Chapter 6 Dr. Chupra

Andrew sat across Elaine on another chair, watching the loose strands of her auburn hair kiss the nape of her neck. If anyone had told him that he would have found a way to escape from the meeting with Charleston, he would not have believed them. Walking into Elaine was a blessed mistake. Now, Melvin would have to deal with the problems he had caused.

It was just two of them in the hospital room with some chairs, a bed and a table with different metal objects on it.

Elaine squinted, staring this way and that, trying to find something. How bad was her eyesight? Did she have to hold her phone so close to her nose? Her shoulders were still raised high so he didn't find it appropriate to release the laughter he felt when he saw her squinting like an old tortoise.

Maybe that wasn't fair because without the squinting, she actually looked beautiful. Not in the super model kind of way, but with a face that was blessed with simple, well-defined features and her make-up simply enhanced those features.

He walked to her and saw her peep up at his face.

"Can you see me?"

"Barely. You have a really strong jaw."

"Is that all I have?"

"That's all I can see."

He stuck his hand into his pocket. Melvin had blasted his phone with messages upon messages. He wasn't sure what he would do if Melvin had messed up the deal again.

"So, has your eyesight always been this bad?"

"Not really? It gets bad when I'm very stressed and it may get better if I relax. My glasses-"

"Your glasses?"

"Don't worry about them." She shook her head.

"Since I'm replacing them, I should at least know what was originally defective."

Her skin tightened against her face and her lips pressed in a straight line. "The lens had gone bad. I had a doctor's appointment for today."

Confusion seized his face. "Why didn't you just go there?"

"I had to reschedule because of this interview."

"That sounds highly irresponsible, Miss Johnson. You were not sure you would meet me. You are lucky I stepped on those glasses."

"Yeah me, I'm glad that the Swernbach CEO made me temporarily blind."

"You're very welcome."

She held his hands in hers. "Thank you. I know I may not seem grateful enough and I won't be able to repay you but thank you."

If Annette were in charge of replacing Elaine's glasses then the whole affair would be quick, short and professional but, he was grateful to be here by himself. To have a environment free from Melvin's choking reminders that he was not a biological Swernbach. He knew his place well and he didn't need the constant reminder from his brother about it.

Besides, Elaine had told him off in the first few minutes of their meeting. It was nice to have a few minutes where everyone was not quivering in fear of your presence or pretending to like you simply for what they could get from you.

It had been a while long since he met someone new that he could speak to who would actually talk to him and not just tell him what he wanted to hear. Someone who had stories to tell that had nothing to do with what he would say.

"I'm glad something good came out of this."

"I'm making you spend money. How is that a good thing?" She shut her eyes.

"Like I said, don't worry about it."

Nothing about this would cause a dent in his financial resources. He didn't know how much her treatment would cost but there was a company policy to cover emergency Swernbach medical needs and the bill for her glasses would fall under that. That policy was something Melvin and their father abused at will. Andrew hadn't had a serious cause to use it yet. If the emergency fund were like money in the bank, his part of would probably be gathering interest and Melvin would be in debt.

The door opened and an average height man with grey-blond hair entered into the room. "Which one of you is the patient?"

"The squinting one." Andrew stepped away from Elaine as the Doctor Chupra came close.

"How is your father doing?" Dr Chupra asked. He was the family eye doctor.

"Oh, you know. He feels good enough to play golf but too sick to sign papers." Andrew said.

"Hmm. Still playing the old game." The doctor pulled a table with some small machines on it closer to Elaine's chair. "He'll tire of it soon."

"I hope he does. I'd hate to see Melvin grow into that."

Dr Chupra nodded. "Now, what do we have here?"

"This is Elaine Johnson. She needs new glasses and she can probably tell you a lot more about it than I can."

Andrew stepped back and watched the doctor and Elaine talk about the glasses before the doctor began an eye test with one of the tiny machines. Elaine's shoulders relaxed as the test progressed. This was probably normal to her.

"You use computers a lot. Don't you?" The doctor asked.

"Yes. My eyes get tired and sometimes I have this really--"

Elaine's eye strayed towards Andrew and she kept shut.

"Elaine, you were saying?"

"I get tired."

Andrew sighed. Maybe she was like every other person and if he left, she might probably be more open with the doctor. He didn't want to be the reason she failed to get a proper diagnosis.

"I'll be outside."

He opened the door and caught her last few words as he left.

"...bad headaches."

His phone beeped again and he picked it and stared at the messages from Melvin.

Melvin: Where are you?

Melvin: How could you leave me alone with Charleston?

Melvin: We need to talk ASAP. It's about grandpa.

Andrew dialled his brother's number. Melvin usually ignored has calls and only picked the third one. Hopefully, his older brother was not in one of those moods. His first call went unanswered and the second. Andrew frowned at the screen. Melvin surely wasn't expecting him to play this game right? They weren't teenagers anymore.

A new message came in.

Melvin: Call me again if you really want to talk

Andrew placed the call and Melvin picked on the first ring.

"I thought we agreed that we would take down Charleston together. What happened to a brother's trust?"

"I'm sorry." Andrew leaned against the wall. "Something came up. I'm at the hospital."

Concern broke Melvin's voice. "Is dad okay? Where's mom?"

"It's none of them. Someone else."

Melvin cried. "Grandpa? He's dying? He really won't leave me anything."

Where did Melvin get the idea that their grandfather would leave him without money? Melvin was the true heir of the family. Andrew had tried to make himself useful so that even after George and Stephen were gone, they'd still want to keep him around.

"No. It's not someone you know."

"Thank God. Dinner at five at the restaurant."

"Melvin--"

"Five O'clock. Don't. Be. Late. This dying person can't be more important than I am. I'm family." Melvin cut the call as Dr. Chupra exited the room.

The doctor turned to him. "We'll fit her with some contact lens for now but her glasses would be ready in a week. I'll try and talk to your father."

"Thanks." Andrew walked into the room. Elaine lay on the large orange chair with her eyes closed. "Are you asleep?"

She sat up. "No, the doctor asked me to rest my eyes."

"We'll be here for a little longer. What do you say to a late lunch or early dinner? We can discuss more about the book proposal."

Her lips spread in a smile and he had no doubt that if her eyes were open, her eyes would twinkle. "I say, yes please."