When Love Ends

When Love Ends

"Caldwell James?"

Matt Camden looked from the name on his list around the hospital waiting room to see who would answer his page. He had to admit that working as transport beat most of the jobs he'd had while working at the hospital. He know felt like he knew the entire layout of the hospital like the back of his hand. He had to in order to escort patients to the different areas for treatment. He looked at his sheet again; currently his destination would be the blood lab.

A petite young woman with full, wavy reddish blond hair and sparkling green eyes rose from her seat in the far corner and smiled at him. For a moment Matt was stunned. He'd never seen anyone like her before who could seemingly light up a room with one smile. She gave him a small salute as she stopped beside him. "That's me, Caldwell James."

Matt forced a shaky smile. "Matt Camden, nice to meet you."

Caldwell just looked at him for a moment as if she were waiting for him to say or do something. When it was apparent he was just going to stare at her; she shrugged her shoulders. "So, are you going to take me to the blood lab or ask me out on a date?"

"Would you have dinner with me tonight?" Matt blurted out without hesitation.

She laughed, the sound a delightful mix of giggle and mirth. "Hmm, let me think about it. But first, maybe we should head for the lab. I'm pretty sure the vampires are waiting for me there."

Matt snapped out of himself and almost blushed. "Yeah, right sorry. This way."

She fell easy into step beside him as if she knew the way by heart and didn't really need him at all. She gave him a sideways glance. "This isn't your usual job is it? I ask because usually the people doing transports don't have to be reminded to transport."

This time Matt did blush. "This is my second week but it's my first time to do that."

"Forget to transport or ask a girl on a date?"

"Both." Then he blushed harder. "I mean, I've asked girls on dates before but just not patients."

Caldwell laughed again. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to embarrass you. I just hate hospitals and needles and it helps if I joke around."

Matt laughed. "Trust me, I know all about not liking needles. I donated blood for the first and only time a little over two years ago while my mom was having twins. The only thing good about the experience was the cookies they gave me afterward."

"Were the babies and your mom okay?"

Matt nodded. "Yeah, the blood wasn't for them. My dad just thought it would be a good way for me to kill time and for him to feel like less scared about what was happening. You would think he'd have been used to Mom being in labor by then, besides myself and the twins she gave birth four other times."

"Seven children or I guess more if the last set of twins wasn't the first? My mom swore to me for years that if she had known what labor was like before she had me, I would never have been born."

The two stopped outside the door marked lab. Matt was sorry they had gotten there so quickly. "Well, here we are."

Caldwell rocked on her heels a little. "Yeah, here we are. Thanks for the escort Matt. It was nice meeting you."

"Miss James, we've been waiting for you. Come on in." A young, pleasant faced nurse took the paper Matt was holding and beckoned Caldwell into the room. With a little wave, Caldwell turned away from Matt and followed the nurse inside.

Matt watched her go for a full second and then frowned. "Hey, what about that date?"

*******

"You asked a girl you were transporting to the lab out on a date?" John Hamilton shook his head. Sometimes he just couldn't believe his former roommate.

"Yeah but she never gave me an answer. You should have seen her John. I've never met anyone like her. She's beautiful; she's funny; she's…"

"Probably already got a boyfriend and thinks you are a nut case. Do you have a brain in that head of yours or did you lose it someplace?"

Matt shook his head. Why couldn't John understand? He was deliriously happy with Pricilla, surely he knew what it was like to fall head over heals for a girl. "She didn't mention one and she seemed to trust me well enough to escort her to the lab. What makes you so sure she might not like me?"

John laughed. "Because I know you."

The hospital pager on Matt's waistband went off. He knew that it meant his break was over and that he was needed to make another transport. He smiled when he read where he was to go. "Gotta go. I'm needed at the blood lab. Maybe Caldwell needs an escort back to the waiting room."

Matt made it to the blood lab quicker than he had ever responded to a page. The same nurse who had been there earlier smiled when he entered the lab. To his dismay, Caldwell was nowhere in sight. "Um, I was paged to come here."

"You're Matt Camden right?" She had a folded piece of paper in her hand. "I have a message for you."

Matt's face fell. A message; it was only a message. He took it but didn't open it at first. "While I'm here, is Caldwell James still here? She's the one I brought up here a half an hour ago."

The nurse shook her head. "No, she left about ten minutes ago. She said she could find her own way out."

Dejected, Matt left the lab. He didn't unfold his note until he got to the elevator. As he read the contents of the message, his face brightened once again. Matt Camden, a dinner tonight sounds great. Call me at 555-6723 to discuss details. Caldwell.