The Truth Behind a Smile

“Huh, well it’s nice to meet you, Stephen. My name is Anastasia—Ana for short.” Still smiling, she looked deep into his eyes without breaking away.

Her steady gaze made Stephen’s heart race even more. He felt flushed and parts of his body began to sweat.

“Uh-huh. I, uhh, well, I just wanted to thank you for umm, you know, coming in and taking care of my friend and stuff.” He let go of her hand and pointed back over his shoulder toward Hugo, in the room behind him. She could not have been taller than five-foot-three, but Stephen felt she was towering over him.

“Well, of course. It’s my job and I’m more than happy to do it,” she said, as her smile slowly faded.

His heart began to slow and the rush of noise in his head sank into silence. He suddenly felt that the two of them had been transported to an open field with only the wind to come between them. He couldn’t help smiling back at her but broke eye contact to alleviate some of the embarrassment he felt.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true. You probably help take care of a lot of patients around here.” She nodded while maintaining a soft smile on her face that resembled more in her eyes then it did her lips.

Stephen stood there, adoring her presence. It somehow brought peace to him, yet also brought a nervousness that he’d never felt before.

“Well, I have to go right now but I’ll make sure to come back and check in on you and your friend in a little bit,” Ana said gently.

“Okay,” Stephen replied although it brought a bit of sadness to him. She wasn’t even gone yet, but he suddenly grew excited and couldn’t wait to see once more.

Ana flexed her smile and began to walk away only breaking eye contact after she’d turned away, bringing the clipboard to her chest. Stephen stood beside the door watching her walk away, a smile of his own on his face. Then she turned the corner and was gone. He took a deep breath and exhaled quickly. Glancing around, he noticed three other nurses who appeared to have been watching his little interaction with Ana. They were hiding their laughter as their cheeks blushed, and they subtly waved at Stephen.

He smiled awkwardly, opened the door to Hugo’s room, and slid back into the darkness, excited to share the experience with his friend.

“Hugo, wake up!” He shouted, turning on the lights. “I just met the most insanely gorgeous girl, man! You’ll never believe it.”

Stephen proceeded to tell his groggy friend about his meeting with Ana while pacing the room.

“She’s honestly perfect, like, I could not envision a more beautiful girl if I spent the rest of my life trying.”

“Wait, wait. Where did you meet this girl?”

“She just sort of came in here and said she was checking in on you and making sure all your stuff was all right.”

“So, she was my nurse?”

“Yeah. But man, she … pfft.” Stephen let out a frustrated sigh. He couldn’t find the words to accurately depict his new crush. He sat in his chair and looked up at the ceiling blankly, a goofy smile plastered across his face.

“So, you hit on my nurse when I’m asleep, and I get no shot? That’s low man.” Hugo teased.

“Sorry man, I don’t know what came over me, but she just … like … wow. You’ll have to see for yourself when she comes back. She said she’d be back soon to check in on us.”

“Us? I’m the one in a hospital bed. Why does she need to check in on you?”

“Wait. You think that means she’s interested in me?” Stephen said excitedly. He now recognized the little signs and subtle hints Ana had given him in the hallway.

“Yeah, probably,” Hugo replied laughing with a big smile.

The two friends stayed up joking and talking until Ana entered the room again.

“Well good morning,” she said to Hugo. “It seems your awake.” She turned to Stephen and smiled at him.

“You must be the Ana that came to check on me and got my friend here all flustered.”

Stephen was uncomfortable and felt flushed. He shot Ana an awkward smile before giving his friend a deadly stare.

Ana let out a little laugh. “Yes, that’s me, but I don’t think I’m the one who made your friend nervous. I think he’s just worried about you. How are you feeling?”

“Oh, I’m fine, just a few bruises. It’ll take a whole lot more than a kick from a horse to keep me down.”

“Well, I don’t know if I would call three broken ribs and a pulmonary contusion a few bruises, but if you’re not in any pain then I don’t need to give you these.” Ana pulled out a little white cup and shook it, rattling what must have been pills inside.