Chapter 4: Forces of Nature

Robert waited until Dr. Koch left before he grabbed the scrubs and headed into the bathroom to change. He noticed that there was no underwear and grimaced as he realized that, until some was procured, his equipment was going to be swinging free with only a thin layer of blue-green cotton between him and the rest of the world. He also wondered what he was going to do about shoes.

The door to the room outside opened and a female voice with a refined southern accent called out, "Robert?"

"In here", Robert called back. "I'm just changing. I'll be out in a second"

"Take your time, dear", replied the voice.

"Mrs. Koch?"

"Yes dear. I'm here to take you shopping for some new clothes"

The voice on the other side of the door was strong, yet had a pleasant musical quality to it. The southern accent was both slight and gentile. Robert couldn't help but try and picture what she looked like. Whatever she looked like, going by the soft spoken yet self-assured quality to the voice, she and Dr. Koch were well suited to each other. Robert hesitated for a split second before opening the door.

Katherine Koch stood next to the bed, beaming with a thousand watt smile. Her thick, dark auburn hair was straight, perfectly appointed, and ended just above her shoulders. She had the classic hourglass figure of a woman of leisure who had spent the twenty years of her adult life playing tennis and golf and, most of all, being spared the ravages of bearing children. She was dressed fashionably without being a slave to fashion. The lavender silk dress she wore hugged her figure without being too tight. The loose, billowing sleeves were modest, yet perfect for the warm humid weather in an early Corpus Christi summer. The matching belt had a stylish round silver buckle and the pleated skirt ended just below her knees. On her feet were some beautiful open-toed pumps that showed off perfectly pedicured toes painted to match her perfectly manicured nails.

The woman looked every bit as wealthy as Dr Koch professed them to be.

The figure and the stylish clothes, however stunning, were a mere shadow to the visage and bearing of the woman. She had a posture born of refinement and a beautiful, warm, sincere smile with perfect white teeth that was adorned with beautiful deep set emerald eyes which twinkled with a hint of childish excitement and mischief. The face was not classically beautiful but the smile and the twinkling eyes made her one of the loveliest creatures Robert had set eyes on in two lifetimes. She exuded charm and refinement with a generous sprinkling of fun. She was the type of woman who was noticed the instant she came into a room. She could effortlessly cast a net of enchantment over any and all within her view and that net was now cast completely over Robert. He was in love ... not the sort of love where he couldn't wait to rip both their clothes off and make the beast with two backs ... a spiritual love. Robert had no conscious desire to have sex with Katherine Koch. He just wanted to be in her presence ... as much as possible. There was no doubt about it. Katherine Koch was a force of nature.

Katherine took in the sight of the handsome young dark haired youth that stood before her in hospital scrubs and bare feet and put all her effort into making sure he was unaware that her throat was tightening and her eyes were fighting to keep tears from welling up inside of them. Ben had spoken to her at length last night about the remarkable young boy who was orphaned just two weeks prior and had awakened yesterday from a coma. Although she had entered her marriage with Ben with her eyes wide open, several times over the past two decades she caught herself ... wishing? ... no, that wasn't quite true ... she had caught herself wondering what it would be like to have a child. The years seem to pass faster and faster and she was only too aware that she would one day look around and see that she was an old woman with no real family to speak of. While her husband spoke to her of the young patient, he must have caught a look of longing in her eye. Ben was always so observant and considerate of her needs and wants. The look must have flashed in her only briefly but Ben saw it, understood it for what it was, and asked her if she would mind terribly if he invited the young orphan to stay with them as foster parents.

"I know it will be quite an imposition upon your schedule, my dear. But I seem to have grown more fond of this particular patient than any of my others. He seems far more mature than a normal boy of thirteen and I'm quite certain that he would fit well in our home"

Katherine's heart leapt at the chance and readily agreed to Ben's suggestion, acquiescing to take in the young orphan sight unseen. Now that he stood before her, a mixture of emotions ranging from fear to maternal excitement, and even a little sadness welled up inside of her and she struggled to put on her best smile and charm.

That was second nature to her, the ability to hide behind a thousand watt smile and a mountain of charm while, inwardly, feeling small and helpless and insecure. She had always been able to fool everyone, except for Ben. They had met in college. Ben was almost out of medical school and she was in her sophomore year majoring in classical literature. She was crossing campus after leaving the library late one night when she came upon a group of young men beating up another one who looked as small and frail as a bird.

"Faggot!", one of the young men yelled out, punctuating the epithet with a vicious kick in the ribs to the small figure who lay on the ground curled up into a ball. "STOP THAT!", she cried! and she rushed into the fray slapping wildly at the bullies.

For some reason, whether it was Katherine's intervention or they had just grown tired of the activity, or a combination of the two, the bullies just ran off laughing into the night. She stooped down and picked up the broken glasses that lay next to the curled up figure groaning with pain.

"Do you think you can move?", she asked.

"I'm fairly certain I've moved quite enough for one day" said the disheveled lump, "but I shall endeavor to move just a bit more if you'd like"

Katherine helped the small, thin young man to his feet. Despite the bloodied nose and the blackened eyes, he smiled at her with a cut lip and said, "well, you intervened in the nick of time. I had them right where I wanted them and was just about put these to use", he held up his fists and assumed the stance of an eighteenth century boxer. "Lord knows the injuries they would have suffered once I unleashed my fury"

Despite the horror she felt a moment before, Katherine caught herself giggling at the young man who, despite his obvious injuries, seemed able to act as if nothing at all had happened just a moment ago. She tried to get him to file a complaint with the police but he assured her that it would be to no avail.