Would You Be Mine?

A Leap of Faith

Chad was still smiling even after almost an hour since Theresa left. He was ecstatic, excited, and elated. He could still somehow smell the back of Theresa’s hand that he kissed earlier.

It smelled like roses. Fresh and young, reminding him of springtime. It was quite a surprise. He always used to think that doctors smelled like alcohol, or disinfectant, something that keeps people clean.

He was still holding the book that he was supposed to be throwing earlier, out of frustration. However, this time, he was embracing the book, unknowingly. He genuinely felt good after such a long time.

He felt good for the first time since he last kissed Amelia.

Amelia.

Chad wondered how she would react if she knew that he had a deal with Theresa, his doctor of all people. He wanted to tell her that, but he promised the doctor that their deal would be kept a secret.

He reached for his phone and searched for the nearest flower shop in the area. If he would be acting as the doctor’s boyfriend, he might as well do the part. And he really wanted to give Theresa flowers. He owes her his life after all.

Theresa was now inside her office, browsing through the files of his patient. She grabbed another folder from her file, now knowing that it was Chad’s charts.

Her cheeks blushed when she remembered how he kissed her earlier. She went over his chart, pleased that all his laboratories were normal and clear. She can discharge him soon, a week maximum in her estimate.

She knew that it was unprofessional and too much of her to put Chad in that position. But it was the fastest solution she had in mind at the moment.

Her father was very keen and conscious about her being single. He has been literally throwing her to every available bachelor he meets.

She loves her father. She loves her so much. Ever since her mom left them when she was just 10, he was all she had. She never felt anything missing. Her father was so hands-on with her, even while taking care of the family business.

She focused on studying, on making his father feel proud. And that made her forget of everything else. Well, not entirely everything else. She had hobbies, her father allowed her to do a lot of different activities on top of her studies. But she had no time for boys.

It’s not like she didn’t like boys. She did. She had a lot of crushes when she was younger. But she never had the time for it. Her father gave her access to all the possible things that could keep her occupied. She knew that he didn't want her to have enough time to feel sorry about her mom, about her leaving them.

So she took every opportunity to enjoy life, discover new skills, and learn, with her Dad beside her.

Now that she’s all grown up and finally enjoying a career that she loves, her father suddenly all had the free time in the world. He misses her a lot, she knew that. She was busy with being a surgeon, the best in the state.

One day, she was caught off guard by his father’s request.

“Dress up, we will be having dinner.” She remembered her dad saying.

She dressed up, like she used to do, thinking it was just one of those nights where her father wanted to enjoy some good food outside the house.

To her surprise, they were not alone for dinner. Her father set her up with one of his associates' sons. His father left them alone to say the least, alone with a puffed-up lawyer from his Dad’s firm.

She endured the night. But, just like how she knew her Dad, it was not the first of many surprise dates that she was coaxed into.

Theresa loved her Dad but she was getting tired of having to endure another night with an overbearing lawyer, golf acquaintance, or business affiliate that her father introduced to her too.

Since then, she started spending too many hours in the OR, getting extra hours from other hospitals nearby. She suddenly had the excuse not to go to the dinner dates that her father arranged for her.

But after a few months of skipping those dates, she realized it was taking a toll on her father’s health. He was healthy, as healthy as a horse. But he was sad, genuinely sad. The worst part about it, she knew that he was sad for her.

She remembered him saying, “I am getting older, I do not want to leave you alone.”

So she had to date, but not the men that his father had in mind for her.

It was one of her nightly duties when Richard Alberty came into the emergency room. He suffered from a gunshot wound, so close to his aorta that he was likely to die.

She did her best to save him, and she managed to do so. Although there were complications that led him to another rupture in his heart, she was also there, to save him again.

Night duty in that hospital gave her plenty of stories that she often overheard from the nurses. On one of her duties, she overheard the nurses talking about Chad.

She learned about the love triangle between another one of the hospital’s patients, Amelia, with Chad and the other guy Jake According to what she heard from the nurses, Amelia lost her memory, after being kidn*pped and somehow ended up with Chad. Unfortunately, when she regained her memories, she was kidn*pped again, forcing Jake and Chad, two men who according to the nurses “was her knight in shining armor” to work together to get her back. However, Amelia chose Jake over Chad, who happened to dodge a bullet for her.

The three became a celebrity amongst the nurses. Theresa discovered a lot about the three by simply listening to the nurses. She learned about personal details about Chad. How he was a Chef that chose to live on a farm and was now a converted cowboy. Simply listening to the nurses made her realize that Mr. Alberty is a decent and good man.

His father deserved a decent and a good man for his daughter. And she was willing to give it to him, for the meantime. Up until she finds another way to convince her father that she would still be better, fine, even without a man in her life.

She had no guy friends and she was so busy that she didn’t have anyone in mind to introduce to his father. Chad happened to be in the right place, at the right time, and with the ideal circumstance to be his boyfriend.

All she had to do was pretend to have a relationship with Chad and introduce him to his father. She didn’t have to worry about going out on dates or his father getting updates about her from the guys he was pushing her to build a relationship with.

She could give his father that happiness and the confidence that she is capable of having a relationship, but she can survive and still be happy without it.

Theresa had it all planned. She would introduce a guy to her father. She’d bring him around family dinners and events in her father’s law firm. After a few months, she’ll start to get too busy again or ask the guy to spend less and less time with her. Then, after a few more months, it will be all over. She’ll pretend to feel sorry about it but will end up moving on, happy. She’ll have to prove to her Dad that she’ll manage, even with a heartache. And he had nothing to worry about her.

She had high hopes that Chad would be saying yes, but she was surprised when he actually did. It was like she was just asking for a child to share his candy. And he did willingly.

Her mind went back to reality when suddenly she heard a knock on her door.

“Come in,” She said while straightening up her lab coat, sitting upright on her chair.

It was nurse Jane, one of her favorite nurses, “Dr. Reed, flowers for you.”. She said while smiling from ear to ear.

It was the first time Theresa received flowers. Well, her father gave her flowers but he often had them delivered at home. He knew that she didn’t want that kind of attention at work.

“You would not believe who the flowers are from.” Nurse Jane said while pacing the flowers on her table.

Confused, she pulled the card inserted in between the basket of Freesias.

It was from Chad. “Cheers to taking the leap with me! Have a great day! It was signed Chad, with three hearts after his name.