I nodded with a smirk myself. “Oh, I heard.”
“Well, you can just jump in then; the load is light today, so just ease into it.”
And that is just what I did. At first, I moved a lil’ slower, getting a feel for how they ran things. Checking on patients, updating charts, following behind a couple nurses just to see their flow.
But then, I found my rhythm.
Talking to patients, handling what I needed to handle, moving like I had been doing this shit all my life.
“Okay,” one of the burses said as I finished up in a room. “They talked like you were still a rookie out here, looks like you know what you are doing.”
I smiled. “I’ve been out of the field for lil’ minute, but it’s like riding a bike.”
That broke the ice just enough.
After that, it was small talk here and there. Nothing deep, just enough to feel included without being forced.
Hours passed smooth—no rushing, no chaos, just steady work.
And somewhere in between checking vitals and updating charts, I realized something…
Gio.
He wasn’t a constant thought on my mind.
I paused at the station for a second, fingers resting on the counter as that thought hit me.
It felt weird, like I was forgetting something I was supposed to remember.
But it didn’t feel bad.
“Islah,” Renee called, snapping me out of it. “You good?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said, straightening up. “I’m good.
She smiled and walked off.
By the end of my shift, I was tired, but it felt good to be tired. I grabbed my things from my locker and walked out to see a few of the nurses I worked with standing around the desk.
“Goodnight,” I said, walking by.
“Hey, Islah,” the nurse Deja called out. I turned around, and all of them were staring at me. “We were thinking about going out to get drinks, you want to come?”
I thought about it for a second.
“Yeah, I’m with it.”
“Cool, follow us,” Kenya said.
I nodded and walked to my car, threw my shit in the back, and waited for one of them to start up their car and followed behind.
After a few minutes, we pulled out of the parking lot, falling into a straight line like we had been riding like I had been riding with them for years. The city looked different now that the sun was down. Lights were everywhere; cars moving, people walking. Atlanta felt alive in a whole different way at night.
We pulled up to a spot not too far, nothing too fancy, but it was packed enough to let me know the vibes were hittin’.
I parked, grabbed my purse, and stepped out, locking my door as I caught up with them. As soon as we stepped inside, the noise wrapped around me. Music playing, people laughing, glasses clinking. The vibes were hittin’ like I thought.
“This is our spot,” Deja said, leading the way like she owned the place.
