Chapter 26: Talk of the Town
Zoya’s P.O.V
For breakfast, I had found that there was nothing I could get Sam to cook after all as there was nothing but a loaf of sliced bread in one of the cupboards. We shared that plain loaf, none of us complaining about its blandness because we were so hungry that we did not have it in us to do so. And now I was starving again, craving for a late lunch, so I announced my departure, only to let Sam know and not to ask for his permission, and went to start my car.
It took a few tries before I managed to get the engine running, and soon, I was heading down the mountain back toward the main town area. I managed to find my way there without needing to call for Cam, which was a small victory in itself, so I gave myself a small pat in the back. “For that, I deserved to eat whatever best-seller they have,” I said to myself as I pulled up to the parking lot of a local diner.
The town, indeed, was bustling with life and not as abandoned as it had appeared to be in the middle of the night. I thought that it only had a few people when it came to population, but it seemed that its initial quietude was only because I had been driving through its streets when everyone had gone to bed. I was glad that this was the case; it meant that, should I wish to, I could just head down into the heart of the town and mingle with the locals instead of shutting myself in.
I ordered their best-selling dish of a six-flavored set of buffalo wings, as well as some take-out that I could bring back to the cabin with me. I ate at the counter instead of getting myself a booth so I could make small talk with the waitresses and other staff nearby. They were very nice and friendly, which I definitely appreciated. After the hectic and hostile morning I just had, I could definitely use some friendliness, even if it was just customer service.
I asked them about their day, and they asked about mine, and we exchanged a couple more pleasantries while I teared into my six differently flavored wild buffalo wings. But as I stayed longer by the counter, I noticed that a lot of people were looking at me weirdly. I caught Mindy’s, a seventeen year old high school student working part-time in this diner, attention.
“Hey,” she said as she approached me. “What's up? Can I help you with anything?”
“Yes, actually,” I told her, “I've got a question, if you don't mind.” I hesitated, chewing on my bottom lip as I tried to find a way to phrase my question without sounding too inquisitive or adamant. I did not want my reputation to be the annoying, new doctor who asks too many questions and thinks that the world revolves around her. For all I knew, these people were simply curious about me since I was a newcomer, and they did not mean to give me weird looks.
Mindy gave me a pleasant smile. For a high schooler, she had a pretty good grasp on the skills needed for customer service. I was usually good at this sort of thing, but with her I could not tell if her smile was genuine, or if she was simply putting on a facade as a waitress. I was hoping it was real and that she actually liked me as a person, because then she would at least be one less person who disliked me in this town. “Ask away,” she told me.
“Well,” I began, “I don't mean to sound self-obsessed, and maybe I’m reading into things wrongly, but why are all the people here staring at me like that? Is there anything wrong? Am I not supposed to be here or something?”
Mindy let loose an airy laugh. “Oh!” she exclaimed, gesturing with her hands. “You don’t have to worry about that. You’re quite welcome here, if you’ve been thinking the opposite. It’s just that, other than the occasional mountain hikers, we don’t get very many visitors in town, so naturally, everyone here would get curious about the newcomer. I apologize on behalf of everyone if the staring is too intense for your liking, and while I cannot do anything to make it better, please do understand the reason behind why they are acting this way.”
Instinct told me that there was probably more to it than she was letting on, but I understood that every town had their secrets, especially one as tightly-knit as this, so I did not push it any further. I’d most likely be privy to whatever it is they were hiding anyway, once I stayed here long enough. These things were earned through time and experience after all.
For now, I simply accepted Mindy’s explanation and filed my doubts away in the back of my mind for later. “Ah,” I said with a sheepish grin, “is that so? A bit understandable then, though it still makes me uncomfortable.”
“It will stop eventually,” Mindy assured me. “It won’t be long until their curiosity fades.”
“I hope you’re right,” I told her jokingly; I knew it was bound to happen, because when I was a new resident in the previous hospital I worked for, the staff, too, had stared at me, trying to figure me out, probably because of the color of my skin, but they stopped after a while, once my newness faded away. “I wouldn’t want people to stare at me so intensely in the days to come.”
Mindy was about to reply, she always found something to say, but the bell chimed just then, alerting everyone in the diner that the door had just opened, indicating that someone was coming inside. I turned to see who it was, and much to my delight, it was Cam.
She spotted me first and gave me a big, friendly wave. The first thing she did upon entering was to make a beeline straight towards me, but not before greeting the others as well. By the way they interacted with each other, it was clear that this small town was one where everyone knew each other. It made sense that they would look at me, the newcomer, so weirdly.
“Zoya dear!” she exclaimed, smiling brightly. Her voice was loud enough that I was sure everyone at the diner heard her words. Plus, I could tell that the people, in their curiosity, were listening in, too, because only a select few were talking to each other, and even they did not seem to be invested in their conversation. Cam continued on, “I can’t wait to have you on your first day at work at the clinic soon!”
“Cam,” I greeted with a matching smile. She had this odd super power that made me feel at ease whenever she was around. Maybe it was because of her charm and her friendliness. Whatever the case, I was glad I could call her a friend; Lord knows I desperately needed more of those these days. “I can’t wait to get started at the clinic as well.”
“Oh, love, let’s not talk about that yet,” she chided playfully. “It’s your free day today! You should enjoy it! Do you want me to give you a tour of the town or what? Just so you can get used to the way things work around here.”
At her words, I noticed the immediate shift in the air from tense and curious to relaxed and carefree. Perhaps it was because they finally figured out who I was, the new town doctor, whom they could approach for help should they need it. But a part of me could not help but think that maybe, just maybe, it was because of something else, something that Cam said that eased whatever doubts they must have had about me…
Whatever it was, I would have to wait a while to find out the whole truth. And that was fine with me. Because I was very sure that my stay here was going to last awhile…a long while…