A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 53

        He administered an injection to her and she immediately woke up as if from a deep sleep. Confused at the unfamiliar couch where she lay, she looked about her and saw Dr. Hussey and was astounded. Wasn’t she watching a movie in a theater? How had she come here? Was she dreaming? She blinked and looked askance on him. He looked wan and concerned. Surely, she was the cause of his worry. Her brows knitted with consternation.

       “Dr. Hussey?” she began tentatively. “How come I’m here? I was last watching a movie in a theater, if I remember correctly. Then she remembered how she had panicked on seeing the one-eyed pirate in the movie and started passing out. She was very embarrassed as she could feel the Doctor just watching her in stony silence. She stammered, “I, I recollect everything now Doctor. I’m so sorry to have put you to so much trouble. It is totally my fault.”

        She struggled to get up from the narrow couch, acutely aware that the Doctor was taking in each move of hers, keenly. She could now see him frowning. No doubt, he was annoyed. With every passing minute, Martha’s consternation grew, as his silence became very unbearable. She could feel his annoyance in his demeanor. Of course, he was too polite to voice it. He just moved away from her side and began gathering the papers from his desk and filling them in his sleek, brown briefcase. She wondered whether they included her case-papers too!

        Surely she was becoming an unmanageable patient. She wouldn’t be surprised if he shunned her thenceforth. After all, a patient ought to obey her Doctor! Knowing her predisposition to faint on seeing one-eyed men, she had gone off to see a movie filled with pirates. She should have known better. Right since her childhood, she had been fascinated by the one-eyed pirates who wore black leather patches over an eye and looted ships on high seas. She would often ask her mother whether they could see as well as the ones with both eyes intact or have half-vision! Now she had ventured foolishly to see her ‘childhood idols’ and been amply punished for it. The benevolent doctor was punishing her further by just refusing to talk to her.    

        She started sobbing softly and then bawling like a baby. In a jiffy, the Doctor was by her side with a glass of water in his hand. He simply said, “Here, have this Martha, you’ll feel better. The next time you do decide to watch a movie on pirates, kindly have me for your company.” She could see the corners of his eyes slightly crinkling in amusement. His voice was grave but held a hint of mirth. In fact, she felt that he would burst out in a loud fit of laughter any time. She felt wretched. She hated anyone laughing at her plight. She wouldn’t have been able to bear his mirth. She looked as haughtily at him as she could manage and said stonily, “I’ll keep that in mind, Doctor. I’m once again sorry for having put you to so much trouble. I’ll ensure that it doesn’t happen again. I’ll take your leave now. Good night.”

          “I’d allow you to go home, if it wasn’t quite so late. It is 11 p.m. Martha. I’m afraid that you’ll have to come to my house and be my guest tonight. You can use my guest-room.” As she stared at him, he said gently, “I’m not a wolf, Martha. I’m a Doctor. I’ll take care of you. Trust me.” She felt ashamed that he had guessed her not so subtle thoughts.

        “I… I could check into a hotel for the night, Doctor. I don’t want to trouble you any further,” she said, appearing contrite. “Nothing doing, dear! I can’t possibly rush there too if anything happens to you. I value a good night’s sleep. Besides, I think that you’d be better off in my watch over you. Martha you are precious….” Before she got a chance to wonder at his statement, he started leading her outside his cabin.

        The whole clinic was dark, save for his cabin. He switched off the lights, held her arm and ushered her outside. As the cold draught of air hit her, she realized that she had not carried a sweater along with her. As she hugged her arms tightly against her body, Dr. Hussey quickly removed his tweed coat and put it around her shoulders. It was warm with the heat of his body. She felt warm and protected. Cozy and safe. She suddenly realized that her stomach was rumbling with great hunger.

        As if guessing her thoughts, Dr. Hussey stopped his car near a Café. It was the same one where she had had lunch earlier that day. The waitress looked at both of them and then her eyes widened in surprise as she recognized Martha, who had generously tipped her that afternoon. “Welcome again Madam. What can I get for both of you?” she asked eagerly after they were seated comfortably at a corner table and perused the menu card. Dr. Hussey smiled at Martha and asked her “What will you have, Martha?” Like a small child, she said, “Anything will do right now, Doctor. I’m ravenously hungry.” He laughed good-naturedly and ordered for both of them. “A grilled steak, brown bread, salad and later ice-cream, please.”

         When their order arrived, piping hot, both of them hungrily tucked into it. Neither of them spoke as if by an unspoken agreement. As they waited for their dessert to arrive, Martha broke the silence by saying, “I’m very grateful to you doctor. Forgive me for being rude to you at the clinic. I was distraught and felt that you were enjoying my discomfiture. I see how wrong I was! You’re very kind and I don’t really deserve your kindness.”

         She bit her lip nervously as she looked at the Doctor with luminous blue eyes that shone in the light of the soft lights that were part of the splendid décor of that elegant café. Dr. Hussey gazed at her transfixed and wondered whether he was falling in love with his beautiful patient. 

To be continued.... 

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 52

                “I see two issues here. One, your relationship with Norman who is your fiancée and second, your fledgling romance with your colleague, John! As I see it, both of them care for you in their own ways. Your state of mind doesn’t disturb them as much as your closeness to the other! Most important, you have to get well soon and make that final decision about your match, if I may say so! Till then, I suggest that you either stop writing your novel altogether or end it as soon as possible. I also suggest that you have someone around you when you are writing, so that you don’t get time to brood. Try to consciously separate the make-believe world in your novel and your real world. Don’t try to always correlate the two. With some determined effort on your part, I’m sure it is possible.”

              After that detailed and astute analysis of her predicament, Martha felt infinitely better and in control of her feelings. “Thanks Doctor. I’ll try to do as you say. I’ll keep you telephonically updated on my progress. I’ll take your leave now. Thanks for your valuable time.” She walked out of the clinic and decided to have lunch at the Café where Norman had taken her previously. She liked its soothing ambience of pastel-colored walls and flowering, potted plants.

             As she munched her burger, she decided to watch the movie that was showing in the theater nearby. She had decided to make it a ritual. Doctor’s visit, lunch, movie! With or without anyone accompanying her! She decided to make the most of her day out. She wanted to forget her daily routine by watching the movie. She didn’t care what it was or who the actors in it were. As luck would have it, the movie running in that theater was ‘Pirates of the Caribbean.’ She was a fan of its lead actor, Johnny Depp. Wow!

            She enjoyed the movie thoroughly till she saw the one-eyed pirate and screamed so loudly that everyone jolted in their seats and the lights came on in the theater. The couple sitting next to her watched in horrified consternation at that pretty middle-aged lady in a summery frock, who was passing out on her seat. They thought that she couldn’t be an action-movie buff. But why had she come to watch the movie all alone then? Clearly the scene showing on the screen had scared her out of her wits. The screen had gone blank by then.

          The manager of the theater had rushed in to see the cause of all that commotion. He was ushered to Martha’s seat by a solicitous gate-keeper. He quickly asked the couple what had happened. They told him that she had passed out on seeing the one-eyed pirate looting the ship on the sea. He almost grinned but suppressed his smile. He looked into her purse for some identification and found her driving license. Then he found Dr. Hussey’s visiting card. This address was close-by, so it made sense to contact the Doctor’s clinic and inform him. Maybe he could be of help.

          He removed his cell-phone and contacted Dr. Hussey’s clinic. His receptionist put the call through to the Doctor. He sounded concerned about his patient. He agreed to send an ambulance with a stretcher and get her shifted to his clinic. Relieved, the Manager requested the patrons to kindly bear with the delay in the movie’s screening. Everyone was in fact relieved that it was not a trigger-happy gunman or some other equally horrible reason for that lady’s shrieking and fainting spell!

         In just five minutes an ambulance arrived on the scene and the efficient workers had transferred Martha to a stretcher and carried her out of the theater. The movie’s screening resumed but the lady on the seat next to the one that Martha had occupied continued feeling uneasy till the end of the movie. She hoped that that lady was well again and sent a small prayer for her. It was sad that she hadn’t been able to enjoy the movie!

         In a small room adjacent to his, Dr. Hussey looked with a mixture of anguish and frustration at his patient. Martha was impossible! She looked so divine in repose. He was mad at her for having gone to watch a pirate movie. ‘Pirates of the Carribean’! Bah, couldn’t she see that it would affect her? All movies made on pirates had one-eyed pirates. It was a given! Given her predilection to one-eyed men and fainting on seeing them, she should’ve known better than to walk all alone into that theater!

        Now what was he going to do with her? She lived all alone. He considered calling up Norman. But it was too late. He didn’t want him to be worried and tense on hearing about her. Besides, Martha had wanted to keep her visit to him a secret. That meant that he’d have to look after her that night. Not that he minded. He could sleep in his cabin and watch her and look out to see if she woke up. She appeared to be comatose.

      But a worrying thought wriggled into his head. He would be all alone in his clinic with his patient. That wouldn’t augur well for him as a professional in town. What would people say? He would have to revive her and take her either to his home or to her home. Her home was a two-hour drive from town. It was nearly midnight and he was tired. He also couldn’t risk leaving her all alone in her home, given her condition. He voted to take her to his apartment. 

To be continued.... 

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.

A Suitor for the Princess - Chapter 51

        And that wouldn’t do for Martha, who was always hoping to be swept off her feet by a tall, dark and handsome man like the hero of her novel. Like John D’ Costa! He was a gale-storm that had blown her senses away.  Seemingly hard to get, yet approachable, distant yet likable, arrogant yet lovable!  She loved everything about him; a stranger whom she had met just three months ago, but with whom she looked forward to spending her lifetime!  She hadn’t known until she’d fallen in love with John, just what love meant.  Now she understood fully.

        True love called for a soul-mate and John was just that!  She felt as though she had been waiting for Mr. Right all her life and he had just arrived on the scene to be rudely pushed away by circumstances!  How wrong could that be?  He was her suitor and she’d see that he got her hand in the end, just like Sara and Juan were to be united after all their trials and tribulations.  But life wasn’t a novel.  It was all fact and zero fiction.  While she could control the lives of her characters, she couldn’t control hers, which was in the hands of providence.  Right then providence had a name.  Norman. Would she be able to stand up to him and weather the storm, come what may?  Or would she be tossed about like a speck on the wild sea of her life.

        Besides, would any of her suitors, Norman or John be capable of handling her psychological distress and if so, for how long?

        The King of Regina had wanted to test the patience of the suitors for his darling daughter’s hand in marriage.  Now she felt as if she would be testing the patience of her suitors.  It would be interesting to wait and watch the outcome, that is, if her sanity remained intact in the long run!  She shivered at the morbid thoughts about her future and then realized that she really didn’t have any control over her own destiny.  She decided to call up Dr. Hussey the next day and fix up an appointment.  This time, she’d go all alone to meet him.  Then she almost cried as she realized that she didn’t have his number!  As it was close to midnight, she chose to sleep rather than worry about things beyond her control.  She still had tomorrow!

        The next day, as soon as all her chores were over, she called up ‘Inquiry’ and got Dr. Hussey’s number.  Just seeing that innocuous number on that equally innocuous chit of paper gave her infinite strength!  She almost felt as if her fate was in her hands!  Then she booked an appointment for later that day, in the afternoon.  She called the office and asked for a leave of absence from the snooty secretary and hung up without waiting for a reply. 

             She’d decided to lie to Norman if he did call her and try to find out the reason for her absence.  “I’m dusting the house” she’d say.  She knew that he wouldn’t press her any more, fearing her ‘frail mental condition’.  She giggled and felt like a little school girl bunking school with a cooked-up excuse.  She’d never done that when she was little, hence now as a grown-up she’d do it and have fun!

              Feeling carefree and supremely relaxed, she drove her car to Dr. Hussey’s clinic. She had enjoyed the solitary long drive. She decided that henceforth she’d not depend on anyone else to accompany her to the clinic. She was capable of doing it on her own. It would also give her privacy. She wanted to get rid of the horrible feeling that her life was fast becoming an open book, ready for everyone to peep into, discuss and take decisions on her life. She resolved to regain control of her awry life and her future too! She didn’t want to be bulldozed into doing anything that she didn't want to!    

              As soon as she went into Dr. Hussey’s cabin and saw the tiny but distinguished Doctor sitting calmly in his seat, she felt better. He rose to greet her warmly and said, “Hope you are better than before Madam. Feel free to discuss with me, whatever troubles you.” She laughed and replied “Doctor, I’d feel better if you called me Martha and dropped the formality.” “If you say so,” he shrugged, returning her smile. Martha sat down on the by then familiar couch and started saying “Yesterday, I had a fainting spell.”

             She quickly explained the earlier day’s episode as succinctly as she could. Even she was taken aback by the clarity with which she could recollect that disturbing episode. Then she told him, “Doctor, I cannot bear to be separated from my colleague John. I know that it is imperative in the current circumstances, but I resent Norman’s high-handedness even if he means good. I am having a tough time reconciling myself with this forced isolation.”

             When she saw the Doctor’s shrewd eyes on her face, she squirmed. He surely knew how to read people’s thoughts. After all he was a ‘shrink’. She felt herself blushing against her will. “Why, may I ask, do you resent being separated from John? Any special reason?” She kept mum. “If you don’t answer me, I’ll have to draw my own conclusions, Martha and they could be wrong! Hence it would be better if you are frank with me. I assure you that it will be kept confidential. I know that you want privacy to voice your fears, therefore chose to come all by yourself here.” Martha knew that she was cornered by that ‘fox’.

              “Well then, Doctor, I think that I may have fallen in love with John.” The Doctor gaped at her just for a moment, recovered and grinned. “Ah” he said. She knew that he was thinking about Norman right then. Wasn’t he Martha’s fiancée?” He just said, “That’s your personal matter, Martha. But I can see why you can’t stand being isolated from his very presence. Besides, a heart grows fonder in a beloved’s absence. So maybe you are getting more agitated and frustrated now. But you do realize that his presence brings on your fainting spells too! It wouldn’t do if you love him and faint at the very sight of him! I hope you are getting my point.”

               “That’s exactly why I am here today, Doctor. I’m at my wits’ end. How do I solve this conundrum? Only you can help me.

To be continued.... 

The copyright of this novel is with Mrs. Priya Ramesh Swaminathan.