Twilight Express, Chap. 13: Melina's e-mail

Revised November 29. New visitors to this site may want to follow this link to Chapter One.

To: jpennington@utmed.edu
From: mel_reilly@yahoo.com.jp
Subject: Help me, please
Date: Sept xx, 2004

Jen,

I understand Cathie told you about my shameless evening with my new flame earlier this week. The truth of the matter is that it's turning into more than a fling - hell, it was never a fling. I'm still at his place. I need to confess to someone, and you're the doctor.

I think we're falling in love with each other.

At first I thought he'd simply developed a crush on me. People do it all the time, you know. You see, Shinichi (that's his name) admitted he'd been fantasizing about the mystery foreigner he spotted in Osaka. So I thought okay, I'm a fantasy. There aren't that many bogtrotter gaijins running around so I can see why he singled me out. So while it's flattering, the smoke and mirrors will dissipate in half an hour. But by the time we'd spent a couple of hours together on the train, my fantasy hypothesis wasn't working any more. And I was so damn happy when he invited me to visit him, even with all his promises of good behavior.

I'm sure you've had dozens of patients try to explain to you why they believe they're in love so I won't try. I don't know how to explain it anyway. I've had several friends talk about their new loves for hours, and it's like they're trying to explain color to a blind person. So if I start doing the same thing, chances are you'll feel the same way.

I try to act cool around Shinichi but he's all I can think about. I was mesmerized by him less than three hours after first meeting him. I took him a cup of coffee half an hour ago and when he smiled at me and said thank you, firefly (his pet name for me), it was all I could do not to jump into his lap.

By now you're probably wondering what the problem could be, especially if Cathie told you all the details, and I'm betting the rent that she has. I didn't tell her not to. But I'll finish my job here in less than a year and that scares the hell out of me.

It looks like I have three post-assignment possibilities:

a. go back to Boston, leave Shinichi behind, and be absolutely miserable;

b. stay here with Shinichi and be jobless; or

c. somehow fiddle a job here and live happily ever after.

Option c. is the only one that works for me, and frankly I think it's the only one that would work for Shinichi as well. Although I have no reason to believe that he wouldn't be content to support me, I'm not so sure he would always feel that way, especially if joblessness drove me as crazy as I think it would.

Please tell me I'm being stupid to be thinking so far into the future.

I'm going to go pursue a truly intellectual pursuit now; I'm going to paint my toenails.

I await your learned advice and your bill.

Sayanara from the lovesick but happy

Mel

PS Saw a great t-shirt for you last week. It had Dr. McCoy from Star Trek on it saying "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor!" Hope I can find one in your size.