The Hesitant Hero Read Online Free PDF

now for the first time, he was discovering what it was like to be rejected. It was humiliating. As time went on, he spent more and more time thinking of how he might change Jolie’s opinion of him.
    ****
    Every time Tyler was anywhere near the hospital, he came close to going inside and asking Jolie out, but he always refused the impulse. “She’s nothing but a snob,” he muttered once. “I hope she winds up a sour old maid.” He knew this was not very likely, and finally the unpleasant truth pressed upon him that she was stronger than he was. She had left her home and come to a foreign country to complete an obligation that must be very difficult. He himself had never stuck to any course of action that had caused him any discomfort, and the thought that Jolie Vernay could do what he could not was a reproach to him.
    Finally one Wednesday afternoon he found himself standing in front of the hospital gazing at the cheerless gray building almost as if it were a human antagonist. It was a cold day and already the sun was hidden in a bleak iron heaven in the west. The air had the taste of cold in it, and even as he stood there, a few flakes of snow fell on his face, burning slightly like tiny bits of fire. He turned his head up and studied thesky and blinked as the snow touched him; then with a burst of resolution he entered the building.
    When he discovered that she was on duty, he told the receptionist, “I’ve got an important message for Dr. Vernay.”
    “I’m sorry. She’s busy with patients,” the woman answered.
    “It’s pretty important.”
    “I’ll have to know more than that. We can’t have people interrupting the doctors.”
    “It about a personal matter.” He leaned over and said, “Come on, be a sport.”
    “Oh, go right on back,” the receptionist finally assented with a grin. “Let me know how it all works out.”
    Tyler quickly turned and went down the hall. He found Jolie in one of the large rooms with several beds, standing over a female patient. He watched her for a moment, realizing he was probably setting himself up for another embarrassment. She’ll probably give me the bum’s rush, but she’ll have to be persistent, because I won’t quit.
    When Jolie started around the bed, she saw him in the doorway and her eyes widened. She recovered from her surprise quickly and came over to him.
    “Hello, Tyler.”
    “Hi. I don’t mean to bother you, but I have something to ask you.”
    “What is it?” Her eyes were cool as always, and she seemed on guard as she waited.
    “Do you mind not standing there like you’re a soldier ready for an assault?” Tyler asked with some asperity. “I just wanted to ask you out again.”
    “I thought I made myself clear about that.”
    “Well, I didn’t make myself clear.” Having nothing to lose, Tyler went ahead with his plan. “I need to talk to you.”
    “About what?”
    “I can’t talk here.”
    “Neither can I.”
    Tyler smiled and winked at her. He’d had considerablesuccess with his smiles and winks in the past. “What time do you get off?”
    “Six o’clock, but I don’t—”
    “I’ll be in the waiting room, and I won’t take no for an answer.” He was a bundle of nerves, and all the pressure that had been mounting in him was evident. “I’m not going to bite you,” he said. “I just want to have something to eat and talk.”
    Jolie looked as though she wanted to turn and walk away, but finally she shrugged and said, “All right. We can have dinner—but that’s all.”
    “Good. I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll be the one looking anxious out there.”
    Jolie smiled, and the expression lightened her whole attitude. “I’ll be able to pick you out, then.”
    ****
    Tyler took Jolie to a small restaurant he liked because it was usually quiet and a good place to talk. She only ordered a cup of soup and a salad, and he contented himself with a small sirloin steak and a baked potato. As they ate, Jolie was willing enough