Translucence - Finished.

She checked her watch as she took elevator to the floor that housed VIP wards. She had been in the hospital for thirteen hours now and she had to push another three to cover for her friend. Her friend, Anjali, had pleaded, begged, bribed and finally switched on waterworks to cover her rest of the shift. She was completely exhausted after a rough day at ER. But like always, she had fallen to the puppy dog expression that Anjali had pulled at the last minute.

"Anjali dumped her work on you again?" Nurse at the workstation chuckled when she saw her dragging her feet.

"Apparently it is 'the' date," she said air quoting "the" and chuckled.

"It's a slow evening today so take it easy, alright?" The older nurse told her kindly. "An intern is on rounds checking vitals and giving medications. Keep an eye on her for me, will you?" She heard the nurse telling her as she walked towards the ward area. Khurana hospital was one of the country's finest and offered services and expertise in myriad areas of medicine. She was a resident who mostly worked in ER, well respected even by the most arrogant doctors in the hospital and had done few shifts in the VIP wards from time to time.

She halted in her tracks as a young woman crashed into her as she tried to get away from a room as fast as possible. Must be the intern, she thinks.

"I am so sorry," the intern apologized and shifted her eyes to the name tag and said, "Geet".

"It's alright." Geet shrugged. "What were you running away from in such a hurry?" She asked as she handed over the files the woman had dropped. The intern flushed. Geet raised an eyebrow amusedly.

"That patient in the room is...kissing a woman in his bed," she gushed. Geet resisted an urge to roll her eyes. She took the chart from the intern and groaned loudly when she saw the name.

Maan Singh Khurana.

Notorious playboy, fourth born of the chairman of the Khurana group, MIT graduate but a party hound since graduation and currently making out heavily with a wannabe model in a hospital bed, both topless. The girl on his bed had turned and looked at her sheer disdain and had continued administering kisses on his neck.

"Well, if it isn't my favorite doctor in the entire universe," Maan chirped happily much to the wannabe's protests. Wannabe pressed her face in the crook of Maan's neck and traced pattern on the opposite shoulder.

"Am here for your vitals sir," she said not looking at him and pulled out BP apparatus. She strapped his left bicep and acted as if the girl hanging on his other arm was invisible. She knew that she was pissing off the wannabe with her actions and that's exactly what she wanted. As she checked the rising and falling mercury, she hummed.

"Is everything alright doctor? Or is it all an elaborate ploy to come and say hello," Maan asked cheekily.  

"I think something is wrong," she said knitting her eyebrows. Maan looked at her and waited for her to explain.

"I mean you have such a beauty in your arms and she was molesting...err...kissing you few moments before yet your heart rate seems to be normal and blood pressure is, frankly, disappointing." She said unstrapping and packing it back with the apparatus.  "You are not doing your job very well young lady." She sneered at the girl and added, "Well either that or you may seriously have a problem," she grinned and waved a good-bye to Maan who was spluttering.

"Oh come on Dr. Geet Handa, why are you running way?" He called from his bed as she shook her head and went out.

Maan Singh Khurana came to hospital and stayed in that room whenever he felt bored or dehydrated after consuming too much of alcohol. She had met him several years ago and since then their verbal spars had only increased in intensity.

She smiled, shook her head and got on with the tasks that were pending.

To be continued.

Translucence..I like the title...Let see what fineness we will be able to read in this short journey.

 "The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life as it truly is, enormous, appalling, devastating. You see the great sinkholes it makes in people and the harrowing lengths to which love will go to fill them."

Sue Monk Kid...

Canon ... Sook?  When it is norm in your stories?

Don't take me wrong it has it's own charm of being anomalous and we get the excuse to tease you.

Have not read the story yet..this is just for the introduction that I can't stop to put the 2 cents, in the meeting for an hour and few more to go...needed the diversion to bring my brain active.

Edited...

"When all things are equal, translucence in writing is more effective than transparency, just as glow is more revealing than glare."

It is bad to suppress laughter.  It goes back down to your hips.