Redemption (Enigma Black Trilogy Book #3) by Sara Furlong-Burr Page B

couldn’t ask for such a favor. Besides, I’m really not that hungry; nothing that a vending machine won’t cover, anyway. I was just here visiting my dear mother. She suffered a heart attack yesterday, but seems to be recovering quite well, and I just lost track of the time.”
    “Are you sure?” Chase asked, pulling his chair back up to the table. “Really, it’s not a problem at all.”
    “Certainly, but I do appreciate your asking. My, my,” the man said, looking around, “they’ve really done an impressive job rebuilding the hospital since the explosion last year.”
    “Yeah, it’s remarkable how quickly they were able to pull it off, but Hope Memorial is a very well-respected hospital, so everyone banded together to bring it back better than ever.”
    “Yes, it would have been a shame to see this place turn to ash,” the man muttered. “So tell me, young doctor, what’s on your mind?”
    “What?” Chase asked, the man’s question having caught him off guard.
    “I’m sorry to pry. You just looked so intense sitting there by yourself.”
    “Oh, you know, the usual.”
    “Women? Someone in particular, perhaps?” The man pressed on. Chase remained silent, his head bowed as though contemplating a response. “I’m sorry,” the man spoke again. “It appears as though I’ve overstepped my bounds. I was just trying to see if I could be of any help. I’m a doctor myself, actually.”
    Chase looked up at the man, his expression softening. “That’s okay,” he said. “Yes, you could say it involves a woman. I’m getting married in a few weeks.”
    “Oh?” The stranger seemed unusually shocked by his answer. “Have you been with your fiancé long?”
    “No, that’s just it, I haven’t. You know, it’s funny because only a year ago I was planning on marrying someone else, but that—that didn’t work out.”
    “She broke it off?”
    “You could say that,” he answered. “She more or less disappeared off the face of this planet.”
    “Really? How so?”
    “I don’t know. One day everything’s fine; the next day, she’s telling me she’s been offered a job across the country and she’s leaving me.”
    “Well, that is certainly suspicious.”
    “I don’t know about suspicious. You just have to know her. She’s impulsive, but she knows who she is and what she wants. I just wasn’t it.”
    “She sounds like a real character,” the man muttered. “So, this marriage is something you want?”
    “I want marriage. I just—”
    “Wanted it with her?”
    “Yeah,” Chase admitted after some hesitation. “That’s exactly what the problem is.”
    “Interesting.” The man smiled. “And when is the wedding to take place?”
    “In June. June seventh.”
    “Here in town?”
    “Yeah, at The Woodland Lodge a few blocks down.”
    “Well, that is a conundrum. But who knows, maybe it will all work out in the end, and your ex-girlfriend will return to you somehow.”
    “No. She’s gone. I’m sure I’ll never see her again.”
    “I wouldn’t say that just yet,” the man said, standing up. “If I may ask, what is your name, doctor?” he asked, extending his arm out toward Chase. “We’ve been chatting for long enough now that I feel we should be properly introduced.”
    “Chase,” he answered. “Chase Matthews.” He took the man’s hand and shook it. “I’m sorry, what’s your name, sir?”
    “Victor,” he answered. “You can just call me Victor.”
    “Victor, I appreciate the chat, and I wish your mother a full recovery.”
    “Thank you, Dr. Matthews, that’s very kind of you,” he said. “I’m sure our paths will cross again soon.”
    “Well, let’s hope not,” Chase replied, laughing.
    “Indeed.” Victor smiled sardonically as he turned around to walk out of the cafeteria.
    “Nice man,” Chase said to himself. He pushed his chair in as he turned around to pick up the dismembered sandwich, noticing an object out of the corner of his eye. The man had