The bus wound along wide and crowded streets for an endless time, when finally the name of St. James Street appeared on the light panel above the driver. Tabby quickly got up from her seat and after a while the crowd of people carried her out of the car onto the sidewalk.
Everyone immediately scattered to their homes, only she remained hesitantly standing in place. She noticed a sign pointing to the hospital and so she headed in that direction.
After about five minutes, the silver-gray stone-clad walls of the vast Saint James Hospital building appeared in front of her, in which the white-glowing frames of the narrow windows stood out. It looked quite ancient, like an architectural memory of the past, but at the same time very noble. Tabby first sat down on a bench next to the parking lot and quickly devoured a sandwich baguette. Only after half an hour did she get up and go inside from the other side through the main glass door and look around briefly. Her eyes passed the reception and first looked for the toilet for some very unpleasant reasons, caused by nervousness, and she also intended to change there. Whatever her feelings were, she did not have the slightest desire to show herself to her father in a tattered T-shirt after such a long time. Fortunately, the room she was desperately looking for was located directly opposite the door. In her hurry, she did not look around and accidentally bumped into a young man in a white coat. At first she wanted to apologize to him, but when he grunted something in irritation, she just shook her head and disappeared through the door. After a while, she finally went out with relief and satisfaction. She briefly glanced at the huge clock hanging above the main entrance. It was three o'clock, so it was high time she caught up with her father. So she nodded and headed for the reception. Behind the counter stood a young nurse with glasses on her eyes, rummaging through the files with interest. Tabby approached her and asked her.
"Please, where would I..." She didn't even let her finish and handed her one of the files, reciting the formula she had learned in an unpleasant tone.
"First fill this in, your name, which department you go to, your insurance company, and so on. Then I'll tell you more."
"But I..." Tabby said in amazement, but the girl interrupted her again.
"Can't you write? Have you ever been here before? What's your name?" She huffed grumpily and stared at the computer screen. Tabby couldn't believe her ears. What does Nana think of herself? She couldn't have been any older than herself. Suddenly, a male voice interrupted the unpleasant conversation. She turned her head to the side and froze. It was the young man she had bumped into earlier! The further the better...she thought bitterly. She was about to take a breath to finally say something in her defense, but he beat her to it. When the girl saw him, she suddenly almost melted, like butter on a stove.
"Don't be so grumpy with the young lady, Miriam. She may be using our toilets as a changing room, but she's definitely looking for someone now, I can see it in her beautiful forget-me-not eyes. By the way, this blue T-shirt suits you better, it goes better with them, and most importantly, it's clean..." he declared confidently, winking at Tabby conspiratorially and fixing his gaze on the Sonata Arctica inscription and the picture of a mystical wolf. She snorted contemptuously and looked him up and down. From the business card, she could tell that he wasn't a doctor yet, but a final-year medical student. The first impression was the following... overly polished appearance, gelled hair, the face and figure of a playboy that the nurses would surely pick out of the palm of his hand. Original and embarrassingly funny at all costs. Great, but definitely not her type.
... But I have something for you too, perfumed boy, a great triumph, actually for both of you... Tabby thought maliciously. Not even in her wildest dreams would she have imagined that her father could ever be of any use to her. She took a deep breath, pushed a strand of restless curls from her forehead with a confident gesture, and told them both dryly.
"My father is the chief of oncology here. Do you know where I can find him?" She blinked innocently and smiled brightly. She was literally feasting on their surprise. The doctor's eyes widened in surprise, and the obnoxious little nurse in glasses almost dropped her chin.
"And… aha. Er… excuse me. It's in Pavilion A, first floor."
After a moment, the doctor also recovered and spoke up.
"Are you Dr. Steve Harris' daughter? Well, it could have been worse. If you want, I'll take you there. By the way, my name is Ted." And he held out his hand to her.
Hmm, it could have been worse...and what did you expect, a dirty Cinderella with a broom?... Tabby thought indignantly. But she did not accept the offered hand and answered him measuredly.
"Fine, I guess I don't know my way around here yet. Thank you."
Then she only vaguely perceived the flood of words he unleashed on her, among which his unpleasant-sounding "by the way" appeared a hundred times. As they walked towards the staircase, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar figure in a safari shirt and light jeans flashing by the elevators. Her heart pounded slightly, she stopped for a moment and took a step back, peering curiously around the corner. But the object of her interest was no longer there.
"Is something wrong?" The medic interrupted the flow of his lifeless conversation. Tabby blinked awkwardly and smiled apologetically.
"No, nothing, it's okay, I guess I just had a dream..." But she convinced herself that maybe it wasn't a dream after all. They were soon approaching the medical rooms on the first floor.
"So, here we are, it's door number six. And I hope to see you again soon, forget-me-not..." Ted hummed to her in a sickeningly sweet voice, giving her one of his trained smiles that would surely make the entire female section of the hospital go weak in the knees, but fortunately not hers.
...Hmm, of course, I can't wait... Tabby thought in disgust and looked at him contemptuously. She just nodded her head briefly and he finally walked away. She knocked carefully and when a loud call came from inside, she reached for the handle, took a breath and opened it vigorously...
...He was sitting in a white leatherette chair and held a cup of tea in his hands. He frowned a little and she observed with astonishment the familiar wrinkle in the middle of his forehead and his forget-me-not blue eyes. How come she didn't notice them then? She was just too small and had only seen him for about five minutes, and maybe that was better. At least then, all those years she didn't know whose eyes were looking at her every day in the mirror. His dark blond hair was already slightly gray and carefully combed back. His face had sharp, stern features, he looked completely different from how she remembered him. He looked at her questioningly and asked:
"What do you wish, miss?" But then he became uncertain, closed his eyes and looked at her searchingly.
She swallowed hard and replied:
"Hello. I...I'm Tabby..."
His face spread into a wide and happy smile. She noticed that his hands were starting to shake a little and so she put the cup of tea on the table. Tabby felt a strange tremor around her heart that she hadn't expected. She was completely confused by herself. Since her mother's death, she had been full of unknown, contradictory feelings. Where had her years of stored anger and hatred gone at this moment? Why suddenly the words that she had repeated so stubbornly throughout the long journey wouldn't leave her mouth? When he stood up and walked slowly towards her with his arms outstretched, she finally understood her strange feelings.
This was her dad after all..