Chapter 4 – Don't Fence Me In
A few days later, John and Kem are eating their traditional breakfast of pastries and coffee, as they get some reading and writing in before heading off to work.
"Hmmm…," Kem sighs, and she starts to drum the fingers of her right hand absent-mindedly on the table. She is staring intently at the piece of paper on which she has been writing for the last few minutes.
John looks up from his book, wondering why she had made that sound. He watches with curiosity as the crease on her forehead deepens. For the last five days, she has been working on a letter and she seems as frustrated as ever. Normally, he chooses to remain silent while she works out her writer's block, but this time he feels the need to offer his assistance.
"Is that the same letter that you've been working on for the last few days?" he asks.
"Um-hmm", she replies curtly.
"Would you like some help?" he says with boyish charm. He reaches over to pull the letter closer to him, and she quickly jerks it away.
"No, I'm fine", she says stiffly.
He looks at her and he is genuinely puzzled by her behavior. She seems distant and a bit troubled.
"Are you sure?" he says lightly, hoping that his tone will get her to open up to him. "You know, I'm not that bad of a writer."
"Yeah…yeah I'm fine", she responds as she shakes her head and refuses to look him in the eye. "It's just...uhm…one section that I can't seem to get the way that I want, but I'm sure I'll get it."
"So how is your reading coming?" she asks in a pleasant up-beat tone as she folds the letter and places it in her bag.
The change in conversation and tone catch John off guard. He stares at her for another second before deciding to shake off his unease. It's probably nothing he thinks and he let's the issue go.
"Ah…good. It's coming along good", he answers. "You know", he continues, "I was thinking that tonight we could eat dinner at the clinic and then go over to Karibu's."
Karibu was the favorite place to gather for all of the clinic's workers. It was also a special place for John and Kem because that was where they had first met.
"Is there a celebration planned for tonight?" she asks curiously. Today wasn't a holiday in Kisangani or even in any of the countries where their friends were from, so it was a bit odd to suggest going there tonight.
"No, nothing special. It's just that everybody is itching to get together and have some fun", he answers.
"Hmmm...Well, I don't see why not. Let's do that", she says eagerly and they begin to clear the table and leave for work.
"Since it's Friday, did you want me to come by and get those 'John Doe' records this afternoon so that I can file them?" she asks as they descend the stairs and make their way onto the street.
"That's a good idea. Why don't you come around 2:00?"
"Okay", she says. They kiss lightly on the lips before going separate directions to work.
30 minutes later, John enters the clinic and nods robotically at familiar faces.
His mind is on other things as he walks towards the operating room so that he can start his shift.
Angelique looks up from her familiar and tedious task of sanitizing previously worn surgical gloves as he enters.
"So are we on for tonight?" she asks.
"Yeah", he says with a wide grin.
"Does she know what you intend to do?"
"No. No, I'm pretty sure that it's going to be a big surprise", he says as his smile widens even more, and his smile is infectious. Angelique smiles as well, and then stops as she thinks about what she needs to tell him.
He is so happy that Angelique feels guilty about having to say what she says next, but she knows that she has to say it.
She can't bear the thought of him being embarrassed on what should be one of the happiest days of his life.