Emergency Romance – ER 7

Even though Susie knew that Keith wouldn't use any romantic words, she still looked forward to receiving his e-card. As soon as she reached home, she turned on her computer to check her mailbox.

Staring at the empty 'In-box', she began to wonder if she had been too harsh to Keith earlier on. Was it fair to expect an unromantic guy to behave otherwise after listening to a fictitious love story? Was she expecting too much? Or had she idolised the characters in the story so much that she wanted the same thing for herself in real life?

Still facing an empty 'In-box' after almost an hour, Susie suddenly grew very angry. He said he would send it but didn’t do it. What did he mean? What was he treating her as? Susie called his cellphone.

"Hello," Keith answered.

"I didn't receive the card." Susie voiced her displeasure.

"You didn't receive it?" He sounded really busy. "But I’ve already sent it."

"I didn't receive it. Send it again."

"Okay, okay. I'll send it to you 100 times. Is that good enough?" he said with impatience.

However, without realising it, Keith had further infuriated Susie with his tone.

Was that how lovers should speak to each other? Susie was really furious.

"Don't bother sending it to me. And you don't have to pick me up after work. I'll go home by myself."

"Don't be childish, okay? I'm really busy now."

"I AM CHILDISH!" Susie exclaimed angrily and hung up.

Tears started to roll down her cheeks. Childish? Why didn't he consider the situation? They've been seeing each other for so long and had spent countless moments in each other arms but she had never received any flower or card from him. Now, she just wanted a little e-card. Was that too much to ask for?

Susie unplugged the phone from the wall and turned off her cellphone. She didn't want to listen to his explanation; at least not at that moment. She reported for work with a heavy heart and instructed the receptionist not to forward any phone call to her. She just wanted to concentrate on her work. In fact, there were so many emergencies that evening that she soon forgot about the argument.

"Dr Wu, please take a look at the patient coming in now."

As Susie was collecting her equipment, the shrill sound of an ambulance could be heard approaching. When she stepped out the door, two medics hurriedly wheeled in a gurney.

"What happened to him?" Susie asked one of the medics, as she took a quick look at the victim who was covered in blood. She thought the outfit looked familiar but dismissed it as a coincident.

"Road accident," the medic replied. "Head injury. Very serious."

Susie nodded and hurried into the operating room with them. After placing the badly injured body onto the operating table, Susie began to check for vital signs. She realised that the man had already stopped breathing and that his heartbeat had also stopped.

"Prepare for shock." Susie instructed the nurses calmly. The scene was all too familiar to her and she understood that she had to remain calm so as to be able to execute the revival procedure correctly. However, as she took a closer look at the motionless body, Susie lost her cool. She recognised the gory face. It was Keith’s.