Sommer
With the back hatch of her SUV yawning wide and the second-row seats laid all the way down, Sommer Hayes stretched out full length in the relative privacy of the far corner of the hospital lot.
Scrolling her phone and powering through the leftovers she’d packed for dinner, Sommer let her bare feet dangle over the edge, finding relief in the movement of cool air between her toes.
One shift down, Sommer had a few minutes to herself before she needed to report back in for nursing duty in the emergency department.
When her phone pinged, Sommer rolled over to check the screen.
Abbie:Are you done with work? Two quick things. I have gossip!
Sommer dipped a carrot into her plastic container of hummus, popped it into her mouth, then tapped her phone to autodial her friend.
“You called about tasty gossip?” Sommer asked.
“Tasty … in this instance, I’d be reticent to use that particular word,” Abbie said with a laugh. “How are you defining tasty gossip?”
“Anything that I can both feel bad when crap happens to strangers and also feel mildly superior that it didn’t happen to me.” Sommer reached for another carrot.
“I guess this fits the bill. This is from work.”
“Good, that’s the kind I like to hear. I can chew on it and enjoy the flavor, but I don’t have to watch my tongue around anyone.” Sommer popped the baby carrot into her mouth, appreciating the play on words that accompanied her meal.
“Yeah, well, once you hear what I have to say, you’ll rethink your word choice. I can hear you chewing. What are you eating?”
“Dinner. I took part of Shoshana’s shift, and I need to get back inside,” Sommer lifted her watch to read the dial, “in thirteen minutes.”
“What’s up that you took Shoshana’s shift? That’s hard to say.”
“Only a part of her shift,” Sommer corrected. “She said she’d be here by ten. A kid only graduates from kindergarten once, and the grandparents are in town to take the family out for a fancy dinner. I was promised a most excellent dessert.”
“Yeah, well, good luck tonight,” Abbie said. “You know it’s a full moon, right?”
“Shhh, we do not speak those words out loud,” Sommer said as she rifled through her bag to find the chunk of cheese she remembered tossing in. “We sneak past the windows and try not to add an exclamation point to the situation.”
“Sorry.”
“Too late.” Sommer used the wedge of gouda to swipe up a glob of hummus. “What’s done is done.”
“And what’s worse is that when you leave the hospital, you’re going home to your little cottage in the woods with a graveyard out front.”
“The graveyard is off to the side,” Sommer said with her mouth full. “The church is across from me. So I have a protective buffer from any creepy crawlies that might try to sneak out of their side of the field.”
“You sent a shiver through my whole body,” Abbie heavy-breathed into the phone for a moment. “Why in the world would you say that? You’re nuts, you know, right? Who in their right mind would buy a house there?”
“Anyone confined by a nurse’s salary. The only place I could afford was somewhere that most people would turn down. Besides, I’m around death and dying on the daily. It’s not something that bothers me.” Sommer considered another carrot, but they seemed like too much work to chew. “It was a choice between the cute little cottage in the woods covered in flowers or the shack near the train track, or the cement bungalow near the junkyard with the rats, or there was that split-level downwind of the sewage treatment plant.”
“Oh yeah. Okay, well, I’m going to look up some witchy something to do as full-moon protection,” Abbie said. “Maybe sprinkling some salt across the threshold.”
“You do that. I’ll call you when I get home for your notes if it’s not too late. In the meantime, I was lured into this conversation with the promise of gossip?” Sommer checked her watch. “About ten minutes until I have to hang up.”
“Okay, really quick then,” Abbie said. “Today, my boss’s wife caught him flagrante delicto on his desk with another woman.”
“On his desk at work with an office full of people?”
“Yes! And a whole bunch of people saw through the open door. Not me, thank goodness. His wife was holding the door wide while she processed the scene.”
“Shit.”
