Chapter 4 - Encounter at the hospital (2/2)
Finland couldn't believe her eyes. The doctor everyone was eager to meet was Caspar!
The same Caspar she bumped into last night at the airport and drove her home.
Caspar was a doctor? He looked too young to be a doctor, and judging from the respect and admiration he was getting, he was not a regular doctor at this hospital. Some even had the look of adoration when he walked by.
”Uhm ... I'm asking for the cost of... uhm... a medical check-up here.” Finland replied groggily. ”Are you a doctor?”
”Yeah. What a coincidence! Come on in, let me do the examination.” He held Finland's hand and pulled her back to the receptionist. ”Please register her now, OK? This will be my first patient today.”
”But I...” Finland tried to refuse. She did not have enough money to pay for the medical checkup. Caspar, who seemed to have read the girl's mind, smiled.
”Please put all hospital bills for Miss Finland under my tab,” he said to the receptionist who looked dumbfounded, not knowing what to say.
Caspar approached Finland who was stunned, and whispered softly in her ear, ”I know you don't have the money to pay for the check-up, so let me pay for it now. Later, when you are able to pay me back, treat me to a nice afternoon tea.”
Finland couldn't believe her luck today. She turned around to face him and immediately her cheeks flushed red seeing Caspar's face so close to hers. That dimpled smile melt her heart and she nodded subconsciously.
After the patient registration process was complete, Finland entered the doctor's office and sat facing Caspar. He was wearing a nice white coat and had a stethoscope around his neck. The nurse measured Finland's blood pressure and reported it to Caspar.
”OK, sounds good. Now I will take a drop of your blood, don't move,” Caspar pierced Finland's fingertips softly and let the blood drop into a small tube. ”Next we need to check your heart rate. If you are not comfortable, I can let the nurse do it.”
Finland felt her cheeks turn red when Caspar talked about checking her heartbeat, but she shook her head. ”It's okay, Doc.”
She opened the 2 top buttons on her dress and let Caspar put the stethoscope over her chest. Everything was done professionally and Finland did not feel disturbed at all. The only thing she felt was her heart beating faster than normal..
”Your heartbeat is very fast ...” Caspar commented, smiling broadly. Finland looked down, embarrassed. The nurse who assisted them stared at Finland with a questioning look. This doctor was a well-known surgeon and he was never this affectionate to his patients. Moreover, he never did such a simple medical examination.
”After this you need to go to the radiology department for a chest x-ray and then you are good to go.” Caspar placed his stethoscope back around his neck and wrote something on his notebook.
”Everything looks good. Congratulations on your new job. You'll do well.”
”Thank you. But ... can I ask?” Finland asked before leaving Caspar's room.
”What would you like to ask?”
”Uhmm... are you really a doctor? When we met I thought you were a student because you look really young. You must be some sort of genius!”
The nurse laughed at Finland's question.
”You are very lucky; Doctor is a very famous surgeon. He is 35 years old, but he looks very young. Unfortunately he only visits Singapore a couple of months a years.” She looked at Caspar with an adoring look. ”He never handled an ordinary medical examination. You are the first.”
”Oh ...”
Finland didn't know what to say. She said thank you and quietly moved on to the radiology department..
Finland suddenly had an epiphany. Caspar was apparently a doctor and he was much older than her. She thought to herself ”If Caspar had told me yesterday that he was a doctor, I don't think I would have believed him.”