It's
time to go back to work. Tanya does her best to get herself ready to
go.
Tanya
did a load of laundry and picked up around the house. She had a short
nap and a shower before she dressed for work and fixed her hair and
makeup. She took extra care to make herself look nice for Morgan,
though she knew he wouldn't care if she spiked her hair and pierced
her nose. He liked her for who she was, not some image he had of her.
Cliff had always tried to mold her into the perfect, little wife, and
that wasn't who she was. She wasn't one to stay home all day and make
babies and chicken pot pie.
She'd
have liked a family, but there never seemed to be time with the
schedule she kept. Now she was just as glad, because being a single
mom with her hours, would have been miserable, most especially for
the child. Maybe if things went well with Morgan— But she didn't
finish that thought. He had no commitment to her other friendship and
really fantastic sex. They could go their separate ways at any time.
Thinking of permanence and children was silly and futile.
The
clock ticked inexorably toward time to go on shift. She grabbed her
keys and purse, going through her OCD ritual with the door. She
smiled, thinking of how that must look to Morgan. But since it
worked, she wasn't going to stop. She hadn't locked herself out in
almost a year, and that was saying something.
The
drive to the hospital seemed to move like molasses, but before she
knew it, she'd pulled up into a parking space. She sighed, thinking
of how tedious the night was going to be. Only the prospect of seeing
Morgan at dinner time, motivated her enough to get out of the car.
Walking
in the door, she heard sirens growing louder. It was 2:30, not quite
time for her to go on shift, but she quickened her pace and headed
toward radiology. She tossed her purse and jacket into her locker and
checked in. She'd picked out the distinct sound of at least three
ambulances and thought she detected a fourth coming quickly up behind
them.
"Another
multiple car accident," the head nurse said after getting off
the phone with the emergency department. "Gear up, gang, it's
going to be a long one. At least seven victims with multiple broken
bones. Angie," she said to a passing volunteer, "put on a
fresh pot of coffee, honey. Thanks. You've got time for a pee or a
smoke," she told the doctors. "Be back in ten minutes."
None
of them argued with her. Nurse Grace was a Navy nurse for over thirty
years before taking the job as evening charge nurse in radiology. She
ran a tight ship, and even the doctors knew better than to disregard
a directive. She would gladly flay an M.D. as she would an L.P.N. and
did so without batting an eye. In the short time she'd been at the
hospital, Tanya had come to respect the woman's judgment.
Grace
turned to Tanya, sharing a secret smile. "Feeling better,
dearie?" she whispered as she looked around to see if anyone was
listening.
"Beg
pardon?" she matched the woman's manner, wondering why they were
whispering.
"I
had a long talk with your young man," she said quietly. "He
said you were in need of a weekend of intensive therapy. I hope the
relaxation sessions helped. You looked terrible the last time I saw
you."
Tanya
blushed from her neck to her hairline. "Oh, very successful,
thank you for asking, Ma'am. I think probably the most successful of
my entire life." She fanned herself, inhaling deeply.
"Really?"
Nurse Grace looked rather surprised and raised an interested eyebrow.
"You'll have to tell me more specifics later, young lady. In
fact, I've a few suggestions I might just pass along to Dr. Fellowes
the next time I see him. Judging by how the shift is starting, it
will be at least once before the night's over. Run along and take the
rest of your break, all hell will be breaking loose soon enough."
Grace
had been disconcertingly correct. The next few hours were hell for
the radiology and surgical departments. There were nine victims, some
critically injured, others with only minor fractures. Tanya was
busier than she could ever remember being, reading the X-rays quickly
before sending them up to surgery. She babbled into her recorder so
quickly, she hardly recognized her voice.
I
could never have done this without Morgan, she thought more than
once. Had she gone into the shift as tense as she'd been a couple
days ago, she would have cracked up.
After
the emergency films were examined, she got down to the routine of
daily work, making reports for the doctors' offices with her
evaluations. She had a thick stack to look over, but she took a short
break before she started on them. Her feet took her up to the
surgical floor, hoping to see Morgan. Perhaps she'd get lucky and
he'd be between patients. However, she suspected he would be occupied
for quite a while. She strolled up to the nurse's station and caught
the eye of one of the nurses she knew. Melinda looked tired, but at
least she didn't look despondent.
"How's
it going?" Tanya tried to keep her tone light.
Melinda
knew Tanya was referring to the accident victims. "Going well.
We've done most of them, only the minor stuff to do now. The first
couple were touchy, but the gang up here does good work. I swear, I
think Dr. Fellowes has magic in his hands. He put together one guy
that we thought for sure we'd lose. He's in checking on him now, but
he'll be out in a minute."
"Mel,"
Tanya leaned closer to the perky nurse. "Does everyone know?"
"Know
what?" Melinda was trying to be coy, but she wasn't succeeding.
"You
know what I'm talking about, don't make me say it."
"No,
just me and Grace. We covered for you both this weekend, perpetuating
a myth." She winked. "You look better. I take it the
therapy sessions were beneficial."
Tanya
felt herself redden once more. She glanced down at her shoes, feeling
the blood tingle the edges of her ears.
©
2020 Dellani Oakes
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