Jeremy.

"I'll explain those words, Jeremy, later..." said Summer, smiling at her friend's innocence about the modern world.

Joanna headed to the changing rooms and then back downstairs to work out with the punching bag.  She preferred doing that to lifting weights because it kept her self-defence technique in good order.  Over the years, growing up and working the streets, knowing how to throw a quick jab to the jaw or stomach came in handy.

Her conversation between herself, Summer and Jeremy reminded her of how much her life had changed in the last few months.  Those two were nice, naive white folks who were pleasant to be around...heck, a lot more pleasant than most people she knew...but what if they found out about her past?  How patient, nice and pleasant would they be if they knew?  Only Action knew who she really was, but he wasn't blabbing.

After the work out she showered, got changed, reapplied her make up and styled her hair.  She was now going to head into town to meet a guy she was interested in:  Pace Tye.

Pace was a fellow university student in his sophomore year and he'd been one of the first friendly people she had met since starting college and she noticed there was some kind of vibe going on between them.  Neither of them had mentioned it to one another and they certainly weren't an item but Joanna did think about him and the way he approached life in a relaxed, open minded way.

She met him down by the Waterside Warble bar, one of her old stomping grounds.  Joanna had mixed feelings about coming back to the streets she grew up in.  But with a new look and a new sense of purpose she pushed her uneasiness aside when she saw Pace.

"Hey, Pace...good to see you" she said, enthusiastically.

"Hey Joanna...or should I say wow?  You look amazing" he replied.

"Oh this little outfit?  It's a recent thing; I'm trying a new look"

"Well it definitely suits you.  So, are you ready for some fun?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm up for a bit of that now the semester is over.  Why did you pick here to meet?  Was it the flea market?"

"Actually I'm here for the music.  Do you like a bit of jazz?  A bit of African, Latin American or a Salsa vibe?"

"I am DEFINITELY up for some of that!"

They strolled along the public square, ignoring the stalls of used and second hand items and made it all the way to where a woman was singing African folk songs.  They paused to catch her act, which was proving popular with the locals.

When the singer finished a song, Pace offered to buy Joanna a drink from a nearby food stall.  As he did so she looked around her old neighbourhood.  It had cleaned up a little in recent months but that was probably because of the market and the live music; the city council had somehow cleared away the low lives and homeless for one day.  She noticed a wishing well nearby; that was new and something she had never seen before.  She had a nickel on her so, on a whim, she tossed it into the well and made a wish.  "I wish I won't foul things up with Pace" she said in her mind.

Pace returned with the drinks and handed one to her.  "Enjoying the vibe?" he asked.

"Sure.  Music's good...the drink's real good and the company's not bad either" she said with a smile.

"Here's to school vacations" he replied, raising his glass.  "What do you have planned?" he asked.

"Nothing yet...I'm open to suggestions" she said, flirtatiously.

"I'd better get my thinking cap on" he replied.  Shall we sit down...somewhere away from the crowd?" he suggested.  Joanna nodded and they spied a graffiti covered bench near the basketball court that fitted the description.

Pace began to chat "You know...we meet up nearly every day on campus but I hardly know a thing about you."

"And you're also a bit of a mystery to me" she replied.

"OK, I'll give you the brief autobiography.  I'm from Philly originally.  Dad's a mechanic, mom's a full time mom, I have two annoying sisters and about a billion relatives whose names and birthdays I'm supposed to know off by heart."

"A real big family, eh?" Joanna said, smiling.

"Yep...so I absolutely love the tranquillity of campus life and having my own space...which is why I'm going to spend most of the vacation here in Sim City and only pop back to Philadelphia for a couple of days towards the end."

"So hopefully I'll get to see a bit of you before you head home" she said with a smile.

"That's my hope as well.  So, what's your story?" he asked.

Joanna drew a deep breath.  "Well, I was born just a few blocks from here, actually.  My family is...well, non-existent.  Both parents are dead.  I had one brother but....he died as well..."

Pace's face went from smiling to sad.  "Oh, I didn't realise..." he said, almost apologetically.

"It's not like I've been forthcoming with this stuff since I arrived on campus.  I'm still coming to terms with some of it as well...but...on the positive side, I had a wealthy great uncle who left me a small fortune in his will"

"Get out of here!" he exclaimed.

"It's true.  So, I quit these streets, moved to Willow Creek and enrolled in college." she said.

"Wow...just wow.  That's a helluva backstory.  I knew you were interesting from the first moment I met you." he said, admiringly.  Joanna, however, deliberately left out the sordid part of her past.

"Fancy another drink or something to eat?" Pace asked.

"Sure...I'm getting a little hungry now" she replied.

The two walked back over to the food stalls and Pace ordered a couple of burritos and sodas but as he was doing that, a man in a loud pink suit approached Joanna.

"Say...I recognise you from somewhere.  I'm sure we've met before" he said.

They had.  This guy was once a client.  Worked in advertising and was a sex addict.  He threw a private party for some clients and hired some prostitutes...Joanna was one of them.  It paid well enough but he and his friends were boorish drunks.  He couldn't manage it on the night he had so much to drink...

"Maybe...or maybe you have me mistaken for someone else?" she replied, coldly.  Pace had returned.

"Hey there..." Pace said, his quizzical gaze flitting between Joanna and this random guy.

"Hey Pace, thanks for the drink." she replied.  "I'm sorry, I can't help you" she said to the man before walking off with Pace.

Pace said nothing about the guy and didn't ask Joanna either.  He carried on having a conversation with her as if nothing had happened.  Joanna wondered if he was either genuinely so cool it didn't matter or else he didn't want to make her uncomfortable by asking her who that man was.

They eventually ended up at the Waterside Warble bar and Joanna thought the date was going well.  

"You must be very familiar with this bar..." said Pace.  "...I didn't know you're from the Spice Quarter and that you had a rough upbringing.  Had I known I'd have taken you somewhere a bit more upmarket and different."

"Not to worry...it's cool just hanging out.  You know, I don't know another guy like you?" she said.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" he replied.

"Oh it's all good, baby, it's good."

Pace turned to look at Joanna and he had a smile on his face but with his eyes narrowed as he took a good look into her face.

"You know, I get the feeling that there's a lot going on with you...I mean layers, depths, even secrets" he said.

She smiled wryly at what he said.  "I don't know about the former, but definitely the part about secrets.  But then, don't we all have them?" she replied.

"Yeah...and, hey, I don't want to pry into anything that makes you uncomfortable.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that those secrets, the life path that led you here...it makes you fascinating to be around.  That's a compliment, by the way..."

"Yeah, I know" she replied, smiling at him.  "Maybe, in time, one day...if we're still friends...I might share some things about me but I want to move forwards, you know?"

"I hope we'll be friends for a very long time" said Pace.  "And I dig the moving forwards thing"

Talk turned to the next semester but the vibe between the two of them was still good and Joanna liked Pace a lot and could see herself becoming romantically involved with him but she was also aware that she had never been in a proper romantic relationship with anyone before and that was still gnawing away at her from the inside.  

The day was drawing to a close and Pace got up from the bar.  "I'm sorry, Jo, but I got to do a small favour for a buddy who's moving house at the crack o' dawn tomorrow so I need an early night and I've already had waaaayyy to many of these!" he said, pushing the empty drinks glass away from him.  "I really liked being with you today and I hope we can see more of each other during the vacation."

"I would like that too...and sorry if I've been all evasive and..."

"Don't sweat it, Jo!  I get it.  I really do.  Now you have a great rest of the evening and I'll give you a call."

She got up from the bar as well and they both hugged each other.  It was a close, firmly held hug that lasted beyond just being friendly.  With this hug with this man she felt something she had rarely ever experienced:  Secure.  

"You take it easy" said Pace as he left.

"You too" she replied and that was all that was necessary to say.  The softness in their voices communicated a lot more than mere words.

Pace headed off but Joanna wasn't ready to leave yet.  She returned to the bar where the barmaid took one look at her and said "the same?"

"Yeah, just one more" replied Joanna.

"Cute guy.  Are you going to see him again?" said the barmaid as she poured Joanna a drink.

"I hope so...I hope I don't screw things up with him." Joanna replied.  "I gotta lotta baggage..."

"Don't we all?" replied the barmaid.  "If we let that get in the way we'd all die lonely"

"I guess...I've done some pretty bad stuff..."

"Was it by design?"

Joanna paused before answering.  "By someone's design, not mine, although it took me a long time to break away from it.  I could have stopped myself earlier...could have..."

"But you have now?"

"Yep...turned my life around and then he enters into it"

"I hope he's worth it"

"He just might be.  Better than all the others, at least.  You got a fella?"

"I had...a husband as well.  He got killed in Vietnam."

"Oh man...here I am feeling sorry for myself and..."

"Don't sweat it.  We all have something from our past to deal with but it looks like you might have found some hope."

"As long as I don't foul up..."