Marven’s First Novel, chapter #03

“Motorcycle Parts”

When Aldo woke up one morning, as he went to the kitchen to have breakfast, he saw, outside, through the open door, his mother talking to his cousin, Greta, who looked sharp and shiny in a business attire and who was holding in front of her her son, Hans Christian, who appeared to be quiet and unlively. Aldo tried to make something out of this chat, inaudible to his end, as he dipped torn chunks of pandesal into his coffee mixed with creamer until Greta left without her son and his mother cordially led the boy into the house. He still appeared to be quiet and unlively. Aldo then asked what is going on, and his mother replied that his cousin requested that her son be accompanied to the community hospital for an important check-up since she couldn’t do it herself because she has to be somewhere important. Then he was told to be the one to do it. He will accompany the boy to the hospital.
“Fine. I’m okay with it.”
“Carry this paper with you. The person you will be looking for is Dr. Roberto.”
Aldo finished his breakfast, while his mother chatted with Hans mostly about his condition. Then she turned their small TV set on and turned the knob to a channel where there is cartoon in the morning. She watched it with Hans who was still quiet and unlively and deeply immersed in the cartoons as can be seen in his eyes. Meanwhile, Aldo did the necessary preparations and afterwards looked fresh and nice in a t-shirt, a pair of denim jeans, and a pair of sandals. At about 9 o’clock, Aldo took off and went out with Hans to the hospital.
Upon getting there, Aldo went through all the preliminary transactions at the windows in the lobby using the paper in his hand. After that, he was directed to Dr. Roberto’s clinic. When he, holding his nephew’s hand, reached it, he turned the knob and the first thing that met his view was a neat-looking young woman sitting behind the desk. This must be Dr. Roberto’s assistant, Aldo thought, because she looked very young and wasn't wearing a white coat but just a collared shirt and jeans. The slight creaking sound of the hinges of the opening door caught the girl’s attention and made her turn her head towards the visitors.
“Hi. How can I help you?” she greeted.
“We’re looking for Dr. Roberto,” Aldo answered melodiously.
“Are you a patient, sir?” the girl, overlooking Hans, kept addressing Aldo.
“No. My nephew is.”
“Come in,” she said and then looked down.
Aldo and his nephew whom he still held by the hand came in. Once inside, Aldo approached the desk and presented the magic paper he had brought from home. “Here, miss,” he said.
The girl took it and read it.
Out of curiosity, Aldo asked, “Is Dr. Roberto around? Is he outside? We have a scheduled check-up with him.”
Still looking at the paper, the girl replied as if singing, “You’re talking to her.”
Aldo looked at the name plate on the table and saw that Roberto was a surname of a female first name. “You’re Dr. Roberto, miss?”
The girl, understanding his confusion, smiling, and now looking at him, said, “Yes. That’s me.”
Aldo looked away in consternation.
Seeing this, the girl looked down and smiled, seemingly relishing his genuine cluelessness but in a good way and totally devoid of malice.
Aldo turned his head back towards her. “How old are you, miss, I mean, doc, if you don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind," she said looking at him straight and smiling. "I’m twenty-nine.”
What? Aldo thought that Dr. Roberto was a man! A middle-aged man! That’s what he thought from the very beginning. Never did he imagine that Dr. Roberto would turn out to be——Excuse me for the word——a chick! But he felt somewhat relieved because, at least, she is four years older than him.
The doctor returned the paper to Aldo. “Here, sir. Thank you. So it’s you, Hans. I'm sorry if I didn't recognize you right away. Come sit here close to me. Let’s talk. How's your mom?" She guided the boy to a chair to the right of her desk which is her left. Then turning to Aldo, she said, “Sir, please feel free to sit anywhere.”
Aldo stepped away and settled at a bench by the wall near the door. There, he sat up straight, crossed his arms, and occasionally shook his legs up and down like a regular macho dad. He busied himself with reading the health-reminder posters on the walls and looking at their accompanying pictures. He also re-explored the human anatomy whose picture is similar to that in one of his old books.
“How are you feeling, Hans?” the doctor asked.
The boy couldn’t articulate an answer, which the doctor understood.
“Where's your mom? Why is she not with you?”
“Mommy went to office,” was the general answer Hans gave, apparently sounding unwell.
“You mean, Greta, doc?” interrupted Aldo, fearing that the doctor might still be getting his presence wrong.
Surprised and turning to Aldo, she said, “Yeah.” Then turning to Hans, she asked the boy loudly and melodiously, “And who is this nice gentleman who went along with you here?”
“He’s my uncle,” Hans replied in the same tone.
“I’m Greta’s cousin,” Aldo cut in again. “She asked my mother to accompany Hans here, and my mother instead sent me here with Hans.”
The doctor listened attentively to the explanation he gave and then said, “Ah.” She then continued to ask Hans questions, this time more specifically, about the things that ail him which the boy answered truthfully, at which, she would constantly nod, indicating that she understood perfectly. Then she rose up, approached Hans, and examined him using different tools and equipment in the room, all the while asking him additional questions. When she seemed to be finished, she returned to her chair, asked additional more questions, and then started writing stuff on her notepad.
“Would you please come up here, sir,” she said, calling the attention of the boy’s guardian, Aldo, who had until then become totally irrelevant in the room.
Aldo did as told and settled on the chair at the left.
“Okay. Now listen, sir.” Then leaning her head forward and looking straight into his face, she proceeded to giving him pointers on how to take care of the boy’s body, what situations and foods he is to avoid, and what he is recommended to eat. Then referring with pointed index finger to her scribbles, she explained to him the dosage of some helpful medicines.
Aldo committed to memory everything she said so that he can relay it accurately to the boy's parent.
Then she handed to him the sheet she just tore from the pad and then sat back leaning on her chair, looked down, and crossed her arms.
Taking it and rising up, Aldo said, “Thank you, doc. Let’s go, Hans.”
“Have a nice day. Get well soon, Hans.”
The boy alighted the chair, went to Aldo, and took his profferred hand.
When they were already at the door, Dr. Roberto, still looking down and crossing her arms, muttered, “So you’re Greta’s cousin.”
Surprised and pleased, Aldo eagerly turned to her. “Yes, doc. Her mother and my mother are sisters.”
“Ah.”
“You two know each other?”
“Not really. I just met her here, and then we chatted a lot.”
“Ah. She actually came to our house early this morning for this. Like I said, it was supposed to be my mother who would accompany Hans here, not me. But as the bum in the house, the lot fell on me.”
The doctor frowned. “Bum?” She paused for a second. “You mean, unemployed, jobless?”
“Yes, doc. Loafer, freeloader, good-for-nothing, yes. Exactly,” Aldo blurted out self-reproachfully.
“Okay.”
“I was actually seeking work for the past few months, everyday the same, with no luck. It looked like I was just wasting my parents' money for fare and food. Then I just got tired from it all and stopped before I totally impoverish them. I decided to stay at home in the meantime. Lately, I was, idling around, making myself as useful as possible in many things, and thinking about my life.”
“Where have you been applying?”
Aldo related his adventures applying in the known financial centers.
“Okay. That’s nice. Is business or finance somewhat related to what you studied?”
No. I'm more into art. I don't know if art is also into me.
She leaned her her forward, rested her arms on the desk, and clasped her fingers together. “Then you’re looking at the wrong places.”
“Let me clarify, doc: Not art that is genius but rather art that is annoying.”
“Are you sure you want to work in those places? It may not eventually turn out to be as glamorous as it looks or sounds. Why don't you just as early as now go for the things you really want to do in life, start little, and see whether you'll succeed? If not, then you can try other things. You don’t have to be uptight when it comes to starting a career. You don’t have to conform to other people’s expectations.
“I don’t think my parents will be happy if I do that. I've been a bum for too long.”
“Yeah. There's only that... Then make them understand. I, for example, really wanted to be a doctor ever since; and thankfully, I became one. I love it.”
I should say you're a very good at what you do, doc.”
"Oh." Doctor Roberto bashfully smiled. "Thank you.
"I know, right?"
"Listen. Your dream job may just be out there waiting. Relax and let it come to you by itself.”
Right... Are we still talking about career, doc?
Yes. Why?
“Just checking. But am I not supposed to take every opportunity I find?”
“No. Stop cruising.”
“That’s what I thought too. Well, I won’t keep you any longer, Dr. Roberto. People out there are waiting to see you. I’m sorry if I bothered you with my nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense." She uttered this melodiously. "Sometimes talking about things we're going through can be good for our mental health.
Is that so?
Were there patients after you when you came in?”
“I don’t think there was. No, there was none. I don’t know now.”
“Thank goodness I didn't make anybody wait. Well, it was nice talking to you, Mr. Hans' Uncle,” she said smiling.
“You too, Dr. Roberto. Bye.”
“Bye,” she said, resuming her smile and then turning her head back on her desk.
Aldo, along with Hans whom he pulled by the hand, went out and shut the door. Then with light steps, he marched joyfully across the halls, holding his nephew’s hands, and made his way out of the hospital and back at home.
Later that afternoon, Aldo’s father sent him out to buy a motorcycle part from a faraway store where this piece is only available. As he passed the hospital on his way back, he saw its main door swing open and out came Dr. Roberto, making her way to the shuttle service that the municipality, their employer, has provided for them who are considered doctors in far-flung communities although, in this case, the community, in which, they work is just detached from the town proper by farmlands.
Aldo was elated at seeing her whom he first mistook for an assistant or just an ordinary girl who visited her doctor parents working there. Then he started to consider. Within a few seconds, it would be in his grasp to establish another connection with her. He can do something about it or he be extremely prudent and just let the moment pass like a dream and lose her forever. As he saw her more distinctly and observed the way she carried herself, he felt intimidated. She looked firm and unbreakable. But he also knows that great feats are accomplished when they’re done at the moment they’re the scariest. Maybe not applicable to all but only to some, but befriending her seems to be one of those things.
He thought this thing over within that short period of time. In the end, his former resolution prevailed, which was to greet her. This proved to be the most-natural thing for him to do. Or, this is what he really wanted to do. After mustering enough courage, he called her out in the most-graceful manner he could. He greeted her good afternoon as he waved his hand and continued walking. Then he braced himself for how his actions might be received.
Doctor Roberto was startled, looked at the direction the voice came from, and followed the face that uttered it as it moved, trying to recognize it. “Hi? Good afternoon?” she responded in both cold and hospitable tones, appearing clueless.
From being confident, Aldo suddenly felt shy and afraid and somewhat regretted his decision of calling her out. But it’s on now. He can either face her or ignore her response. The latter would make him look odder, if not suspicious. Therefore, he decided on the former. He halted, turned towards her, and presented himself in full view a little bit coyly.
Doctor Roberto was astonished after she saw Aldo’s face fully. “What?” she muttered.
“Hi, doc. How are you doing?” he said.
Loudly, she continued, “I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
“I’m just passing by and paying homage. That’s all.”
“Okay,” she said incredulously, smiling.
“How was your day, doc, if I may ask?”
She rested her outstretched right arm on her bent left and stood relaxed. “The usual. Just a little bit tired.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. I won’t keep you any longer, then. Go get some rest now. Bye,” he stammered, looking confounded. Then he turned away unwillingly and resumed his walk.
“Bye...” she replied, retaining the same posture.
But after taking about five steps, Aldo found an excuse to talk to her again, and this motivated him. Therefore, he didn’t waste a second and stopped, turned to her, and called her out again. “Doctor Roberto, I’m actually...”
“Don’t tell me it’s you.”
The doctor just spared him the trouble of explaining. “Who?” he said.
“It’s you; you’re him. You’re Hans’ uncle.”
"Yes. That’s me.”
“Who would think I would see you again today?”
“Didn't I scare you?
“A little.
I'm sorry. I was actually thinking twice and still hesitant in that situation.”
Are you? It's okay. Good thing I recognized you easily."
"What? You knew all along and you didn't tell me."
"Sorry. I just got along."
"I was even about to invent an excuse to justify my weird act until you said you're tired."
"Oh. I guess I had perfect timing."
"Yeah."
"What’s that thing in your hand, by the way?”
“Oh, this? It’s a motorcycle part for my father. I was just basically out here buying a cupful of vinegar from a neighbor’s store as my mother told me, you know, if you know what I’m talking about.”
“Ah,” she nodded. The she frowned and smiled.
“First thing first, Dr. Roberto. We haven’t been properly introduced. I haven’t told you my name. Can I finally introduce myself to you?”
“Sure.”
“I’m Aldo,” he shouted.
"I’m Michal,” she likewise shouted, pointing at herself with her hand. “I think I’ve actually heard your nephew mention your name while I was talking to him.”
“Great. Thank you. I thought your name was Michelle.”
“Michelle? Who's Michelle? My name is Michal, Michal, Michal.”
“Michal... That actually sounds good. It’s very pleasing to the ear. It’s perfect.”
“Thank you.”
At that moment, the main door swung open and out came Dr. Michal’s colleagues, chattering. Their voices startled her and she looked behind her towards them. Then turning her head straight back at Aldo, she said:
“I have to go.”
“Yes, I can see that. It was nice talking to you...
You too.
So, uh... till next time?”
“Next time?" She frowned as she eyed him straight. Then she shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know. Let’s see. I don't see why not. I mean, we have a common friend.”
“Exactly. Good thinking.”
“Bye for now, Mr. Aldo.”
“Take care of yourself, Dr. Michal.”
The doctor finally walked towards the vehicle and joined her co-workers and went on board and settled. Shortly afterwards, the vehicle started to move slowly. Then it went at full speed. Finally, it disappeared from view.
Aldo then turned and walked back home.

tentatively titled, The Simple Adventures of a Simple Simpleton
by: Marven T. Baldo