It had been three days since they had gone to see the doctor and Lucia still wasn't taking Reno's calls. what could have gone wrong? she wondered.
she had been busy dicing onions when her phone began to vibrate on the kitchen counter. Reno swiped her hand on the towel hanging from her back pocket and reached for it.
"hello" she said into the reciever
the voice was familiar. not the one she expected though. it wasn't Lucia. it was a different voice. an unexpected call. it was Dr Sharp.
"Hello miss Devin" he said in a most formal tone.
"Dr Sharp " Reno exclaimed involuntarily
"this is quite unusual I have to say. I don't have a habit of reaching my patients outside the confidence of my office, but... "
he paused. why did he pause?
"but what Dr Sharp? "
"actually,i was reviewing your case with a colleague of mine, and it's a very interesting one. he has asked me to arrange a meeting with you, he's very interested in your case"
"is it that bad? "
"it's not as bad as it sounds. it's a peculiar case though"
Reno thought for a moment. she was nineteen, a college student and still no interest in boys. Lucia had assumed she was into girls, but that turned out false too. there was a wall built around her, some kind of barricade against boys, against feeling love for anyone besides herself and that was a problem. it hadn't been before now though.
"fine" Reno agreed, "this colleague of yours, he can help me? "
"I'll like to believe he can" Dr Sharp said.
"okay then, I'll meet him".
just before he hung up, Reno asked,
"one last thing doc, " she said, "my friend, Lucia Van Horn, what's your relationship with her? "
she would never know why she asked but what she discovered gave her chills instantly.
Dr Sharp sat with his colleague and friend, patiently awaiting Reno's arrival. she was a bit behind time because of the traffic arising from rush hour.
"sorry am late " Reno apologized when she got to them. they didn't seem disturbed though. they simply nodded and continued to sip their coffee. the cafe was filled with suits of different kinds walking in and out. it was a corporate cafe, for the corporate society.
Reno felt a bit underdressed. her skinny jeans and bratty tank didn't do her any good, it stood out like a rainbow in a clear blue sky. she felt embarrassed.
"Miss Devin, am glad you could join us" Dr Sharp said after ordering a coffee for her. "this is Dr Gates, a colleague of mine and very good friend too"
"please, drop the formalities, would you" the other guy nudged him, "you can call me Justin" he said, extending a hand towards Reno. she took it without blinking.
the entire time, through the introduction, Reno thought only of one thing, Lucia. no wonder she was head over heels for this guy. who wouldn't? unless they had wavy brunette hair and were the only daughter of supreme consul Brett Devin.
Dr Sharp was not just handsome, he was smart, had a striking personality and killer humor. worse, he surrounded himself with people just like him. his friend, Justin Gates, was one hell of a hunk. but for the prefix that accompanied his name, one would assume he was a professional athlete with that build.
"Zac has told me a lot about you. basically, your barricade against the male folk" Gates said.
barricade? when put like that, it sounded so intense.
"I don't have a barricade against boys, I just.. "
"don't fancy them? "
"yeah, that's it" Reno admitted.
"is there anything that could have influenced that decision? maybe from the past? "
"no, maybe, I don't know"
Gates glanced at his friend for a second then said to Reno,
"miss Devin, tell me about your childhood ".