Somebody to Love: Sigh With Contentment, Scream With Frustration. At Time You Will Weep. by Sheryl Browne

‘Hi, it’s me,’ he said, when she picked up. ‘Have you got a sec?’
    ‘Yes, as long as it’s a quickie,’ Donna quipped, sounding quite cheerful, despite the previous night’s events, which made Mark feel bad. He wasn’t sure how she felt about him, but she’d seemed keen to see him when he’d finally plucked up the courage to ask her out again last night. The last thing he wanted to do, if she was warming to him, was to put her off. But then, he had no choice. On this occasion, Karl’s needs had to come first.
    ‘Love to oblige,’ Mark joked, taking a left off the main road towards the city hospital. ‘It’s just that I don’t think I’m going to be able to make it tonight. Can we postpone until tomorrow, possibly?’
    ‘Oh,’ Donna said, now sounding distinctly flat. ‘I’m not sure. I’ll have to find out whether Matt will be home. It’s a bit soon for introductions, you know?’
    ‘Of course. No problem. I’ll call you back later. I’d better go. I’m on dut…’
    ‘Unless I come to your place, of course.’
    Shit . Mark ran his hand over his neck. ‘No, no good,’ he said quickly, wracking his brain to think of an excuse. ‘I have a lodger, a work colleague. He works the late shift. Needs his beauty sleep, you know?’
    ‘Oh,’ she said again.
    ‘So, can I call you?’
    ‘All right,’ Donna said, at length. ‘Later though. I’m at work.’
    Mark breathed out. ‘Great. Gotta go. Catch you later.’
    He signed off, relieved and full of trepidation at the same time. A small cut but quite deep, the respite home had said. Mark wasn’t surprised. Getting Karl to keep his shoes on was a struggle, indoors or out, especially if they were new. No matter how much Mark scuffed them before putting them on him, they still looked unfamiliar, so off they came again.
    He parked outside the main doors, killed the engine and headed quickly into Casualty. With luck, Michelle would be on duty and help him short-circuit the system. It was handy having a girl- friend who was a doctor and understood the problems of having an autistic son, even if she didn’t want to deal with those problems on a personal basis.
    He couldn’t blame her. Would any woman?
    Would Donna? Or would she walk away when he told her, which he was going to have to do when he saw her, whatever the outcome?
    ****
    ‘Donna, you’re being paranoid,’ Simon assured her, popping a mug of tea on Donna’s desk. ‘The man’s a policeman. Something obviously came up.’
    ‘Do you really think so?’ Donna asked, typing at warp speed as she worried. Jean was otherwise engaged with the chief executive, going through the staff rota, which they’d been going through for rather a long time, meaning Jean’s workload had landed on Donna’s desk.
    ‘Donna,’ Simon sighed, with a theatrical roll of his eyes, ‘y ou made the rules,’ he reminded her of what she’d told him vis-à-vis her no complications stipulation, then dunked a chocolate biscuit. ‘From where I’m sitting, it looks as if your Adonis is just following them.’
    Donna knitted her brow. ‘How do you mean?’
    ‘Well, I assume if you cancelled, you’d expect him to ask no questions but be ready and primed when you did meet, yes?’
    Donna flushed and typed faster.
    ‘So give him the benefit of the doubt. If he doesn’t call back, you can assume he’s lost interest and you won’t have lost anything, will you?’
    Donna stopped typing and swallowed hard.
    ‘If he does, you’ll have your answer. So smile when you see him, wear nothing but the merest wisp of lace,’ Simon paused to indulge a lick of melted chocolate, ‘take him to bed and enjoy, sweetie. It will do wonders for your complexion.’
    Donna’s complexion was feeling distinctly heated, actually. ‘Um, we haven’t actually got that far…’
    ‘Then get on with it,’ Jean interrupted her, appearing behind Simon, who promptly stuffed his biscuit wholesale into his mouth. ‘But it’s