“It’s serious,” I answered for him. Viktor grunted in response.
“The doctor will be with you in a moment. Name?”
Viktor glanced at me. “Sean.”
“Surname?”
“Ilyich.”
I pursed my lips together but didn’t speak. When we were told to wait in the waiting area for a moment, I asked him. “Sean?”
“I don’t want people to know my name,” he stated simply, as if that were normal.
“Okay, but why?”
“I don’t want to discuss it,” he replied, looking away.
Frowning, I decided to let it drop, even though I was outrageously curious. I glanced at him, then at the receptionist and rose to walk to her desk, ignoring the grunt from Viktor. “Would it be possible to make a call? I really need to contact someone.”
The receptionist shook her head. “Sorry honey, the lines are down. It’s all scrambled because of the storms. None of us are happy.”
I deflated. When I glanced at Viktor, he looked victorious. I narrowed my eyes and he looked away. “Thanks anyway,” I said to the receptionist and returned to my seat. I pressed him about the name; it really bothered me. “Sean?”
Viktor nodded. “It’s my first name.”
Sean Viktor Ilyich? The first name seemed out of place. He hadn’t chosen his names, I guess. And who was I to call him out on it? I changed the topic.
“How often do you come to town?”
Viktor shrugged. He had to have a very high threshold with so much pain in his shoulder and shrugging like it was nothing.
“When I need supplies,” he said. “Six months, maybe.”
I gasped. Six months without seeing anyone at all? “When’s the last time you came into town?”
“Two months,” Viktor said, and he looked unhappy about being back so soon.
I shook my head, incredulous. “How do you deal with being so alone for so long? I don’t think I could do it.”
Viktor thought about it for a moment. It looked like a lot went through his mind. I wanted to know what he was thinking, but I wasn’t going to ask. He was so closed off, a man of mystery. He barely spoke. If he wasn’t a big talker with the small things, I knew I wasn’t going to get anything serious out of him.
“I’m not completely alone. There are others up there.”
“Really?” This was an entire world I knew nothing about.
Before he could answer, the doctor himself stepped out.
“Sean,” he said, and Viktor stood. I followed him into the doctor’s office. “It’s good to see you again.”
The doctor clearly knew Viktor. Dr. Bernard Hanson was an older man, I would guess late fifties, with salt and pepper gray hair and a friendly smile. I planned to wait in the waiting room, but Viktor grabbed my hand and dragged me along. We walked to an exam room, and Dr. Hanson asked a handful of questions.
I pinned Viktor with a glare every now and then, insisting he be truthful about his wound. He had some macho thing going that was unnecessary. If Dr. Hanson knew what he had to deal with, we could get out of here. I knew that was what Viktor wanted.
Dr. Hanson examined the wound after Viktor removed his shirt. I tried not to drool over his beautiful chest and hard abs, so I explored the exam room, looking at the various medical posters. The doctor cleaned the wound well and stitched it up, chatting amiably with me. Viktor barely contributed but didn’t seem to mind listening to us.
When he’d bandaged the wound, Dr. Hanson said, “Next time try not to wait so long before you do something about a wound like this. It’s going to leave a nasty scar. You’re lucky you got here before it got infected.”
Viktor nodded and thanked Dr. Hanson. I thanked the doctor too, before we walked out of the office. In the waiting room, someone recognized Viktor.
“Hey, Sean,” a young man said, jumping up. His heavily pregnant wife hoisted herself up and followed.
“It’s so nice to see you again, Sean,” she said. “It’s been too long.”
“It’s good to see you too,” Viktor said with a genuine smile.
I hadn’t seen him like this. He always seemed so sullen, but when he looked at this young couple, he appeared happy. Maybe there was something positive in Viktor, after all. Sunshine, light. Something good. He was so incredibly handsome when he smiled, but he did it so seldomly.
“Hi,” I said. “I’m Angela.”
“Oh,” Viktor said, and he shook his head. “Rude of me. This is Nick and Joanne. They own the diner.”
“Well, Nick owns it. I just run the books,” Joanne said and looked lovingly at Nick.
“Soon, you won’t have to bother with that anymore,” Nick said.
“Hush, I want to. I like working with you.”
“You’ll have other things to take care of,” Nick said and put his hand on her belly.
Joanne giggled and swatted at him. “Don’t tell me you don’t think I can work and raise a child. I’m a woman, Nick. You know we can do it all.”
“You’re right, hon. You’re amazing,” Nick gazed lovingly at Joanne.
The look he gave her made my heart ache. I wanted someone to look at me that way, and without meaning to, I glanced at Viktor. I couldn’t imagine him looking at anyone like that, but a girl could wish.
“You should come eat at the diner when you’re in town again, Sean,” Joanne said to Viktor. “And you too, Angela.”
“Thank you,” I said with a smile and looked up at Viktor. “We just might.”
“We should go,” Viktor said gruffly, as if he were uncomfortable.
We said our goodbyes to Nick and Joanne and left the office.
“How is your shoulder now that it's stitched up?” I asked.
“Better,” Viktor admitted begrudgingly.
“I’m glad,” I said. “Isn’t it nice to be around people sometimes?”
“I didn’t move to a secluded forest by accident, Angel,” he retorted.
I shivered. His pet name was endearing, but there was something cold about his words that didn’t sit right. He had chosen that life.
“Why did you?” I asked, even though I’d told myself it was none of my business.
“Sometimes life steers us in different directions than we initially planned,” he said simply.
That was all he was going to give me? His mysteriousness just made me that much more curious about who he was and why he was so set on staying away from everybody. The town here was beautiful and peaceful and clearly the people were wonderful. But Viktor didn’t want anything to do with the town or its citizens.
As we headed back the way we came, we passed the bakery. The smell of fresh bread hung in the air, and I inhaled deeply. “Oh, my God,” I moaned, nearly drooling. “We need to get something to eat.”
“I have food,” Viktor said.
“Yes, but if we buy something here, you don’t have to go out and kill it.”
Before Viktor could protest, I walked into the bakery. He sighed and followed me in.
The bakery was decorated in orange and brown with cartoon turkeys and cornucopias everywhere, but aside from the decorations in the window and around the counters, there were cookies shaped like turkeys in the display case, too. They were beautifully done, with intricate detail that would stop me from wanting to eat them. It was art.