Old Lovers Don't Die by Paul G Anderson Read Free Book Online Page A

of discussion about life and personal issues and how best to deal with that.
    Christian decided that if he had to think about what would make Vanessa laugh that it probably would not. He stood up to give the clipboard back when the side door opened slightly. A racing bicycle appeared. Christian placed the clipboard on Vanessa’s desk as she turned to see who was coming through the door. The bicycle was followed shortly by someone whom Christian assumed was Dr. Jaeger. He looked every inch a serious cyclist, dressed in a white and black hooped Lycra top and shorts.
    “Good afternoon, sorry I’m late, dam P platers slowing down the traffic again.”
    Christian watched as he disappeared with the bicycle into his office. A few minutes later, Christian could hear the shower start followed by less than tuneful singing .
    “Well, she’s all you’d ever want, She’s the kind I like to flaunt and take to dinner, But she always knows her place, She’s got style, she’s got grace, she’s a winner.”
    Christian smiled to himself. The singing itself was not that good, although Dr. Jaeger had a deep voice which should have been melodious. Christian was not quite sure either of the words of the song or who had sung the original version. What he did remember was that it was a song that his mother played often. There was one month particularly in the year when she always played it. The week before Easter, if he remembered correctly, although now that she had an iPod he had not heard it as often as he used to. He resolved to try and remember to ask her what the song was and who sang it. Dr. Jaeger’s singing continued and he noticed that Vanessa was smiling. She was obviously enjoying the singing without the slightest embarrassment that Dr. Jaeger’s voice was filling the waiting room.
    A few minutes later Christian heard the shower stop with the singing becoming a low humming and shortly after the surgery door opened.
    “Dr. Villiers, I presume. I’m Dr. Mark Jaeger, please call me Mark.”
    Christian took his outstretched hand and decided instantly that he liked Dr. Mark Jaeger. There was a kindness in his eyes, which Christian had always taken as a sign of inner goodness in people. Not that he had any science to back his observation it up. Conversely, he had learnt to be wary when there was no warmth or kindness. In countless patients high on methamphetamines, there was blackness as if their soul or the soul connection had gone into hiding.
    “Vanessa tells me that you are going to Rwanda.” Dr. Jaeger interrupted his thoughts.
    “Yes, I’m planning to go to a small hospital down the Congolese border at a place called Garanyi.”
    “That’s adventurous, no tripping off to a safe comfortable place like New Zealand or Asia to further your medical experience!”
    “I wanted to go to some place which would be medically challenging and where my medicine and surgery would be useful.”
    “Well, Rwanda will certainly do that for you. It may interest you to know that my wife and I visited a hospital in a place called Goma about six years ago, which is just across the border from Garanyi in the Congo. It was a hospital, which had a strong Australian link as it used to be visited each year by an Australian surgeon, who did a fantastic amount of surgery. If I recall, there was another German surgeon who used to come down and help from a mission hospital that he ran in the mountains of Rwanda.
    “That is an amazing coincidence.” Christian said. “My mother is worried about the safety and whether it will help or hinder my medical career. It all seems quite calm now, although I am aware that there are number of gangs active across the border in the Congo. Did you get concerned for your safety when you were there?”
    “We were never really concerned, but you need to be careful and aware that from time to time violence can erupt. There are number of vested interests that are championed by various militias and political factions,