Chapter 8: Read Again
The following Friday…
Candy jumped up from her bed. Friday was her favorite day because it's the day she volunteered in Happy Clinic. She first went to her class then jubilantly she drove to Happy Clinic.
When Candy stopped her car at Happy Clinic, she was surprised to see people sat on the street. Is the clinic that full today?, she wondered as she's getting off her car.
"Candy!" Candy heard Natalie called her.
"Natalie, why aren't you getting inside?" Candy asked.
"Oh Candy, good you came. The building is locked! Everyone said it's been closed for days!"
"What?" Candy rushed towards the front door to check it herself. She saw a big "CLOSED" sign posted at the door. In disbelief, she pushed the door handle, shook it, rattled it just in case it's jammed as usual, but the door remained unopened.
"Dr. Martin!" Candy banged at the door. "Candy and Natalie are here."
There's no response. "Dr. Martin!" Candy screamed again through one hole in the wall. Nothing.
Candy went back to the street to help Natalie take care of their patients. They repeated what Natalie had said. Happy Clinic had been closed for a few days and no one knew more than that. They came today because they had nowhere else to go and were hoping to meet Candy and Natalie.
Candy was so touched, she almost cried. After everyone left, Candy and Natalie circled the building a few more times to find clues.
A street cleaner who saw them stopped by. "Dr. Martin had moved out," he said dully. "No one lives there."
"Since when?" asked Natalie.
"A few days," the street cleaner shrugged.
"Where is Dr. martin now?" asked Natalie.
"Not sure," the street cleaner replied.
In shocked, Natalie and Candy looked at one another. If there's anything they could be sure of was that Dr. Martin lived in Happy Clinic. Feeling completely loss they sat down, beaten.
"Psst! Natalie... Candy!" suddenly they heard a voice coming from behind the bush.
Candy and Natalie turned around and saw a round short figure wearing a dark cloak covering most of his face standing behind the bush.
"I'm Martin." He made a sign for them to follow him.
"Dr. Martin?" Natalie and Candy exclaimed, recognizing the voice.
"Shh... Don't ask. Follow me." Dr. Martin whispered.
He took them to a nice car. Candy and Natalie looked at one another, confused. Dr. Martin made a gesture for them to enter. They hopped in and Dr. Martin drove taking them to a lovely neighborhood. He brought the car to stop in front of a pretty brick house with red roof tiles. The front garden was flawless with flower beds under each windows and flower pots on the window-sills. The lawn was freshly trimmed, free of wild weeds. There's a stone footpath in the middle decorated with flower border in each side.
Dr. Martin made a sign for them to follow him. Once inside, Dr. martin locked the door and removed his cloak.
"Dr. Martin what's going on?" asked Natalie and Candy at the same time. "Where are we?"
"This is… my house. My new home," said Dr. Martin, guilt glimmered from his eyes.
Natalie and Candy gasped. With eyes wide opened, they looked around them. Dr. Martin had been sleeping in his wrecked clinic as long as Candy knew him. And now he's telling her that he had this nice house?
"A woman called from Neal Leagan's office offering to buy Happy Clinic. I said it's not for sale. She insisted and I hang up on her. Then she called again, mentioning some high price. Again, I said no and slammed the phone down."
Dr. Martin swallowed, looking down.
"Then an hour later she came carrying a bag. It was a nice black leather bag with money inside and the amount… was stupendous! I never thought such amount of money existed before let alone to actually see it in front of me. And that's only a third of it…"
Dr. Martin stopped. "Drink?" he offered after some pause. He took them to the kitchen.
The kitchen was fully furnished with a proper stove, wooden cabinets, a whisky rack at the corner full with bottles of whisky, and a nice looking china tea set on the counter. Happy Clinic didn't have a kitchen and as far as Candy remembered, Dr. Martin only owned one tin cup and one bowl there.
Natalie and Candy shook their head.
"With that amount of money, I don't need to worry about my old days which had started to worry me. I never had savings in my life now I have. I can live in a house with non-broken windows that have curtain, furniture, and heater in the winter… I can go to visit my family and chip in to put their children to college." His eyes slowly met theirs. He looked peaceful. "And that's only a third of it, you see?"
"Happy Clinic," continued Dr. Martin. "We all know won't last for another year. Sooner rather than later I have to give it up."
Candy and Natalie reluctantly had to agree with that.
"On top of all that she gave me this house, a car, and an unlimited amount of whisky from the Leagan Food Co which happens to be my favorite." Dr Martin paused. He seemed to struggle again before he added, "The sad thing is… I was made to sign an agreement to never touch Happy Clinic again." He's dropping his eyes. "I'm sorry…"
Candy and Natalie mumbled some comforting words congratulating Dr. Martin on his retirement. Then, with head bent, defeated, Natalie and Cady walked back home.
"Poor children," Natalie sniffled thinking about her patients. "Ask Albert's help, Candy. Ask him to buy back the clinic." She wiped tears that kept drifting from her eyes.
"Neal is an animal!" screamed Candy madly. "I will make him return the clinic to Dr. Martin!"
Candy went to the Neal's office but the security guard didn't let her in. Candy waited on the gate until Neal's car came and ran to attack at him. Neal gestured and his staffs held her and threw her out of the office complex.
On day two, from his office window Neal laughed witnessing his staff throw Candy out again. Same thing with day three and four.
Running out of option Candy called Albert. She didn't usually do that because she knew Albert was busy. Unfortunately, Albert was never available. Desperately, Candy went to George to ask about Albert's whereabouts but George didn't know where he was either… Losing patience, Candy shouted at George asking him to drag Neal out from his office.
"That's a private property, Ms. Candice. I'm afraid I can't," said George soothingly.
"Take him out from his home, then!" Candy yelled furiously, banging at his desk.
"I wish I could, Ms. Candice," replied the poor assistant. "But one can't just enter a private residence, say the Leagans', and drag the owner out."
On day five, Neal looked outside from his window waiting for Candy but she didn't come. She didn't come again on day six and seven.
On day eight...
It had been three days that Candy didn't show up. Neal stood by his office window looking outside. He won! He had successfully thrown out Candy's patients to the street as he said. He should rejoice but strangely he didn't feel good.
It's always like this. She provoked him, irritated him, but after the anger subsided another intense feeling came and lingered endlessly. His mind kept thinking about how her soft body felt when he pressed her against him. He hardly slept every night getting all hard thinking about that.
Why is this still happening? He was so mad when she mentioned William. Why? He's supposed to be over her!
Neal pulled out his hair leaving another loose strand on which usually was perfectly swept hair. Miserably, Neal leaned back on his armchair. He couldn't live like this any longer. He needed help! He wanted someone to talk to. Oh, anyone, just anyone!
Someone tapped at the door. It's Dayna. "Neal, Mr. Leagan wants you to bring the past Tarbell memos to him. He wants to go over them again with you."
Neal groaned inwardly. Anyone but dad! He gestured to show he understood. Dayna left.
Sluggishly, Neal picked up his bag which he never opened. Mindlessly, he took out the documents which he never really read. Then, his eyes were caught by something rolling onto his desk.
Alden's letter. Seeing that made Neal remembered it again. So much for message in the bottle, he thought grouchily. Neal picked it up to throw it into the trash bin. Then, he stopped.
An Alden is better than no one… Neal toyed the paper ball in his hand.
Slowly he worked on the crumpled paper. A flurry of crushed dried flowers began to fall as he smoothed the paper on his lap. Neal touched some crump of withered flowers that landed on his lap with the tip of his fingers. They looked so dejected. No one who put this much work deserved to have the letter tossed away before being read.
Neal took a deep breath to calm himself and read the letter again. He then penned his reply, freely wrote his arguments, bluntly questioned Alden's ideas… pouring out the much needed content of his heart.
To his surprise, in merely three days another respond came.
"Dear Neo,
How I'm glad to receive your letter! Thanks for your advice about "my man". I'll get to that… First, oh I really need to vent this. Everyone around me is probably already tired of listening to my rant. But I still need to do this.
There's this place where I go to volunteer. That place was closed now because a mad man played a dirty trick on us. The victims are, sadly, helpless old people and innocent little children. Oh, I feel so devastated that I can do nothing to help them. I cry every day. I scream! I get very angry, but frustratingly… there's no use.
So glad that there's you! I offered to give you comfort but now I burden you with my own problem! I can't help it. This is all I have in mind. I need to get it out."
.
Neal almost choked so touched by Alden's appreciation.
Poor Alden, thought Neal. Then the thought of Candy whose clinic was closed by him lingered. Was she crying too? His hear churned agonizingly imagining she's with tears. Always. Although he behaved like he enjoyed seeing her cry, deep inside, it tore him. But he never told anyone that, especially Eliza.
Neal continued reading.
.
"About how to treat "that woman" of yours, the answer is yes... yes yes! For the fortieth time, yes! Don't torture her, don't seek revenge, because it will torture you back. Treat her nicely, you'll be surprised with the outcome!
No Neo! Being nice doesn't make you look weak. Wrong! If anything it makes you lovable. Try it! Next time you meet her again surprise her with a touch of kindness which she never saw coming from you. I bet, she will be surprised. Then, make the second strike. Compliment her about something. You could say: your dress is nice.
Your idea to say she's beautiful is lovely but I think it's not the time yet. It will make it sound fake because you two have such a rotten history. That's what I think.
Oh, be patient. Make she know you first. Once you grab her heart, she will follow you to the end of the earth…"
.
Neal leaned on his chair in disbelief. It sounded dead rubbish. He stared at the dried flower Alden put on the top of her letter. It looked like dry rose petals although he's not sure. Anthony would have known, Neal thought briefly of his long gone cousin.
Neal then thought and thought and thought... What if Alden right?
Neal continued reading the letter. Then Dayna came. "Neal, Miss. Christina Wiley is on the phone. It's about the ball you and her will attend tonight."
"I'm not going. Cancel it," said Neal.
Dayna nodded.
"Dayna," called Neal. "Get me the Happy Clinic paperwork and keys. Now."
He had a plan. Before he changed his mind he had better act on it.
.
-To be continued-
Thanks for reading and the support.