Just a Simple Love Story by Kimberley Nunes (best historical fiction books of all time TXT) 📖

"Shall we leave?"

"Hmm..." came the sluggish answer.

A soft chuckle was heard and the two of them started walking along a long white corridor, passing huge white doors every now and then. The monotone order interrupted by a few paintings of flowers or plain sceneries. Their footsteps barely audible on the polished linoleum floors.

We walked side by side in silence. I stole a glance at my mentor and friend to my right and instantly felt my nervousness subsiding.

"You nervous kiddo?“ his deep and calming voice inquired. "Oh come on, Gin. Didn't I tell you not to call me a ‘kiddo‘? You’re just a few years older than me" I mumbled.

I didn't have to look at him to know his grin spread from ear to ear.

"A few years, hm? Well, considering that you‘re a 26-year-old, stunning chick, I do feel pretty old here" he sighed.

"Gin, whether you like it or not. You‘re still quite the hunk", I winked.

And to be honest, I wasn't joking there. Him being around 6ft tall with a trained statue, the dirty-blonde shoulder-length, straight hair, mostly tied into a half ponytail, framing his slightly tanned face with those gentle jade eyes. His 41-year old well-trained body, the deep and soothing voice melting away all the worries carried around... Well, to make it short, he is a damn good catch.

We halted in front of a white door.

"You ready, Doctor Noakes? “ Gin asked squeezing my shoulder gently, before knocking firmly on the door.

The only response I could offer him was inhaling deeply and letting the entire air out at once, before nodding curtly.

“Yes, please” a muffled voice came from the other side of the door. I gripped the device in my hands even tighter, while Gin slowly pushed the door handle down and swung the massive white door open.

“Doctor Thompson!” a stern voice greeted Gin.

“Well, Mr. Benz” my mentor returned the greeting, holding out his huge tanned hand with manicured fingers. “It’s good to see you again. How are you doing?”

“I’m fine, thank you” he nodded once. He didn’t even bother inquiring any further. Instead, his eyes settled on me.

“Oh, I’m sorry for not introducing you earlier” Gin reprimanded. “This, Mr. Benz,” he waved his hand into my direction, “is Doctor Noakes. She is the one who developed the very device we are planning on implanting into your brother’s brain.” Gin smiled reassuringly at me before carrying on with the introduction.

“Doctor Noakes, this is Mr. Benz, our patient’s brother. He is the one who is to decide whether we proceed with the operation.”

Said Benz held out his hand towards me. Feeling somewhat uneasy I extended mine and was surprised by his firm grip. Although, thinking about it, the amount of pressure he applied to the handshake, the intense gaze lying upon me… it all seemed to be in the right place. He looked around the same age as me, but at the same time much wiser and more mature. His jet-black hair framing his stoic, but beautiful face, the muscular body beneath the crisp-white shirt with the rolled up sleeves and simple blue jeans and black sneakers. But the most amazing were his bright-blue orbs. By every second passing they absorbed me even further into them.

“Sebastian Benz” his firm voice shot through my thoughts, “nice to meet you, Doctor Noakes.” “The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Benz” I smiled while pulling myself together. “As Doctor Thompson already introduced, I’m Kaitlynn Noakes.”

“Well, now that all the introductions have been settled-“ PEEP-PEEP-PEEP

Gin’s pager set off interrupting what he was about to say. He inspected it for a few seconds and converted his attention back to Sebastian Benz and me.

“I need to excuse myself. There’s an emergency I need to take care of immediately. Kate? I want you to explain the entire process to Mr. Benz in detail. And Mr. Benz, please feel free to ask her any questions. After all she is the inventor of the BNG-29. Please, excuse me.”

After sending me a reassuring smile and nodding towards Mr. Benz, Gin left the room quickly. Now it was all up to me, I guess. I mustered up everything I had and turned to Mr. Sebastian Benz with the best professional smile I could put on.

“Well, Mr. Benz. Let me pick up where Doctor Thompson let off.”

I walked over to the foot of the bed taking a look at the medical file. I had read it at least a hundred times before, actually learning everything by heart.

“The device that is supposed to be implanted into Mr. Ian Benz’s brain is this.”

I held out the tiny black device I had slipped into my lab coat after entering this very room.

“I believe, Doctor Thompson has already given you an overview on how it works?” I asked looking him directly into the eyes. A curt nod was his answer.

“That’s good. So to –“

“Doctor Noakes?” he interrupted me. “I don’t need to hear all that medical stuff again. There’s one question I want you to answer.”

His clear blue eyes bore into mine. I blinked once to focus back onto the subject.

“Please” I motioned for him to proceed.

“Will he be okay after the operation?” he asked gazing lovingly upon his brother’s face.

I felt my heart skip a beat. This was the first time seeing such an emotion, or rather any emotion on his face. I bit my lip before answering the questions.

“Mr. Benz” I walked around the bed and stood opposite Sebastian Benz looking down at his brother, seeing him for the first time up close. He was as beautiful as Sebastian, but his features were softer and gentler. I couldn’t be sure whether it only looked that way because he had fallen into a coma. His hair was as black as the night, but considerably longer than his brother’s. His face could only be described as pale.

This man lying on the bed was lifeless. No other words would come to my mind.

“Doctor Thompson has already told you, hasn’t he? The BNG-29 has only been tested on mice up until now. It –“

“No, that’s not what I asked” he interrupted again. His eyes were sharp when he looked back at me. Don’t flinch, Kate!

“I want to know YOUR opinion, Doctor Noakes. Would you allow anybody to fiddle with your brother’s brain and implant some black button-thing that has only been tested on mice until now? What would YOU do, if you were in my shoes?” he spat out the words.

His face contorted in pain and despair was written all over. I shut my eyes for a few seconds and exhaled slowly allowing Sebastian Benz to find his composure. I just had a feeling he needed to cool down before I could answer his question. After a brief silence I gave him my answer:

“Mr. Benz, you are set on hearing my opinion on implanting a button-thing, as you called it, into your dying brother’s brain. A device I myself have developed while setting the goal of helping people, whose neurons in the brain were damaged or destroyed, by regenerating and producing new ones. You want to know whether I would want such a device to be implanted, although it was never tested on humans before. Before giving you my final answer, may I ask you something?”

Not once did I allow my eyes to leave his bright orbs. As he didn’t answer, I went on:

“Do you have any other options? Have you been offered any other way out of this desperate situation?”

His eyes grew wide in surprise for a second, before he shut them close and a ghost of a smile played around his lips. This reaction was enough for me.

“Yeah, I thought so, Mr. Benz” I, too smiled faintly. “If I were in your shoes right now, this would have been the same way I would’ve handled it. Although I should be the one trying to convince you to go through with the operation, I mean, after all this button-thingy is something I invented. I can’t guarantee you a thing, absolutely nothing, which is really pathetic. But, I would go for it, Mr. Benz. Your brother’s vitals are going to fail sooner or later, if kept in this state. He is going to die like this. So, even if there is the slightest chance of seeing him alive, I would go for that damn operation.”

I exhaled audibly and to my surprise saw the young Benz crack a real smile.

“Pathetic, huh?” I heard him mumble.

“Well, don’t you think it is?” I inquired shrugging once and focusing my gaze onto the lifeless body on the bed.

Suddenly a soft knock was heard on the door. My eyes darted towards the sound and then to the stern voice. I felt a slight tingling sensation.

“Yes, please?” he asked the person in.

The door swung open and Gin entered the room with a rather grim expression. Out of habit I tilted my head to the side and questioningly looked at him. Instead of an answer Gin put on his best fake smile and addressed Mr. Benz:

“So, how have things been going here? I hope Doctor Noakes was able to answer your questions and help you make your decision?”

I swallowed hard, as I was pretty sure I had actually achieved the exact opposite with my rather pitiable answer to his question.

“You bet she did” he informed my mentor. “When are you planning to operate?”

My head shot up in utter disbelief. No way he wants to proceed with the operation?

“That’s great!” I heard Gin cheerfully exclaim. “The faster the better. So I believe by 2pm tomorrow all our preparations will have been made. I’ll get to work right away then and inform the medical board, as well as get the remaining paperwork ready.”

Right at this moment the great surgeon Gin Thompson looked like a little boy given a treat.

“Good work, Doctor Noakes. I’ll be back with the remaining papers later this afternoon, Mr. Benz.”

With this he left the room as swift as ever. Just like the first time both, Sebastian Benz and I stood there in silence. But contrary to the first time I giggled after a few moments, not able to contain myself anymore, especially after seeing the dumbfounded look on the young man’s face. I can’t say how long we stood like that, but after some time, I was able to pull myself together and slowly made my way around the bed. I walked up to Sebastian Benz and held out my hand:

“Mr. Benz? I should be leaving, too.”

He gripped it as firm as the first time and nodded. We both let go and I strolled towards the door, opening it. Before I could let myself out I turned around catching the younger Benz brother by surprise:

“Oh, and Mr. Benz? You asked me whether I would allow anybody to mess with my brother’s brain. Well, no, I wouldn’t let just anybody fiddle with his brain. But, if it were to be Doctor Gin Thompson, there’s no way I would hesitate.”

With this I stepped outside and before fully shutting the door I heard a faint “Hn” from inside.

I strolled along the long white corridor, passing huge white doors every now and then. The monotone order interrupted by a few paintings of flowers or plain sceneries. The difference this time was that a huge grin was plastered on my face.