Camaraderie





It was seven thirty and Carter pushed Deb’s doorbell. Several seconds passed and then the door whooshed open. Deb stood in the open door, looking dazzling in a black sequined evening gown.

“John, I’m almost ready. Just one minute ok?” Deb stepped back inside and reappeared a moment later holding her purse and wearing a black silky wrap around her shoulders.

“Deb,” Carter stammered, “you look beautiful.”

Deb could feel her cheeks get hot, and smiled self-consciously. Then she noticed that Carter looked rather nice himself, wearing a semi-formal evening jacket. He knew just how to dress for the occasion.

“You look nice yourself John. You ready for this?” she added hastily, to break the tension she could feel building.

“As ready as I’ll ever be I guess.” Carter was still looking at Deb and was smiling. Deb hadn’t seen him looked this relaxed in a long time. Carter chuckled quietly, under his breath.

“What’s so funny?” Deb wondered for a moment if she might have toilet paper trailing behind her or something, the way Carter was laughing.

“It’s not you I’m laughing at Deb. You look absolutely gorgeous. I’m thinking about how mad Dave would be if he could see you now, knowing that I was going to dinner with you, instead of him.”

“You told him? He must be...” Deb trailed off, and began to laugh as well. She felt a small pang of guilt knowing that Malucci was head over heals for her, her and every other hot nurse or doctor that came within twenty feet of him.

“You devil,” she teased Carter.

Carter extended his arm to her, “Your chariot awaits.”

Deb’s parents weren’t at the restaurant yet when Deb and Carter arrived, so they sat down at the table to wait. After a few minutes, Carter began to play with his silverware.

“You aren’t nervous, are you John? You seemed so relaxed in the car.” Deb looked at Carter, concern apparent in her eyes.

“Yes, I’m a little nervous. But I’ll be fine. I just haven’t been to a formal dinner in a long time. I’m a little out of practice.” Carter did his best to keep his voice level. He was nervous, but he didn’t want Deb to know just how nervous. He was ready to get up and walk out, without looking back. But Deb knew just how to make him relax.

“Ok John, here’s a little practice.” She picked up the fork on the end of a long line of silverware, “This is the salad fork, you eat salad with this. This is the dinner fork, you eat your dinner with this. This is your dessert fork, you eat dessert with this.” One by one she held up all the silverware. Finally, she picked up a fork that seemed strangely out of place.

“Now what do you suppose this is for?” She held it up for Carter to see.

“That is the, ‘stealing off your neighbor’s plate’ fork. I can’t pick off your plate with just any fork you know.” He picked up his own matching fork and mocked like he was eating off her plate, setting them both into a fit of laughter.

“Well, I’m glad you are both having fun. I see we’re not needed at this party.” Carter looked up to see Deb’s parents standing next to the table, smiles on their faces. They had heard about the stabbing and had been worried about Carter, and especially worried about how he might act at dinner that night. They had almost wished Deb had chosen to invite someone else--anyone else to dinner. But he seemed to be in good spirits and they sensed that their inhibitions had been misplaced.

“Mr. and Mrs. Chen, how are you?” Carter scrambled out of his seat and extended his hand to each of the elder Chens.

“Good to see you again John. I’m glad you could accompany our little girl to her birthday dinner.” Jing Mei had warned them about bringing up his health or the stabbing, so they refrained from asking him how he was.

The dinner went smoothly; Deb and her parents talking mostly about Deb’s work. It was her day, and they weren’t going to ruin it by putting down her chosen career. Mr. Chen turned the subject to sports and politics to give Carter a chance to be a little more involved in the conversation, and Carter appreciated the gesture. The topics were neutral ones and Carter felt at ease bantering back and forth with Mr. Chen.

Just when Carter was beginning to feel a bit worn down, the sound of “Happy Birthday” being sung came from the direction of the kitchen. The music got louder and Carter could see the waiter carrying out a birthday cake, being followed by a line of singing waiters. He knew it was for Deb, and he and the Chens began to sing along to the refrains of “Happy Birthday”. The procession of waiters neared the table and Carter could see that the cake was decorated with delicate blue flowers. An image of the blue Valentine’s cake flashed through Carter’s mind, and Carter felt a twinge of pain in his back where the knife had been thrust.

Deb leaned over, “Are you ok? You’re not singing.”

Carter realized that he had stopped singing and forced a smile. “Fine, just admiring your beautiful cake.” With that, Carter focused his attention on the cake and began to sing again.

When they were done with the song, everyone clapped and prompted Deb to make a wish and blow out the candles. Deb looked over at Carter and saw that the sparkle in his eye was gone, having been replaced with a sad, mournful look. Deb turned to her cake, and blew with all her might. She hoped that her wish would come true, that the look of sadness in John’s eyes would disappear forever.

After dinner, the Chen’s said their good-byes to their daughter and Carter and wished them a good night. Carter and Deb waited for the valet to retrieve Carter’s car in silence. Once the valet had brought them their car, and they were on their way back to Deb’s apartment, Deb turned to Carter.

Rather than say what was really in her mind, and her heart, Deb said, “Thanks for coming tonight John. This really meant a lot to me. My birthdays are usually so, formal. My parents really surprised me tonight. Not once did they put down my job, or me.”

Carter looked over at Deb and smiled. The look of sadness was still there, but his smile was sincere. “Thank you for inviting me Deb. I had fun. It was nice to get out. I haven’t been out in a long time.”

Deb put her hand over Carter’s right hand, which was laying on the armrest between them. They rode in silence back to Deb’s apartment. When they arrived, Carter walked Deb to her door and stood there nervously. He still didn’t know if this was a “date” or just a friendly evening out to celebrate her birthday. Carter didn’t have to wonder long, as Deb paused at her door and looked at him.

“Can I give you a kiss goodnight?” Deb asked.

Carter smiled and walked up to Deb. He put his hand on the small of her back and leaned closer to her. Deb wrapped her arms around his neck and felt his lips upon her own. It was a gentle kiss, but passionate as well. Deb could feel tingles running up and down her body. She never realized that she felt such an attraction to Carter, but now, in his arms, she didn’t want to let go. Deb didn’t know how long the kiss lasted, but was disappointed when Carter began to pull away. Didn’t he like it? Maybe he felt none of the passion that Deb had felt. Deb began to blush.

“I have, I have to go.” Carter stammered. The kiss had caught him off guard. He expected a friendly, goodnight kiss. Instead, he could feel his heart racing, his skin tingling. He could still feel Deb’s soft lips against his own. He began to walk back down the sidewalk to his car.

“John,” Deb called out behind him. Carter turned and looked at Deb.

“Thank you.” Carter smiled at the simplicity of her statement. She looked so beautiful tonight. He hoped that she had felt the same passion in their kiss as he did.

“No, thank you Deb. I haven’t felt so alive in a long time. I hope we can do this again.” Carter turned and got into his car. He didn’t want to hear Deb’s reply. He was happy with how the night had turned out and didn’t want to know if Deb felt any differently. At least, not tonight.



Part 3
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