After Ninety-nine Times

The courthouse steps were warm from how long I’d been sitting there.

For what felt like the hundredth time, I lit up my phone screen and stared at the last message Annie Sanders had sent three hours ago.

“A medical emergency just came in. Give me a few minutes.”

However, those “few minutes” had turned into hours.

Finally, that familiar white SUV pulled up. I stood up so fast I nearly tripped over myself.

Then, I froze. Sitting in the passenger seat was Joseph Quinn, the same intern who’d haunted our relationship like a shadow I couldn’t shake.

Annie rolled down the window, her voice carrying the same urgency I’d come to know too well.

“Get in! Joseph’s having heart palpitations. We have to get him to the hospital now!”

Right on cue, Joseph let out a pained groan, curling up in his seat.

I turned my eyes to him and noticed something. His hair had clearly been styled, and beneath his white coat, I could see a neatly pressed shirt collar. His skin even looked healthier than mine.

Was that what a medical emergency looked like? Did she forget I was a doctor too?

I took a deep breath before asking, “Annie, do you remember what today is? We were supposed to get our marriage registered.”

She slapped the steering wheel in frustration. “I know! But he’s in critical condition right now. Can we not argue about this now?”

Joseph lifted his head weakly, putting on that fake, selfless act of his. “I’ll be fine, Dr. Sanders. You two should get your paperwork done. I… I’ll take a cab back.”

As he reached for his seatbelt, he turned just slightly, and that was when I saw the smug, satisfied smile he flashed at me. In that moment, I knew exactly what he was doing. Of course, to Annie, all this made me look unreasonable again.

She raised her voice and kept his hand on the seatbelt. “Are you serious, Finn? Look at him! We can get married any day. What if something happens to him? This is a matter of life and death! Stop being so selfish!”

Selfish?

The three of us were doctors. His poor acting was practically an insult to our profession.

“He was joking around at the nurses' station during his rounds this morning, and now he’s suddenly headed for the ICU?”

“Enough!” Annie shoved the door open. “He has tachycardia and shortness of breath. He could go into–”

“Into what? Respiratory arrest?” I cut her off. “Do you need me to recite the symptoms of cardiac failure for you? Because he sure doesn’t have them.”

Joseph flinched. His little performance cracked right there. However, Annie didn’t even notice. She thought I was just being heartless.

“You’re being so immature! What do you even have against Joseph?” she questioned emotionally.

What did I have against him?

She was always bending over backward for him and pushing me aside. Every time I tried to fight for our relationship, it somehow became me being unreasonable.

I gave a soft, bitter laugh and slowly slipped our documents back into my pocket.

“This makes ninety-nine.”

“What?”

“This is the ninety-ninth time we’ve tried to get our marriage registered.” I turned toward the subway entrance. “And the ninety-ninth time you’ve left me hanging because of him.”

I heard her heels stop on the pavement, then suddenly start running after me.

“The first time, you bailed on our trip because he was on the night shift and scared of the dark. You took a red-eye flight just to be with him.

“The second time, we were practically at the door of the courthouse. You heard he fainted from overwork and left me standing in the snow alone for an entire day.”

I looked into Annie’s eyes, pulling my hand away from hers.

“And now, today, that makes ninety-nine. Do you even remember what today is, Annie? It’s our seventh anniversary.”

A flicker of panic flashed across her face. She tried to explain, but right then, Joseph groaned again inside the car.

She turned to look, and just like that, the panic was replaced by concern for someone else.

“I get that you’re upset,” she said, “but Joseph needs me right now. I can’t delay his treatment just because we’re getting married. Take a cab, okay? I need to take him to the hospital.”

I nodded silently, and as I watched them drive off, the reality of the past seven years finally sank in like a knife to the gut.

She would always choose the one who needed her most, and that person was never going to be me.