“You like living on the edge, don’t you?”
“I'd hardly call working with autistic children edgy,” he answered, never lifting his eyes from the salt shaker.
“No, but a kinky Oedipal relationship is.”
Carter shook his head and spoke in a matter of fact tone, “It's not what you think.”
“I’m waiting for an explanation.”
A bubbly waitress flounced her way over to the table, her blonde ponytail bouncing behind her. She smiled a big tooth-showing smile while introducing herself and pulling out her pad. She barely got the words “soup of the day,” out of her mouth when Carter cleared his throat and interrupted her.
“Vodka straight,” he or dered.
The waitress looked deflated. After a small sigh she turned her attention to me, jotted down the order and disappeared in the vicinity of the bar.
“We dated in college,” Carter began.
It took me a moment to realize he was speaking about Jamie an d not the waitress.
Carter continued in a detached manner, “We were engaged.”
I opened my mouth surprised, but didn’t say anything. That certainly shed a different light on the strange scene.
Carter shook his head in disbelief. “My father didn’t approve of her or the engagement.”
“So you broke up with her?”
“No.” He shook his head, “I loved her. She was my world. I knew we were young, and the odds were against us , but none of that mattered.”
Carter stopped speaking as the waitress approached with our drinks. He ordered a second round as she set them on table.
“What happened?”
He scoffed at the question, picked up his glass and took a long sip. After a deep breath Carter continued, “I was supposed to go to medical school.”
“Did you?”
He shook his head. “It was my father’s dream. Not mine.”
“I bet he didn’t take it well.”
“No.” Carter sucked down the rest of his drink. “Jamie took it worse. She hounded me constantly, telling me I was making a mistake I’d r egret for the rest of my life.”
Carter paused as the waitress appeared with the next round. “Another,” he ordered before even taking a sip. Once the waitress left he picked up his glass, threw back his head and finished it in one large gulp. Carter wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and co ntinued.
“Jamie and my father couldn’t stand each other. Yet they found a way to team up to try and pressure me into changing my mind.”
“Why didn’t she like him?”
Resentment rang heavy in his tone. “I know he comes across with a certain amount of charm, but he’s an arrogant ass.” He said as he examined the empty glass, “At least ever since his mid-life crisis,” he held up his hand s ignaling the waitress for more.
“I wouldn’t know.” I tried to diffuse the anger and aggression I felt seeping out of Carter, “I take my orders from Sandy, the office manager.”
“Office manager,” he sneered. “He had a simple family practice seven years ago. Suddenly it wasn’t good enough. He needed to hire an office manager to double his profits.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Carter shook his head. “He made a good living. We needed for nothing. We wanted for nothing. There was no need for more.”
“I still don’t understand how doing better is a bad thing.”
“Because he didn’t do better,” Carter snapped. “A lot of his patients had been going to him for years. They depended on him. And when he changed the nature of his practice they couldn’t afford him.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t just turn them away.”
“You’re right. He wouldn’t. That’s what Sandy was for. She acted as the buffer so his patients couldn’t appeal to his conscious.”
Once again the waitress placed a drink before Carter. He picked up his glass and took another long gulp. “Two more,” he called as she walked away.
“I think you’re exaggerating.”
“It doesn't really matter. One afternoon my mother couldn’t reach Mr. Wonderful,” he sniggered.
“I'd hardly call working with autistic children edgy,” he answered, never lifting his eyes from the salt shaker.
“No, but a kinky Oedipal relationship is.”
Carter shook his head and spoke in a matter of fact tone, “It's not what you think.”
“I’m waiting for an explanation.”
A bubbly waitress flounced her way over to the table, her blonde ponytail bouncing behind her. She smiled a big tooth-showing smile while introducing herself and pulling out her pad. She barely got the words “soup of the day,” out of her mouth when Carter cleared his throat and interrupted her.
“Vodka straight,” he or dered.
The waitress looked deflated. After a small sigh she turned her attention to me, jotted down the order and disappeared in the vicinity of the bar.
“We dated in college,” Carter began.
It took me a moment to realize he was speaking about Jamie an d not the waitress.
Carter continued in a detached manner, “We were engaged.”
I opened my mouth surprised, but didn’t say anything. That certainly shed a different light on the strange scene.
Carter shook his head in disbelief. “My father didn’t approve of her or the engagement.”
“So you broke up with her?”
“No.” He shook his head, “I loved her. She was my world. I knew we were young, and the odds were against us , but none of that mattered.”
Carter stopped speaking as the waitress approached with our drinks. He ordered a second round as she set them on table.
“What happened?”
He scoffed at the question, picked up his glass and took a long sip. After a deep breath Carter continued, “I was supposed to go to medical school.”
“Did you?”
He shook his head. “It was my father’s dream. Not mine.”
“I bet he didn’t take it well.”
“No.” Carter sucked down the rest of his drink. “Jamie took it worse. She hounded me constantly, telling me I was making a mistake I’d r egret for the rest of my life.”
Carter paused as the waitress appeared with the next round. “Another,” he ordered before even taking a sip. Once the waitress left he picked up his glass, threw back his head and finished it in one large gulp. Carter wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and co ntinued.
“Jamie and my father couldn’t stand each other. Yet they found a way to team up to try and pressure me into changing my mind.”
“Why didn’t she like him?”
Resentment rang heavy in his tone. “I know he comes across with a certain amount of charm, but he’s an arrogant ass.” He said as he examined the empty glass, “At least ever since his mid-life crisis,” he held up his hand s ignaling the waitress for more.
“I wouldn’t know.” I tried to diffuse the anger and aggression I felt seeping out of Carter, “I take my orders from Sandy, the office manager.”
“Office manager,” he sneered. “He had a simple family practice seven years ago. Suddenly it wasn’t good enough. He needed to hire an office manager to double his profits.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Carter shook his head. “He made a good living. We needed for nothing. We wanted for nothing. There was no need for more.”
“I still don’t understand how doing better is a bad thing.”
“Because he didn’t do better,” Carter snapped. “A lot of his patients had been going to him for years. They depended on him. And when he changed the nature of his practice they couldn’t afford him.”
“I’m sure he wouldn’t just turn them away.”
“You’re right. He wouldn’t. That’s what Sandy was for. She acted as the buffer so his patients couldn’t appeal to his conscious.”
Once again the waitress placed a drink before Carter. He picked up his glass and took another long gulp. “Two more,” he called as she walked away.
“I think you’re exaggerating.”
“It doesn't really matter. One afternoon my mother couldn’t reach Mr. Wonderful,” he sniggered.
Similar Books
