David stood not far from the hospital entrance, shivering from the cold and fall wind. He had popped out for a smoke break in just his hospital gown, leaving his jacket in his office, and now he was regretting it. He was about to leave when an intrusive ringtone caught his attention. It played all of a sudden from somewhere on the right, though there was no one there at all. There was a phone, though. David hadn’t even noticed it under the wall of the building, on the pavement.
He did not have time to take the call, and the phone was blocked, which made it impossible to call back. He hid the phone in his pocket, thinking to give it to the nurses to figure out which patient had lost it or to the police, but while he was going up to his department, the caller made himself known again. The contact was signed “Kate.”
– Hello,” David answered in a friendly way, “I found this phone near the hospital. Do you know the owner?
– Oh, hello! – an excited woman’s voice sounded a moment later. – Thank you for finding it! My grandfather was walking around the grounds and left it somewhere. You haven’t left yet? Could we meet in that pink building where the trauma room is?
That’s where David went in.
– Tell me which room Grandpa’s in and I’ll bring it to him myself.
– Really? – Kate was even happier. – Thank you very much! Room 28, it’s on the second floor.
– Yes, I know.
Before returning to his patients, David checked on Kate’s grandfather by dropping by his room with the phone. He wasn’t expecting visitors and didn’t recognize David as his doctor, but he was very happy to find him.
– How nice that you found it! My granddaughter worked so hard to buy it for me, and I always lose everything.
David had to stay late because the grandfather kept talking about himself and his granddaughter, at the same time asking the guest who he was, what he was, and how long he had been a doctor. To get back to work, I had to give the patient a promise that he would check on him in the evening. And the cunning grandfather was just waiting for that. His granddaughter had just arrived in the evening and was sitting by his bed, peeling apples, when David walked in. The two of them had a wonderful chance to get acquainted. Their conversation, which had begun in the room, slowly drifted into the hall, where they were buying very tasty berry tea with two spoonfuls of sugar, and chatting about all kinds of topics.
Kate was a very pretty girl that David couldn’t take his eyes off of, and she clearly liked him.
– I’d like to thank you for finding the phone. I don’t know how I would have contacted my grandfather without you. He’s a big talker.
– No, I didn’t do anything special. I don’t need anything.
– Still, I can’t just say thank you. Maybe after your shift we could have dinner somewhere?
David laughed, feeling his cheeks blush. He had never been asked out first by a girl before.
– Sure, let’s,” he answered happily.
