“Yep. I'm not kidding.”
Listening to them, I poured myself a cup of coffee. Paper cup, of course. Real mugs were apparently too much to ask for.
One sip was all it took to make my face twist.
“Damn,” I said, staring down into the cup. “This should be illegal. I’m going to the cafeteria for something close to the dark drink the world calls coffee.”
Erin stood, already grabbing her badge. “I will come with you.”
“Sure. You coming too?” I asked Jamal.
“Nah. I’ll take a nap.” He was already walking toward the old bunk beds.
Out in the hallway, the hospital was in full motion. Nurses hurried past us with clipboards tucked to their chests. Low voices mumbled patient updates and complaints about coverage. Phones rang. Monitors chimed from behind closed doors. It smelled like chlorine and the nasty coffee I’d sipped.
“Is Rothchild forcing you to cover the Thanksgiving shift on Thursday too?” Erin asked as we walked. “Because, you know, I’m still kind of undecided if I’m going to take a shift. So, you know, if you are taking it, I could take it as well and give you some company.”
Of course I knew why she asked.
I called it my father’s curse. Women were drawn to the Alderwyn men like moths to fire. Nothing good ever came from it. In Erin’s case, it explained why she bought something at the cafeteria every single time I did. Why she always asked, casually, whether we could meet outside the hospital for a drink. A walk. Anything.
But, unlike my father, I didn’t drift wherever the wind pushed me. I wouldn’t float from woman to woman like a snowflake with no direction. Until I had time to actually be present with someone, I chose to stay alone. Medicine came first. Everything else had to wait.
“I might do the Thanksgiving shift,” I said. “Today is my grandma’s birthday. We all get together on her birthday and are a bit more relaxed about Thanksgiving.”
Erin nodded, excitement flickering in her eyes. “I’ll tell Dr. Rothchild I’ll take the shift as well.”
We were just about to take the stairs down, when Tessa nearly collided with me. The friendly older nurse smiled up at me, like always. She had that warm aura of a grandma.
“Ah, there you are,” she said.
“I know,” I said. “Rothchild is looking for me.”
“I’m sure he is,” she said. “But I’m here for Mrs. Gonzales. She wanted to see you before you head out. Also, there’s some guy waiting for you in the waiting room.”
My brow lifted. “Some guy? Is he a patient?”
She shrugged. “He said it wasn’t anything important. Just that he needed to talk to you.”
“Any name?”
“Didn’t want to say.”
A slow breath slipped out of me. Probably an unhappy patient. Or a family member.
“You go ahead,” I said to Erin. “I’ll check in on Mrs. Gonzales, then deal with the mysterious man.”
Erin’s face fell for just a second before she smoothed it out. A polite smile took its place. “Sure. See you later.”
I returned the smile. “Later.”
Tessa led me toward the ICU floor and took her usual seat at the nurses’ station.
Mrs. Gonzales was in the third room down. When I entered, she was asleep in a large hospital bed, surrounded by machines that hummed and beeped.
Twenty-five years old.
Younger than me.
