(Chapter 3. August 14. Still Malibu. After lunch.)
"I'm telling you, Jess, she's just amazing." Steve was on hold. It was the sixth call he had made trying to find Olivia's realtor. During breakfast, they had determined that Olivia had completely forgotten her new address. After she went back to sleep, Mark went to the hospital to check on some patients, and while he was there, he checked with the hospital personnel office to see if she'd changed the address on her records. Finding no luck there, he called Steve and Jesse to tell them to start checking with realtors. They had spent the past three hours making calls looking for the person who had sold Olivia her house.
"She greets everything with this wild sense of humor. Last night she was kneeling on the floor, leaning her head against the toilet bowl. I was sitting on the edge of the tub just in case she needed me, and do you know what she said? 'I don't usually spill my guts to strangers this easily, but you're cute when you're worried.' She doesn't 'spill her guts' and she's throwing up in my bathroom."
"Yeah, Steve, that sounds absolutely charming," Jesse said sarcastically. "Only you would be attracted to a woman puking in your toilet. To me it sounds like she's another psycho. I mean, look what happened this morning. The first thing she does when she wakes up is find a gun and decide, 'Hey, I'll stick this in his ear and threaten his life.' She's nuts."
"Jess, she was just protecting herself. The gun was right out in the open on my nightstand, it's not like she went looking for it. And she didn't even remember meeting me. Besides, I think she had a bad experience in her past."
"Yeah, maybe with some acid or some magic mushrooms. If she fried her brain, that would explain why she doesn't remember anything."
"I don't know what happened, but I don't think it was drugs. She seems too wholesome for that, and too…" Steve searched for the word. "…innocent. The way she acted, it seemed like she'd been in a similar situation before. Like it wasn't the first time she'd had to defend herself."
"Be that as it may Steve, she still threatened to kill you this morning. There is a fine line between genius and insanity, and she's way over on the other side of it. I think--"
Steve held up a hand and shushed him. "Yes, Dr. Olivia Regis. Fourteen seven eighty-three West Dorothy Street? We're coming from Malibu. Take a left onto South Bundy, uh-huh. Turn left, two blocks down on the left. Thank you very much. Yes, you have a nice day, too."
Steve hung up the phone and shouted down the stairs, "I've got it. It's in Brentwood, not far from the country club."
A melodic voice carried up the stairs, "Hooray! Thank you so much. Where are the towels? Oh, never mind, I found them." After breakfast in bed with Steve, Olivia had settled back for a few more hours rest. Now she was finally ready to face the day and seemed anxious to get to her new home and start unpacking.
Steve went back to the table and started helping Jesse gather up the phone books and other paraphernalia they had been using to help track down Olivia's house. "You know, yesterday you were thrilled to have met her."
"Yeah, that was before she tried to kill you. She's off around the bend, Steve, and I think you should put as much distance as you can between you and her as fast as possible."
As he heard the downstairs bedroom door close, Steve admonished Jesse in a low voice, "She did not try to kill me, and I don't care what you think. Be nice. She's had a really rough twenty-four hours."
"I still think she's nuts."
"Dr. Travis!" Olivia called from the head of the stairs. "It's so good to see you again." She was wearing an old tee shirt and some shorts that Steve used to wear in high school. While they fit better than the pajamas, that delicately freckled shoulder was still peeking out. Steve found it unbelievably sexy.
Steve watched, captivated by that shoulder and those eyes, as she worked her peculiar magic on Jesse. She shook his hand warmly. "Thank you for helping Steve find my house." Then, in a child like voice, she said, "I thought I'd lost it for good. If I could just learn to put things back when I was through playing with them this never would have happened."
Jesse knitted his eyebrows for a moment; then he broke into a grin. "It was nothing. I was glad to help. Just try to take better care of your toys in the future."
Olivia flashed a smile that went all the way to her silver-green eyes. "Oh, I will! I promise." She was still hobbling on crutches, but she seemed to be feeling much better. Her complexion was still creamy white, but not pale and her eyes didn't seem so sunken in. With the enthusiasm of a child, she said, "Look, I'm getting around a lot better now than when you last saw me. Thanks for your help yesterday."
"Ah, don't mention it, Dr. Regis," Jesse blushed. "To someone with your background and reputation, I am sure wrapping a sprained ankle is nothing."
"Nonsense!" she patted his arm. "I was in terrible pain and you took care of me. Of course, I never will tap dance again."
With a sly look, Jesse asked, "Could you tap dance before, Dr. Regis?"
"Not a step, Dr. Travis. Not a step. And please do call me Olivia. Dr. Regis sounds terribly formal."
"Ok. Olivia. And you can call me Jesse. I was just telling Steve what a feather in Mark's cap it is to have hired you at Community General. I see where the __Journal of the American Medical Association__ just did an article on the clinic you built in Baltimore. They called you, what was it? 'Arguably the best orthopedic surgeon in the field today.' That's high praise."
"Oh that?" Olivia waved a hand as if swatting away a mosquito. "I know one of the senior editors at __JAMA__. He's an old friend, and he thinks shameless flattery will get me to come work for him. I've already told him that won't happen in this lifetime or the next. Besides, the Baltimore clinic has been run exclusively by my partner for over six months now. I may have suggested some of the practices that were in that article, but Cecil Bonner is the one who made them happen."
"I see. Well, even so, you did some remarkable things there. I've been following your work since I was in med school, and I think it's really great that you're here at CG."
"'Following my work,' eh?" She sent Steve a sneaky glance. "You make me sound like a medical Picasso." Folding her hands on her chest, she batted her eyes and asked, "Have I entered my blue period yet?"
"Uh. No, I guess not," Jesse put on a puzzled face. "Did I offend you?"
She laughed and said, "No, not at all. Unless by 'remarkable things' you meant that some of my patients looked like his __Three Musicians__ or his __Don Quixote__."
"Oh, now that would be bad." Jesse laughed with her as he went to put the phone books away.
Turning to Steve, Olivia asked, "Now, where do I live?"
Steve handed her the address, saying, "It's one of the best neighborhoods in the city. I'm sure you'll be happy there."
"One-four-seven-eight-three West Dorothy Street," Olivia read aloud. "That's appropriate. I guess I'm not in Kansas anymore, after all, huh?"
"It's appropriate, all right," Jesse muttered, not aware that he'd spoken aloud, "but more like Wonderland than Oz, and you're the Mad Hatter."
"Come again?"
"Well, uh, like you said, you're uh.... not um.... you're not in Kansas anymore, so to speak." Steve had to choke a laugh into a cough. He couldn't bear to watch his friend squirm like this, but he couldn't bear to stop it either. It was just too funny. Olivia was playing it perfectly straight, and poor Jess was struggling to cover his faux pas. "Yeah, um...L.A.... is a whole new place for you. It's not like back east. It's a new and exciting place to start your new research. And it's appropriate that the best surgeon in the city should live in the best neighborhood in town. I'll bet it's a great place."
Jesse stopped talking, obviously hoping that she'd be more interested in talking about her new house than about his blunder.
"Oh, it is pretty nice. It will be great when I'm done with it. And you wouldn't be the first person to think I'm nuts, Jesse. It's ok. I've learned to live with what other people think of me."
Jesse's eyes popped open in amazement, "You were listening?"
Olivia had to laugh. "I wasn't eavesdropping if that's what you mean. Mama always said I had 'ears like a blasted bat.' I was at the bottom of the stairs when I heard you. It's not like you were exactly being guarded in your conversation."
Jesse reddened. "Olivia, I'm sorry. It's just...well..."
"It's just that I threatened to blow your friend's head off."
"Well, yeah."
"I understand, Jesse. I've had to fight for my life before. The first time I was lucky. Then I decided I'd rather be prepared. Steve's a lot bigger and stronger than I am, so I felt I needed to get the upper hand. I promise I won't try to hurt him again." She smiled sweetly. "Oh, and by the way, what's the first thing you should always do when you discover that you've dug yourself a hole too deep to climb out of?"
"I don't know. What?"
"Stop digging."
She grinned, and Jesse laughed. "Message received."
Olivia flashed another brilliant smile. "Why don't we just start fresh and see if we get along from there?"
"I think I'd like that," Jesse agreed.
Olivia extended her hand. "Dr. Olivia Regis. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Jesse laughed and shook her hand, "Dr. Jesse Travis. The pleasure is mine."
"I'm telling you, Jess, she's just amazing." Steve was on hold. It was the sixth call he had made trying to find Olivia's realtor. During breakfast, they had determined that Olivia had completely forgotten her new address. After she went back to sleep, Mark went to the hospital to check on some patients, and while he was there, he checked with the hospital personnel office to see if she'd changed the address on her records. Finding no luck there, he called Steve and Jesse to tell them to start checking with realtors. They had spent the past three hours making calls looking for the person who had sold Olivia her house.
"She greets everything with this wild sense of humor. Last night she was kneeling on the floor, leaning her head against the toilet bowl. I was sitting on the edge of the tub just in case she needed me, and do you know what she said? 'I don't usually spill my guts to strangers this easily, but you're cute when you're worried.' She doesn't 'spill her guts' and she's throwing up in my bathroom."
"Yeah, Steve, that sounds absolutely charming," Jesse said sarcastically. "Only you would be attracted to a woman puking in your toilet. To me it sounds like she's another psycho. I mean, look what happened this morning. The first thing she does when she wakes up is find a gun and decide, 'Hey, I'll stick this in his ear and threaten his life.' She's nuts."
"Jess, she was just protecting herself. The gun was right out in the open on my nightstand, it's not like she went looking for it. And she didn't even remember meeting me. Besides, I think she had a bad experience in her past."
"Yeah, maybe with some acid or some magic mushrooms. If she fried her brain, that would explain why she doesn't remember anything."
"I don't know what happened, but I don't think it was drugs. She seems too wholesome for that, and too…" Steve searched for the word. "…innocent. The way she acted, it seemed like she'd been in a similar situation before. Like it wasn't the first time she'd had to defend herself."
"Be that as it may Steve, she still threatened to kill you this morning. There is a fine line between genius and insanity, and she's way over on the other side of it. I think--"
Steve held up a hand and shushed him. "Yes, Dr. Olivia Regis. Fourteen seven eighty-three West Dorothy Street? We're coming from Malibu. Take a left onto South Bundy, uh-huh. Turn left, two blocks down on the left. Thank you very much. Yes, you have a nice day, too."
Steve hung up the phone and shouted down the stairs, "I've got it. It's in Brentwood, not far from the country club."
A melodic voice carried up the stairs, "Hooray! Thank you so much. Where are the towels? Oh, never mind, I found them." After breakfast in bed with Steve, Olivia had settled back for a few more hours rest. Now she was finally ready to face the day and seemed anxious to get to her new home and start unpacking.
Steve went back to the table and started helping Jesse gather up the phone books and other paraphernalia they had been using to help track down Olivia's house. "You know, yesterday you were thrilled to have met her."
"Yeah, that was before she tried to kill you. She's off around the bend, Steve, and I think you should put as much distance as you can between you and her as fast as possible."
As he heard the downstairs bedroom door close, Steve admonished Jesse in a low voice, "She did not try to kill me, and I don't care what you think. Be nice. She's had a really rough twenty-four hours."
"I still think she's nuts."
"Dr. Travis!" Olivia called from the head of the stairs. "It's so good to see you again." She was wearing an old tee shirt and some shorts that Steve used to wear in high school. While they fit better than the pajamas, that delicately freckled shoulder was still peeking out. Steve found it unbelievably sexy.
Steve watched, captivated by that shoulder and those eyes, as she worked her peculiar magic on Jesse. She shook his hand warmly. "Thank you for helping Steve find my house." Then, in a child like voice, she said, "I thought I'd lost it for good. If I could just learn to put things back when I was through playing with them this never would have happened."
Jesse knitted his eyebrows for a moment; then he broke into a grin. "It was nothing. I was glad to help. Just try to take better care of your toys in the future."
Olivia flashed a smile that went all the way to her silver-green eyes. "Oh, I will! I promise." She was still hobbling on crutches, but she seemed to be feeling much better. Her complexion was still creamy white, but not pale and her eyes didn't seem so sunken in. With the enthusiasm of a child, she said, "Look, I'm getting around a lot better now than when you last saw me. Thanks for your help yesterday."
"Ah, don't mention it, Dr. Regis," Jesse blushed. "To someone with your background and reputation, I am sure wrapping a sprained ankle is nothing."
"Nonsense!" she patted his arm. "I was in terrible pain and you took care of me. Of course, I never will tap dance again."
With a sly look, Jesse asked, "Could you tap dance before, Dr. Regis?"
"Not a step, Dr. Travis. Not a step. And please do call me Olivia. Dr. Regis sounds terribly formal."
"Ok. Olivia. And you can call me Jesse. I was just telling Steve what a feather in Mark's cap it is to have hired you at Community General. I see where the __Journal of the American Medical Association__ just did an article on the clinic you built in Baltimore. They called you, what was it? 'Arguably the best orthopedic surgeon in the field today.' That's high praise."
"Oh that?" Olivia waved a hand as if swatting away a mosquito. "I know one of the senior editors at __JAMA__. He's an old friend, and he thinks shameless flattery will get me to come work for him. I've already told him that won't happen in this lifetime or the next. Besides, the Baltimore clinic has been run exclusively by my partner for over six months now. I may have suggested some of the practices that were in that article, but Cecil Bonner is the one who made them happen."
"I see. Well, even so, you did some remarkable things there. I've been following your work since I was in med school, and I think it's really great that you're here at CG."
"'Following my work,' eh?" She sent Steve a sneaky glance. "You make me sound like a medical Picasso." Folding her hands on her chest, she batted her eyes and asked, "Have I entered my blue period yet?"
"Uh. No, I guess not," Jesse put on a puzzled face. "Did I offend you?"
She laughed and said, "No, not at all. Unless by 'remarkable things' you meant that some of my patients looked like his __Three Musicians__ or his __Don Quixote__."
"Oh, now that would be bad." Jesse laughed with her as he went to put the phone books away.
Turning to Steve, Olivia asked, "Now, where do I live?"
Steve handed her the address, saying, "It's one of the best neighborhoods in the city. I'm sure you'll be happy there."
"One-four-seven-eight-three West Dorothy Street," Olivia read aloud. "That's appropriate. I guess I'm not in Kansas anymore, after all, huh?"
"It's appropriate, all right," Jesse muttered, not aware that he'd spoken aloud, "but more like Wonderland than Oz, and you're the Mad Hatter."
"Come again?"
"Well, uh, like you said, you're uh.... not um.... you're not in Kansas anymore, so to speak." Steve had to choke a laugh into a cough. He couldn't bear to watch his friend squirm like this, but he couldn't bear to stop it either. It was just too funny. Olivia was playing it perfectly straight, and poor Jess was struggling to cover his faux pas. "Yeah, um...L.A.... is a whole new place for you. It's not like back east. It's a new and exciting place to start your new research. And it's appropriate that the best surgeon in the city should live in the best neighborhood in town. I'll bet it's a great place."
Jesse stopped talking, obviously hoping that she'd be more interested in talking about her new house than about his blunder.
"Oh, it is pretty nice. It will be great when I'm done with it. And you wouldn't be the first person to think I'm nuts, Jesse. It's ok. I've learned to live with what other people think of me."
Jesse's eyes popped open in amazement, "You were listening?"
Olivia had to laugh. "I wasn't eavesdropping if that's what you mean. Mama always said I had 'ears like a blasted bat.' I was at the bottom of the stairs when I heard you. It's not like you were exactly being guarded in your conversation."
Jesse reddened. "Olivia, I'm sorry. It's just...well..."
"It's just that I threatened to blow your friend's head off."
"Well, yeah."
"I understand, Jesse. I've had to fight for my life before. The first time I was lucky. Then I decided I'd rather be prepared. Steve's a lot bigger and stronger than I am, so I felt I needed to get the upper hand. I promise I won't try to hurt him again." She smiled sweetly. "Oh, and by the way, what's the first thing you should always do when you discover that you've dug yourself a hole too deep to climb out of?"
"I don't know. What?"
"Stop digging."
She grinned, and Jesse laughed. "Message received."
Olivia flashed another brilliant smile. "Why don't we just start fresh and see if we get along from there?"
"I think I'd like that," Jesse agreed.
Olivia extended her hand. "Dr. Olivia Regis. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Jesse laughed and shook her hand, "Dr. Jesse Travis. The pleasure is mine."