Chapter 27 J. A. Z.
A/N:
If you check my Pinterest page you will see a picture of the actress Jane Kennedy, who I see in my imagination as Dr Joyce Amy Zachery.
Doctor Joyce Amy Zachery was forty years old and one of the top three cardiothoracic surgeons in the United States. She was the youngest and only woman of the elitist group of surgeons she shared top honours with. She achieved this hallowed privileged because of her dedicated hard work and her innate brilliance. She was a perfectionist, who strived for excellence in everything she did. This drive was what ensured she became a preeminent surgeon. Her career was her life, she measured her worth by the lives she saved, and the accolades bestowed on her.
Young doctors who aspired to be surgeons in cardiology or pulmonology used Dr Zachery as the bar at which to aim. Joyce had everything going for her, a brilliant career, a home in Southern California that was the envy of friends and colleagues and added to this she was drop dead gorgeous. She was featured in medical journals and even graced to cover of Vogue Magazine a few years ago when they did a story on women surgeons. To anyone at the hospitals where she consulted or performed her surgeries, Joyce looked like she always had everything under control. Her reputation for not tolerating anything but perfection in the staff who worked with her was well known.
Joyce was never one at a loss for companionship, both men and women were captivated by her beauty and brilliance, and this caused them to make romantic overtures towards her. Her work schedule often curtailed her having an active social life, however, when someone caught her fancy, she made the time somehow to date them. The dating would generally continue until her interest waned, then Joyce terminated the relationship without thought or regard for the feelings of the individual. This catch and throw attitude as it related to romantic partners earned her a reputation that was not very flattering among her colleagues.
Several persons regardless of gender, who dated Joyce, could testify that their relationship with Joyce was exciting and fun. Yet at the same time, she also was extremely demanding and controlling while they were in a relationship with her. The same control she wielded in the operating room was the same control she wielded in her relationships. Joyce also did not take kindly to being questioned. If she made a decision about something she expected her companions to just go along with her.
Yet for all these flaws in her personality, men and women were still drawn to her. They knew going into a relationship that they would be used and then discarded but still they went in thinking they would be the one to win her heart and get her to settle down. Little did these lovers know, the only person whom Joyce would have attempted to change for was the lady who walked away from her. The one who nicknamed her Jaz.
Kami Anwen Keefer was the only lover who made an impact on Joyce's heart. She was the one who at times caused Joyce to second guess herself. When she walked out of her life without a backward glance Joyce was shocked. Joyce's pride kept her from picking up the phone and calling Kami to ask her why she left. As far as Joyce was concerned Kami had no valid reason for leaving, and she would be damned if she, Joyce Amy Zachery ran after a lover who didn't know how good she had it by being in Joyce's life.
When Joyce saw the photograph of Kami in one of the New York newspapers a few days ago while she was waiting for her business meeting to begin, she felt as if it was only yesterday that Kami left rather than five years ago.
A lot had happened in five years. Joyce's career skyrocketed. She was now employed by two of the leading hospitals in the United States. As a medical student, it was her dream to be a part of the Loma Linda's University Medical Center because if the cutting-edge surgery they did on a child in 1984 when the child's defective heart was replaced with the heart of a baboon. The child became known to the world as Baby Fay. Any hospital that was not afraid to cut a path in medical advancement was the place Joyce wanted to be.
After specializing in her area of surgery Joyce joined the surgical medical staff there. She was also on the board of directors for the hospital. Then a few years ago John Hopkins School of Medicine made her an offer to be a consultant at their institution. They also allowed her to be on the surgical staff in one of the most prestigious hospitals in the United States. Joyce accepted the offer and spent approximately seven to ten days per month in Baltimore as the medical institution was in that city.
When she accepted the job at John Hopkins, she thought of buying another house but then decided against it in favour of an apartment type residence. She opted to lease a condominium at The Four Seasons Private Residence. Her condo was beautifully furnished and took luxury to a higher level.
While her reputation as a preeminent surgeon grew, her personal life became stagnant regardless of the relationships she allowed herself to become involved with after Kami left. Seeing Kami's picture in the newspapers brought back too many memories and feelings and try as she might Joyce could not push the thoughts aside. Eventually she acknowledged that it was pointless trying to bury the exhumed memories and unresolved issues. It was like trying to stop flood waters from coming into your home after the dam in your neighbourhood broke.
Joyce kept pacing back and forth in her home as she contemplated her situation. She was an avid chess player and applied the same principles she used in chess into her professional and personal life. Joyce tried to always look at the big picture and anticipate the moves/reactions other would make towards her as she advanced towards her goal. In this case Joyce felt uncharacteristically at a loss to know how to proceed. She knew the old Kami, but this new Kami who smiled to brightly in the photo was a Kami that made Joyce uncertain. The new Kami made her doubt how to proceed, and if there was one thing Joyce hated was to doubt herself. The photograph in the newspaper was able to capture the look of love and admiration on Kami's face and on the face of her fiancée as they looked at each other rather than at the camera as the photograph was being taken.
The memory of the picture made Joyce body began to feel warm in rage. "Who is this woman who is able to make you smile like that Kami? What does she have that I did not have?", Joyce thought this to herself and then she said aloud, "Kami it does not matter who you are with you will always belong to me".
Joyce knew she was being irrational in her thoughts but knowing that and stopping the trajectory her mind was on was not the same thing.
Finally, she stopped her pacing as she formulated a plan on how to let Kami Anwen Keefer know that regardless of who she is with, she would always belong to Joyce Amy Zachery.