That Sort of Girl

Herbert

"Happy birthday to you...," they sang.

Jeanette, the nurse, lighted the two candles, shaped 4 and 0 on top of my favorite Triple Chocolate Cake. She lifted the cake and presented it to me as they continued singing, "...Happy birthday, Ana!"

Jeanette was the tallest among us. Her long, curly hair made her taller in her slim figure. She had to lower the cake to my level.

Esther and Antonio clapped their hands and cheered. Together they said, "Make a wish!"

I closed my eyes and wished... I'm already contented with my two daughters so what else will I wish for? I wish to stay out of trouble. I blew the candles.

Jeanette put the cake down on the table.

"How is it to be forty?" asked Esther, the bookkeeper.

Her long straight hair and chubbiness made her small height and frame deceiving. Not everyone noticed that she was already five months pregnant with her third child.

"It's just a number, my dear," I answered as I modeled my new summer dress and pair of shoes my daughters gave me for this occasion. "I'll age in grace and beauty, you will see."

There were no scheduled patients that time, so we used the time to have a small gathering for lunch. I brought them some pasta carbonara with toasted garlic bread and fried chicken strips. They bought the cake, ice cream and sodas.

Antonio, the messenger, distributed the paper plates and plastic forks. He was a fresh graduate when I hired him, the youngest of the staff.

The door opened and my boss, Dr. Manuel Santiago, came in with someone, a male patient or guest, more or less my age.

"Hi, Doc," we greeted.

Dr. Santiago is taller, fat, has thick, short hair. He looked like the jolly Santa Claus without the white beard.

"Happy birthday," Dr. Santiago greeted and kissed me on the cheek and gave me his gift. "I would like you to meet Herbert. Herbert, she's Ana, our clinic manager. She's a nurse by profession.”

"Hi," I said as I offered my hand. "Nice meeting you."

We shook hands. I must admit I find Herbert attractive. His chinky eyes went with his fair skin that I assumed he was pure Chinese. He was tall but not that handsome by present standards. But he looked smart that I consider him even more handsome. There was something in his smile that I liked.

He must have noticed I've been staring at him as they went inside Dr. Santiago's office.

"Ana," the doctor called. "He's for consultation."

I knew the drill. I asked Jeanette to hand me a new patient's folder. I asked Herbert to fill out the first page, the information sheet. While he was filling up the form, I asked Antonio to bring some food and drinks inside Dr. Santiago's office.

"You'd better have these first before anything else, Doc," I said.

"Thank you," they said.

"Ana," called Dr. Santiago after a few minutes. "Herbert here will try our chelation therapy. Start him with BOS 1 and orient him with the sessions."

So I led Herbert to my office and explained to him the therapy sessions. I opened his folder and read his information sheet. His full name is Herbert Tan, will turn 43 next month, and he's single. He smokes; he drinks, and exercises not too often.

"I'm sure Dr. Santiago already mentioned to you some procedures. So, you'll have to undergo laboratory tests, ECG, and plethysmogram," I said.

He nodded. "Yes. He said that I need to schedule that."

He was staring at me and I tried not to notice it.

"If you have a clinical laboratory where you can go to, I'll just give you the laboratory request," I said. "Or if you want, I can schedule you to our affiliate laboratory."

"That's okay. Would that be tomorrow?"

"Yes, as much as possible. So, nothing by mouth starting midnight tonight. Your blood extraction will be between 8am to 9am followed by the ECG. They will give us the results once done. We'll just inform you of the results on your next visit."

I wrote something in his chart and put a Post-It for Jeanette to read.

"What about the plet..."

"The plethysmogram," I continued the word for him. "We will do it today. The procedure will tell us how blood circulates in the extremities. The hands and feet are the parts of our body farthest from the heart. They're good indicators of good blood flow."

I asked Jeanette to perform the plethysmogram on Herbert. Also, I reminded her to call our affiliate clinical laboratory for Herbert's blood extraction and ECG. After the procedure, I went back to my office and talked to Herbert.

"BOS stands for Basic Optimum Solution," I explained. "On the first five sessions, the solution contains a small amount of each component to acclimatize the body. Starting on the sixth session, we will give a full dose of each component. You need to complete 30 to 40 sessions depending on the laboratory and plethysmogram results. Your first session today will take about one and a half to two hours."

He looked at his watch.

"I think I will just go back at around three or four this afternoon," Herbert said. "I have to fetch my twins at school."

"Oh, you have sons. I thought you're single."

"Recently divorced," he said smiling. "We have twins, boys, and age 12. My ex-wife called me earlier this morning and asked me to fetch the twins at one o'clock. What time do you usually close?"

"We stop receiving patients by 5:00 P.M. That would be no problem; we'll wait for you then."

Herbert returned past four. "Am I too late?" he asked.

"No, Mr. Tan," said Jeanette. "Dr. Santiago is waiting for you to discuss the plethysmogram results."

Jeanette prepared the solution while Dr. Santiago explained to Herbert the results. After the discussion, Dr. Santiago left for another appointment.

So we led Herbert to the therapy room and have him seated on a La-Z Boy recliner. Jeanette had hung the dextrose solution and was about to insert the IV line. She already prepared the cut micropore tapes and splinter. She took Herbert's hand and instructed him to make a fist. She tied a tourniquet on his wrist and swabbed a wet cotton to the preferred puncture site. As she was about to insert the needle, I heard Herbert say something.

"I hate needles," he said.

He looked apprehensive of the procedure after seeing the butterfly needle.

"You don't have to be afraid, Mr. Tan," I said as I took the needle from Jeanette. "This doesn't hurt. Just think of it as a bite of an ant." I inserted the needle as quick I said it was. "See?"

"You're good," he said smiling, relieved that it was all over.

"Thank you," I replied as I put on the tape to secure the needle and IV line.

Jeanette, Esther, and Antonio went home at five o'clock. In cases of overtime, I was always left alone since I live nearby and I don't want my staff to stay late. So I was alone with Herbert, the patient.

He was reading a book about chelation therapy which he bought from us. I told him he can sleep while waiting; anyway our reclining chairs can stretch like a bed. I left him there, turned off the lights but turned on the overhead lamp.

After an hour, I heard him call me.

"Yes, Mr. Tan?" I asked.

"I don't think I can sleep. Are you busy?"

"No. I'm just waiting for the solution to go by 50ml so I can replenish it with the vitamin solution," I said.

I assumed he wanted some company so I sat on a chair across him, and started some trivial conversation.

"It feels itchy," he said after a few minutes.

"You might have been taking coffee and other acidic drinks before coming over," I explained.

"Yeah, I remember, the boys and I went to Starbucks awhile ago."

"The solution has 30ml of vitamin C which is acidic that's why it stings. Just rub your fingers along the vein, like this," I placed my fingers on his vein and stroked it with gentle motion. "It helps. Or would you prefer warm compress?"

"No, don't bother, I'll get used to it, I guess," he said.

"I've told you earlier about the initial reactions. Possible fever within 24 hours, different color and smell in urine..."

"Are you married?" he asked in the middle of my explanation.

"No," I answered. "I'm a single mom, I have two daughters."

That took me by surprise when he asked me something personal, although I didn't mind it at all.

"How old are they?"

"My eldest, Susan, is 21 and my youngest, Elaine, is 15. How about your twins? I thought they were with you," this time, I tried to turn the conversation around.

"They're with their mom right now," he said. "They only stay with me during weekends and vacations."

"How long have you been divorced?"

His face turned serious.

"About a month and a half ago. It was painful. I thought divorce was just a simple process, but no. It brought out the worst in us."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. "I shouldn't have asked."

"It's okay," he said.

An awful silence came between us.

"How long have you been here?" I heard him ask.

"Ever since the clinic started," I answered. Then I started telling how the clinic came to be.

"Where are you working?" I asked about him again.

"I've set up a computer business," he replied. "I sell all kinds of computers, accessories and peripherals, and other electronic gadgets. I import them from other countries, like U.S. and Japan and sell it here. I used to work in a call center as a technical support representative where I met my ex-wife. After ten years, I decided to put up my own business. So far, I made the right decision."

As soon as the solution reached 50ml, I added the vitamin cocktail, as we called it. It replenished the washed out minerals during therapy. I told him to wait until for the whole solution to consume and we continued telling stories.

Seeing the solution consumed, I stood up and removed his IV connection. As soon as I removed the dextrose set from his arm he pulled me towards him. I could taste the desperation on his lips, it was so familiar. His tongue entered my mouth and his arms were so tight that I couldn't move. I didn't want to move. That's when I've realized that I haven't experienced this for months. So I welcomed Herbert with my arms, and my mouth, and straddled my legs on top of him.

He pulled my straps down, exposing my chest, took off my strapless bra and started to savor my two round breasts.

"How lovely," I heard him say over and over.

I held his head as he sucked my n****e and pulled it with his mouth. Then he would say "lovely" before kissing my lips. My hand searched for him, unzipped his pants and pulled them down. As a nurse, I'm adept at undressing other people. He was already stiff and neither of us wanted to go through the drudgery of undressing. I pulled my panties to the side and pushed my hips against him, immediately undulating like a cowgirl riding a horse on a rodeo.

He held my hips as I moved and besides our breathing we were quiet. We were panting, f*****g the pain out of each other. I grabbed his hair and told him not to come.

"I like you," he said after everything has subsided. Both of us were still locked in each other's arms. "But that doesn't mean..."

"...that we love each other," I said finishing his statement. "This is just one of those one-night stands."

"I agree. No emotions. No strings attached. I like that," he said and kissed me on the lips. "By the way, happy birthday, Ana."