Never Meet Again
I was so moved that I dropped out of school, worked every odd job I could find, and gave half of the money I earned for his medical bills to her, to fund her education.
Eventually, I became Laras husband, and she became my fathers doctor.
But last night, my father fell from his hospital bed. He pressed the call button all night, struggling, but the doctor who had vowed to save him never came.
By the time I rushed back with the money for his surgery, the fingers he had wrapped around the call button were already cold and stiff.
The next morning, Lara finally showed up. She was clinging to the arm of a handsome young male assistant, her voice a playful pout.
From now on, whatever your father needs, Ill be there in a heartbeat. Isnt that why I became a doctor? To protect the ones I love?
I gathered all of my fathers belongings and left a single sheet of paper on the empty bed: a divorce agreement.
But Lara and her assistant blocked my way.
1
I felt nothing but a hollow numbness as I packed away my fathers things.
When I finally looked up, the sky was already turning a pale, washed-out gray.
The on-call room door was ajar, the room empty.
The night had passed.
But my sun would never rise again.
I stared, transfixed, at the two names on the duty roster.
On-Call Physician: Dr. Lara Song.
On-Call Assistant: Alex Cheng.
When did it start between them?
I had no idea.
In the beginning, I worked day and night, taking any job I could get just to make ends meet. Later, all my energy was focused on caring for my paralyzed father. For more than a decade, Id been running on fumes, held together by sheer willpower.
I wasn't blind. Id seen the lingering glances between Lara and Alex, the way they always seemed to be touching.
But I didnt have the strength to confront them.
Besides, my fathers recovery depended on her.
Now, the reason for my silent endurance was gone.
Maybe our marriage had been a lifeboat adrift on a stormy sea for a long time.
The sound of a man and woman laughing echoed from the end of the hallway.
From now on, whatever your father needs, Ill be there in a heartbeat. Isnt that why I became a doctor? To protect the ones I love?
The coquettish voice belonged to my wife of five years, Lara.
Her slender fingers were wrapped around the arm of a handsome young man.
His name was Alex. He was a recent graduate, Laras new assistant. He radiated youthful energy, dressed in a tailored white shirt and gleaming leather shoes, the cuffs of his trousers adorned with gold-thread embroidery.
Not like me.
I glanced down at the oil stain on my T-shirt, the hole in my jeans.
Jules? Are you okay? Your eyes are all red, Alex said, finally recognizing the disheveled man in front of him. He looked away, a flicker of guilt in his eyes as he quickly pulled his arm from Laras grasp.
Annoyed, Lara slipped her hand behind her back and hooked her pinky finger around his. Her smile vanished when she looked at me, her gaze impatient.
Julian, they say no son stays loyal at a sickbed for long. You know your father cant be left alone, so what are you doing wandering around out here?
Dont think you can just relax now that Ive agreed to do his surgery.
I felt a strange sense of calm. You were the doctor on duty last night, werent you? I asked, my voice flat. Were all the patients in this ward less important than your date?
Alex gave me an oily, placating smile, his voice laced with a feigned innocence. Jules, youve got it all wrong! My dad threw out his back yesterday, so I had to ask Dr. Song to come home with me and take a look.
I looked up and met his eyes, saw the challenge hiding beneath the surface.
Every doctor has their own responsibilities. You abandoned your patients and left your post without permission. Have you no professional ethics?
I turned to Lara, the carefully contained emotions finally breaking free. Grief and rage surged in my chest, forcing broken words through my clenched teeth.
Lara, lets get a divorce. I wish you two a long and happy life together.
The love I once felt for her had become a blade, and it was twisting in my heart.
She was the one who said she would save him. And she was the one who let him die.
I remembered that day, years ago, when she held my fathers hand, her voice full of encouragement. Uncle, please, dont give up hope. Ill become the best orthopedic surgeon there is, and Ill help you walk again.
But last night, my father pressed the call button again and again and again.
All he got was silence.
Lara. The brilliant surgeon. The perfect daughter-in-law. My childhood sweetheart, my wife. For a handsome assistant shed known for a few weeks, she had betrayed a decade of love and abandoned the promise shed made at my fathers bedside.
Shed thrown away even the most basic duty of a doctor.
Can you stop being so dramatic? she snapped. Ive been up all night, Im exhausted. We can talk about this at home!
Our argument was suddenly interrupted.
Dr. Song, Alex. I trust there were no incidents last night?
It was Dr. Evans, the head of orthopedics.
Lara glanced toward my fathers room, a flicker of hesitation in her eyes, but then she nodded firmly. None at all. What could possibly happen in the ortho ward? Besides, there are only ten patients.
Perhaps, but we cant afford to be careless, Dr. Evans said, handing her my fathers chart. I told Alex yesterday that this patients surgery had to be postponed. I noticed he was having chest pain and shortness of breathI suspect its pneumonia from being bedridden for so long. I told you to arrange a respiratory consult immediately. The results should be back by now, right?
2
Laras eyes darted to Alex.
A flash of panic crossed his face, and he quickly avoided Dr. Evanss gaze.
Lara understood immediately and took the blame herself.
Im his primary physician. His son has been caring for him personally, turning him over eight times a night. Theres no way he could have pneumonia. Its probably something minor.
Dr. Evans frowned, his voice a low reprimand. Lara, there is no such thing as a minor issue with a patient. You have to be vigilant about every detail. And for Gods sake, his son is standing right here. Watch your tone.
Their words left me frozen in place.
Ever since Lara had become his doctor, my fathers condition had actually started to improve. Shed told me about a new surgical technique, a spinal reconstruction, that could help him. If it was successful, he could leave his wheelchair behind and walk again. For the first time in years, Id felt a glimmer of hope.
But my father had refused the surgery. I knew he was afraid of the risks, terrified of ending up in an even worse state, of becoming an even bigger burden on Lara and me.
But just last night, he had called out to me, his voice raspy, waking me from the cot beside his bed.
Jules, tell Lara to schedule the surgery.
Ive made up my mind. Id rather take the gamble than be trapped in this bed for the rest of my life.
In the locked drawer in my bedroom, theres some money I saved up. Go home and get it.
I know Lara makes good money, but its not right to always be asking her to pay. This one Ill pay for this one myself.
He handed me a small key.
I was ecstatic. It wasnt just about the hope of him walking again; it was a sign that he had found the courage to truly live.
Then I glanced at the clock on the wall and came back to my senses. It was 1 a.m.
Dad, its too late, I said softly. Get some rest. Ill go home and get the money first thing in the morning.
He shook his head, his movements slow, almost robotic. Son, Ive been trapped in this bed for over a decade. I cant wait another minute.
It was a two-hour round trip by taxi from the hospital to our house. He saw my hesitation and held up the call button.
Dont worry, this is a hospital. Laras on duty tonight. If I need anything, Ill just call her.
He pleaded and insisted until I finally, reluctantly, agreed. Before I left, I noticed the on-call room was empty. I figured Lara was probably doing her rounds and didnt think much of it.
By the time I returned with the surgery money, my fathers fingers, wrapped around the call button, were already stiff.
The doctor in the morgue had said, He probably passed away not long after you left.
But he was in the hospital! The on-call room is right next door, the call button was in his hand! Didnt any of the doctors or nurses notice? Id pleaded.
He might have been saveable, the doctor had replied, his voice full of a gentle regret.
I had nothing to say to that. I lowered my head and arranged for his body to be taken care of. If I could trade anything to turn back time, I would. I would have stayed by his side. I wouldn't have let Lara abandon her post for a tryst.
I wanted to tear myself to pieces.
And then I wanted to drag Lara down with me, to make her lie beside my father in his grave.
But when I finished packing his things and ran into a late-arriving Lara and Alex, the rage turned to despair.
Even if they paid with their lives, it wouldnt give my father back that one night.
Lara, sensing Dr. Evanss displeasure, waited until he was gone before scribbling out a few requests for lung scans and shoving them at me.
If your father wasnt feeling well, why didnt you tell me directly? What kind of son are you?
I ignored her. I opened the insulated container my father had left behind. Inside were the last of his sweet rice dumplings. The glutinous skins, soaked soft in the broth, had split, spilling their sweet black sesame filling.
Numbly, I started shoveling them into my mouth. The sweetness of the dumplings and the salt of my tears mixed on my tongue, turning to bitter ash.
When I didnt answer, Lara snatched the spoon from my hand. Did you hear me? Im talking to you.
The edge of the spoon scraped against my gums. A trickle of soupy broth and blood ran from the corner of my mouth, dripping onto the clean floor.
She threw the spoon down in disgust, making no effort to hide her revulsion. What is your problem? Who are you trying to impress with that my-dad-just-died face?
Alex handed me a tissue, his voice dripping with false sympathy. Jules, its all my fault. I was in such a panic, I made Dr. Song leave during her shift to go help my dad.
Lara strode forward, pulling Alex behind her. Dont you dare take the blame for this. Hes just looking for trouble. He thinks his fathers life is the only one that matters!
3
I picked up the spoon and scooped up another broken dumpling, my words muffled as I shoved it into my mouth. Lara, do you remember the promise you made to my father?
My dad was a truck driver. He raised me on his own, earning money hauling cargo on long-haul routes. Right before my college entrance exams, he worked for a month straight without a break, trying to save up for my tuition. He fell asleep at the wheel. The crash didnt kill him, but it damaged his spine, leaving him paralyzed and completely dependent on others.
I gave up my exams and dropped out of school to take care of him.
And Lara, who had grown up with me, put down her paintbrushes and picked up a scalpel.
Her promise still echoed in my ears.
I met her stunned gaze and repeated her words, one by one. You said you were giving up art willingly, to become a good doctor who could save people.
You said you would be my loving wife, faithful and true, until the end of time.
I looked down at her, the bitter-sweet taste filling my mouth. My father died because you abandoned your post. You didnt keep either of those promises.
Alex looked terrified. No way! he blurted out. Can a dead man press a call button? If I hadnt silenced it last night, he would have woken up the entire floor!
His words were like a lit match to a fuse.
I snapped. I lunged at him, wanting nothing more than to smash my fists into his smug face.
But Lara threw her arms around me, holding me back. Her body was soft, but her words were like ice.
Alex just graduated, he doesnt know how things work. He just accidentally overlooked your fathers needs.
I apologize on his behalf. But you need to stop. Dont use your fathers death to make a scene.
The container of rice dumplings clattered to the floor, spilling across the tiles.
Laras eyes were red-rimmed. The warmth and affection she had once reserved for me were now being given to someone else.
Alex shot me a triumphant smirk.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. On what grounds are you apologizing for him? As my wife? As my fathers doctor? Or as his lover? Whos the one making a scene with my fathers death?
Lara, youre a married woman, lusting after a fresh-faced graduate. Have you no shame? If you had regrets, you should have just told me. I would have let you go.
It takes two to tango. There had been signs of her changing heart for a long time.
The first thing she did when she got to college was video call me to introduce me to her new classmates and professors. Now, she never even mentioned our relationship.
She was beautiful and brilliant, the heir apparent to the department head. Her life was perfect, except for her uneducated husband and her dependent, burdensome father-in-law.
And Alex came from a wealthy, well-connected family. He was carefree and irresponsible, a passionate spirit who lived by his own rules. He was everything I wasnt, and he had captivated her.
Without me, they would have probably gone public with their affair a long time ago.
My words hit a nerve. A flicker of annoyance crossed her face. And what good would regretting it do? she sneered.
Would it let me escape this white hell that reeks of disinfectant?
Would it let me pick up my paintbrushes and be an artist again?
Can I get back the decade of my youth that I wasted?
I couldn't take it anymore. I raised my hand to slap her.
But Alex jumped in front of her, raising his own fist, ready to strike.
THUD.
It was the sharp crack of metal hitting bone.
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