S2/02. Bad Blood

2.3 Diana Foster
Spring 1998, SMU Clinic, San Myshuno

Diana was exhausted. It had been another long day at the hospital and she didn't sleep well last night because Lana had a light cold. If they'd been in the Springs, there'd be one friend or another who'd jump in and take her for the night, or at least her coworkers at Newcrest General would've cut her some slack.
Not here though, here they were on their own.

She'd decided firmly that she'd leave on time today, but again it was already twenty minutes after her official shift ended. Well then, definitely she'd leave right after she finished with this patient; and that'd be still earlier than since she started here.

"Okay, this is just perfect! Not too tight."

Diana had barely looked at her patient so far, but now he caught her attention.

He stretched and bent the fingers of his bandaged hand.
"You shouldn't do that, it's not healed yet!" Diana chided him.

He pulled a face. "It's been almost a month," he said. "But really, no itching, no scratching. You got a talent there, a special skill. Can I book you for my next appointments too? Seriously, why wasn't I so lucky to get you do the cast before? You're like, the master of bandages."

Diana laughed. He was goofing around, but it felt good to be praised once in a while.

"I'm new here," she said, "I only moved here two weeks ago."

"Oh, that's why. Did you get around in town? Not yet? How 'bout coffee first – I'll show you the best place in San My, the vanilla latte is exceptional! Do you even like coffee? If not, they got tea too. And milk shakes – the home made style. Isn't it shift change now?"

His bright smile was so contagious it lifted Diana's spirits. Also – did he just ask her out?
About a year ago she'd probably be excited. But by now she'd learned to not expect too much.

"Thanks, but I gotta pick up my daughter from daycare," she said casually. Lana worked magic as a men repellant, so she'd rather have them know about her kid from the start, before she'd get her hopes high just to be disappointed again.

"Bring her along," the patient said.

"Oh no, I really can't –"

Diana had replied already before she fully got what he'd said.
He didn't care that she had a kid. Not as if it mattered; she'd rather not bring her sick daughter along, but maybe dating wasn't totally out of the question for her...

"Too bad," he said, "well, maybe you can come around another time, we're hanging there frequently. Iko's bringing her kid too occasionally, he'd might get along with yours. Y'know, when you go towards the old fishing dock – eh, Rose, wait!" before he finished his sentence he jumped up and followed another nurse out of the room, "do you happen to know –"

Out he was, and with him Diana's hope to set another day for a potential date with him.

She sighed. But then it hit her a second later.
Did he invite her to a date where his friends were around? Who'd do that? Unless – it wasn't meant to be a date... of course; then he couldn't care less that she had a kid.
He was just being nice.

Diana was so disappointed. Shame on her that she let herself get carried away in the first place.
It wasn't even so much that she wanted to date this guy, but just to date at all. Being treated like a lady, be admired, cherished.

"Oy, Cookie!"

Frustrated she realized that she'd probably never been treated like a lady before.
Definitely not by this guy, though he'd probably been the nicest she'd dated so far.
She would've preferred to never see him again, but he disagreed. It was the third time since they met again that Martin followed her and every time he acted as if he'd done nothing wrong, as if they were on best terms.
"Remember the good ol' times?" he always asked.
She did, but more so she remembered the bad ones. He'd never apologized for his insults, never for all the times he had scared her, lied to her and played with her feelings when they were still together. Diana only understood what a giant jerk he was after she'd gained some distance from him and saw how good relationships looked like.
Even if he'd asked for it, Diana would never forgive him. She wasn't so stupid.

"Leave me alone Martin," she snapped.

"Come on, Cookie, why are you like that?" he lamented, "why you keep playin' hard to get?"

"Playing" he'd said – Diana was dead serious. She groaned. It was as if she'd talked to a wall, Martin never listened to her.
She could as well ignore him until the bus would come. Maybe he'd even give up pestering her.
So instead of answering his question she sat down to read the magazine she'd bought this morning.

"What's that?" Martin bent over her.
It was to be expected that he wouldn't give up too fast.

"You think you could pull of that look?" he pointed at one of the pictures. "Never, your ass is way to fat for that dress," he sneered.

He almost blew her determination to ignore him.
Relax, Diana.
He just wanted to get her attention.

"Oy, Cookie."

"Oy, Cookie, you know, you even look like you love cookies."

Diana had to force herself not to slap him. She took a deep breath instead.

"You really gon' play this game, aren't you?" His voice got dangerously low.
He'd likely throw a tantrum next, but she didn't care anymore. She' scream and rage as much as he wanted.
Except he didn't.

Before she could react he'd yanked the magazine out of her hands.

"I. Am. Talking. To. You," he hissed.

Her heart raced.
"He never hit me", she had to remind herself, "he doesn't hit women."
She forced herself to look him in the eye instead for help on the street. In this moment she became very aware how empty this street was for a main traffic road. There were no pedestrians – of course, people usually took a bus from right in front of the clinic. Not from here; a street further where the only line that stopped went to Easternrose Bay.

Martin came uncomfortably close, his face a grinning grimace.
"You forgot how to show some respect?"

Diana could tell how much he enjoyed scaring her. That jerk!

She mustered up all her courage. "Leave me alone," she pressed out, though her voice was much less confident than she intended.

He cackled. "Admit it, you miss – "

"Hey, could you just like, fuck off, please?"

Martin shot up.
"Who the fuck are you?"

It was Diana's last patient!

"Fuck off I said," he repeated casually, ignoring Martin's question.

"Jeez Cookie, you got yourself another lay already?" Martin spat while he eyed the other man.
For a minute she feared that Martin would come at him. She'd seen a few fights start like this before and she worried for the patient's injured wrist.
But Martin just sized him up and then miraculously decided to leave it at that. He turned around and left, not without hissing a sharp "slut" at Diana.
She could breathe again.

"Oh, it's you. You okay?" The patient turned towards her.

"Yeah – thanks, uhm..." Diana mumbled and tried to remember the name she'd seen on his file.

"Ben." He smiled.

"Diana." She smiled back.

"Honestly I thought first I ran into a PDA show again –" he flopped down next to her, "and really, I could totally do without a noisy make out session in the bus; today of all days when I didn't bring my headphones – not that I'm glad that you were harassed instead," he hastily declared.

Diana snickered at his complaint, too many times she too had to witness annoying couples that thought they'd have to show the whole world their attachement to each other.
"I'm glad you could tell it wasn't and helped," she said. "And for the record: I'd rather die than ever let that jerk touch me again."

Ben scowled. "That creep's your ex?"

"Unfortunately..." Diana sighed. "And he has the crazy idea we should kiss and make up."

"Duh, that's a strange approach to win someone back."

Diana had to laugh. "I guess he thinks he can coax me with his persistence alone," she said.

"Does he bother you frequently?" Ben seemed genuinely concerned. "Look, I could wait for you until you finish work, then you wouldn't have to wait for the bus alone. I work right there at the construction," he pointed at the corner behind them, "and I'm done not long before you."

Diana was touched by his kind offer.
But she couldn't accept it.
"Thank you, honestly, but there's no need," she declined politely. "I don't think he'll bother me anymore after today. And I don't usually finish as early as today. Often I have to stay overtime – sometimes an hour, or more. I couldn't ask you to wait so long."

It would be too much to ask for, even more for someone she'd just met. And with a plain nuisance like Martin she could deal on her own.

"It's no big deal," Ben assured her.

"No, really, I'll be fine," she smiled.

Ben shot her a skeptical glance, but he didn't insist.

"Say, what's that great coffee place you were talking about?" she changed the subject. And she was curious; she really wouldn't mind making some new friends here. "I really can't go today, but I'll come another time. Don't tell me it's in the Bay."

Ben smirked. "The Bay's the best part of San My."

"With its run down buildings, graffiti and trash everywhere?"

"And don't forget the significant odor."
Rather said, the stench of fish market that still lingered after the market itself was gone for decades.

Diana had missed just messing around with other people so much and today's bus ride was over before she noticed. From now she'd try to go home at shift end more often, so she could take the bus together with Ben.