Death Grip

by Barbara Ebel

  Dustin’s hand slid behind her neck and into her hair. Inching her forward, his lips were on hers, and she closed her eyes while taking in the closeness of his body. She kissed him back with the same intensity. It had been weeks since kissing a man; her heart fluttered in her chest. He was a good kisser and his hand performed magic at the nape of her neck.

  They separated a few inches. “Should we stop in one of the restaurant bars for a glass of wine or a beer?” he asked.

  “I would love to, but I better not,” she said, disappointed. “My sister is at my place. She just drove in from Nashville. I’m also on call tomorrow and in for a long haul, so I better get to bed at a decent time.”

  He nodded. This time, Annabel leaned in and kissed him.

  “Do me a favor,” he said when they finished. Text me when you arrive home so I know you’re safe. It’s a policeman thing.” He smiled and she touched his dimple.

  “I could not resist doing that.” She grinned and added, “And sure, I’ll holler when I get home. Thanks for a nice time.”

  Dustin closed her door after she scooted in, patted the window, and crossed the street to his Acura.

  -----

  With a bounce to her step, Annabel walked home after parking two blocks away. She frowned because she and Dustin didn’t carry on after dinner with a glass of wine. Next time, she thought. And hopefully next time, they’d be doing more than kissing in a more private spot than beside her car.

  She leaned forward walking up the incline of her street but practically stopped dead in her tracks when she realized an important observation. When was the last time she seriously thought about her surgery chief resident, Robby Burk? Her daytime ruminating over him and her nighttime fantasizing about him had slowly ebbed away to a trickle. The dates that had not successfully materialized with him and the lack of either of them making an effort to contact each other since then had made all the difference in the world.

  She turned into the path to her side door entrance and pumped her fist. Finally, the lust she’d harbored for Robby was gone. It was fun while it lasted, but her energy would be better off spent on more realistic expectations such as her medical studies, and perhaps a more balanced, pragmatic relationship. With Dustin Lowe?

  Annabel doubled her steps up the two flights of stairs and turned the key in the door. If Nancy was inside, she wondered how her sister fared with her obnoxious medical student colleague, Jordan Maldonado.

  A half bottle of wine sat on the kitchen counter, the only Chardonnay that Annabel had stored unopened in her refrigerator. A plastic cup sat beside it. Annabel poked her head into the bedroom. Her sister opened the bathroom door, stepped out, and startled when she saw her.

  Nancy’s surprised expression immediately changed to a hostile glare. She pursed her lips, opened her mouth, and let her pent-up words come flying out.

  “You absolute creep. You sabotaged my date with Jordan. My own sister. My big chance at starting a relationship with someone more decent than the college fare I go to school with and you ruined it!”

  Nancy took a breath without moving her intense stare off of Annabel.

  Clueless, Annabel reeled from the accusation. “What are you talking about?”

  “He stood me up on purpose,” Nancy yelled. “He texted me that he’s going to stay away from us. He said it’s all your fault.”

  Annabel bit her lip. “We may have had a heated exchange today, but that never gave him the right to take it out on you. That’s immature and vengeful. You’re better off without him.”

  “You can afford to say that because your life is all picture perfect and you’re a smart, hot-shot medical student. He was … my date, interested in me, and following up on a previous good time when we met at the café up the block. You did this on purpose. You made sure you steered him away from me.”

  Now Annabel’s voice went up a notch and her heart pounded in her chest. “You’re crazy.”

  “Crazy? I never stood between you and the guys you have been close to. I was nothing but hospitable to David Bell in your senior year of college and to your friend Bob who you brought with you on your last trip home.”

  “They were different. They aren’t assholes like Jordan.”

  Nancy took a defiant step. Annabel thought her sister might wield a swing at her.

  “You think you’re better than me. Always have.”

  “Now you’re pulling at straws. I’m not in charge of providing male material for your love life.”

  A bang sounded twice on the floor. Annabel grimaced and rubbed her forehead. Her neighbor below, not happy about their loud argument, pounded on his ceiling to voice a complaint.

  “You creep,” Nancy blasted.

  “Creep? I did everything I could to accommodate you. Let you crash in my single bedroom apartment again. And, more importantly, I never told you my opinion of Jordan to begin with because I wanted you to figure him out yourself. He is the worst. I witnessed him cheating on our mid-term test. No one does that in medical school! We are all supposed to abide by principled moral standards.”

  “Bullshit. You’re just saying that.” Nancy tugged at both sides of her hair, an old gesture to hide her ears which she was self-conscious about.

  Annabel took a deep breath. Carrying on any further with her sister was useless. She passed right by her and went into the bathroom, washed up, and changed into pajamas. After curling up in bed, her mind raced. She and her sister never had a fight like that or exploded at each other like that. The words they exchanged wouldn’t go away and she churned over them, boiling mad as she tried to drift off to sleep. Not a word escaped from Nancy, who lay sprawled out in her sleeping bag next to the wall.

  -----

  The alarm clock sounded and Annabel woke with a start. The prior night’s events flooded back into her thoughts as well as the fact that she was on call. She almost jumped out of the bed realizing she still needed to put her overnight bag together. Then it dawned on her.

  “Shit,” she said, as if she couldn’t take one more thing going wrong. She padded over to the kitchen counter and picked up her cell phone. The volume was muted. She was supposed to text Dustin last night when she arrived home and now her spirit fell. After such a super night, this would put a dent in him trusting her because she never followed through with their agreement.

  Sure enough, he had texted her last night at 11 p.m.

  I’m assuming you made it home okay. Please let me know.

  She gritted her teeth and immediately typed out a message.

  I am so sorry. Yes, I got home just fine but had an unexpected problem with my sister. I really enjoyed our date and hope to see you soon.

  She hovered her fingertip over “send.” She didn’t like apologizing to him via a short text message, but it had to do. She sent it off. If last night was the last she saw of him, there was only herself to blame.

  Now she scrambled to get ready and left in record time wearing scrubs for the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours. Heading to the door, she glanced at Nancy burrowed in the sleeping bag. Maybe tomorrow when she comes home from call, and before Nancy leaves to go back to Nashville on Monday, they could smooth things over. However, she doubted it. They had had a hefty fight with bitter words.

  -----

  Downstairs, Annabel rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. She quickly slipped her cell phone out of her back pocket and signaled an Uber driver, which she forgot to do upstairs. A driver circled the block soon and a gray CRV pulled up.

  “Annabel?” the driver asked.

  She nodded, hustled in, and belted up.

  “How are you today?” he asked.

  “I’ve had better mornings. How about you?”

  “Me too. But we’re both on this side of the ground. Can’t complain about that.” He peered at her in the rearview mirror. Some of his red hair swept across the side of his face, but the rest of it hung behind his neck in a ponytail.

  “However,” Annabel said. “I just thought up
a spin on that. I take it you are referring to death and being buried underground. However, a person can be cremated and have their ashes stored above ground.”

  “Hmm. I see your point. I guess the thing to say is that we’re lucky to be alive and still breathing.”

  “And add to that ‘on your way to work with a good cup of coffee.’ That thermos you have in your cup holder must be your best friend in the morning.”

  “Better than a hot shower,” he said, positioning the car in the right lane of I-75.

  “I have an idea. What if your passengers could select a coffee flavor from a back seat assortment and make a one-cup fresh brew from a little portable machine during their drive? Overall, that would be a big hit.”

  “Passengers are not supposed to eat or drink in the drivers’ personal cars.”

  “I’m aware. However, the idea could be refined somehow to work and an extra buck or two added to the preliminary fare.”

  “Your idea has merit. As Einstein said, ‘If at first an idea does not sound absurd, then there is no hope for it.’ Or something like that.”

  At the hospital, she slipped out of the car and thanked the young man. A driver who quoted Einstein to her during her ride in was a joy, she thought. It had taken her mind off of the stupidity of her sister and the fact that she had not contacted Dustin last night when she was supposed to.

  After passing through the revolving front doors, she headed straight to the cafeteria for her first cup of coffee.

  CHAPTER 11

  Annabel counted up the names on the team’s whiteboard hanging in the office. Since she only followed two patients, she knew that would change fast. Her coffee had cooled so she took a gulp, but that proved to be a disappointment. It was way too strong, like Mississippi mud, and she poured it down the sink behind the nurses’ station when she walked by to see her patients. When she went back to the office, she found Dr. Schott on the couch with his newspaper.

  “Good morning,” she said.

  “Mm, back at ya.” He rattled the paper and shook his head. “This is bad. This is really bad. A chunk of ice just severed off of Antarctica. Not like a calving event, but a whole massive split from the continent. Now that massive chunk is drifting and bouncing her way along the Drake Passage, breaking up and melting as she goes. This is so huge, map makers need to redraw and republish world maps. I wish I owned land in Florida twenty-five miles from the coast because one of these days it will end up a waterfront property due to the rising seas.

  “I wish humans had more control over Mother Earth’s planetary events,” he continued, “but even if we did, we’d probably foul it up just like we’re already messing up the weather in an indirect way.

  “We are poor guardians of the earth. It’s inevitable that we colonize other planets because we use and abuse everything we touch until we’ve rendered it unusable. A throw-away society. Native American Indians had insightful respect for the environment; they qualified as the rightful keepers of the planet, in my opinion.”

  Annabel nodded to appease him and hoped he was finished while his phone dinged.

  “It’s Bob,” he said, narrowing his eyes at the text message.

  “I haven’t seen him yet.” She peered in the corner of the room. “His backpack isn’t here.”

  Donn nodded with concern as he called Bob’s number. “It’s Dr. Schott,” he said.

  Annabel listened to Donn’s one-sided conversation. “Report your absence today to the secretary in the internal medicine department. They keep track of students’ missed days, especially if and when it lasts a few days. Keep us posted.”

  Annabel stepped closer. “What is it? Is he okay?”

  Donn rubbed his hand over his beard. “He said he’s clueless about what’s come over him, but he’s definitely sick and doesn’t have enough energy to come in. I didn’t want to impose with too many questions. He doesn’t believe he has a fever and there’s no nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. He’s sorry he’s not showing up for call; maybe he’s come down with a twenty-four-hour medical student bug that’s causing him to play hookey.”

  “He even jokes around when he doesn’t feel well. You know he would never stay home unless he was on death’s door.”

  “Heaven forbid. I hope that’s not the case. No, he’s a trooper and he sincerely needs the day to rest and get over this.”

  Donn pushed the newspaper to the side as Dr. Watt and Dr. Burg came in and the two other students followed. Annabel’s eyes fell on Jordan and they both suppressed sneering at each other.

  “Dr. Palmer won’t be here today,” Donn said. “That means that three students, not four, will be picking up admissions. Also, you students can help the residents with the patients Bob was taking care of.” He ambled out the door without another word.

  Along the hallway, Annabel brought up the rear of the pack. Jordan clung to the resident’s coattails, brownnosing Melody as he went, and Stuart followed, his quiet self. She missed her coffee rush and her hand settled around the box of chocolate expresso beans in her pocket. She took them out and wiggled a few into her hand. Feeling a loss, she studied their size and shape. Bob wasn’t next to her and she couldn’t pass them to him. He wasn’t there to show his gratitude with a big, wide smile, a chuckle, and some peppy remark. He didn’t walk alongside her to start morning rounds.

  So far, he was only absent from their day on call for a few minutes and she missed him already.

  -----

  Patty Caye put on her ranger’s hat and opened the door to a misty morning. Curley ran ahead of her, his tail swinging, and picked up speed to chase a squirrel. A film of humidity clung to her face as she walked across the lawn to Jae’s cabin. Since she was on the way to the visitors’ center, she was going to check on how he had fared since yesterday and to find out her partner’s plan for the day.

  She knocked on the wooden door and resigned herself to watching Curley. He had apparently given up on chasing a squirrel because he trotted her way with a chipmunk hanging from his mouth. She hated starting the day by seeing that. Or any day, she thought. It was the dog’s moral shortcoming which she hated but, of course, the dog didn’t know any better. Curley was following his DNA hunting instinct and now she was stuck with lamenting over the poor little lifeless chipmunk.

  Patty turned back around and tapped her foot. She rapped on the door again to no avail, so she slid her cell phone out and dialed Jae’s number. With no answer, now she didn’t like the situation at all.

  She tried the doorknob and found the door locked, so she stepped to the last window on the porch. After picking up a loose piece of wood on the windowsill, she grabbed the key to the front door and used it to go inside.

  Since the curtains were drawn tight, she flipped on the light switch by the door. Jae was positioned on the coach, facing the back end, and slowly rose his hand to cover his eyes. A bucket sat on the floor and she gagged at the sight and smell of the vomit at the bottom.

  “Jae, it’s Patty. Come on, let me take a look at you.” She crouched over and put her hand on his shoulder, coaxing him to get up.

  “No sun,” he mumbled, cowering behind his hand.

  “The overhead light is on.”

  As she made progress getting him into a sitting position, he stiffened his posture and grabbed behind his head. “My neck is stiff as a board.”

  He managed to look at her. “Who are you?”

  -----

  Patty was so shook up that, at first, her training with medical situations failed to surface. Jae needed medical care and she debated whether to drive him to the hospital herself or to call EMS. She needed to go with him no matter what, to provide information, and she also realized that his illness was a continuation of what he had visited the ER for days ago. Had they missed something? Why was he not progressing along the normal flu timeline for getting better?

  At present, there was no life threatening emergency, so she thought it made more sense to transport him herself.

  “Come
on, Jae. Lean on me to the car because I’m driving you to the hospital.”

  After settling him in the front seat of her patrol car, she unlocked the door to the visitors’ center so the volunteers and part-time ranger would have access after she left, and she put out a bowl of water for Curley.

  -----

  In Annabel’s opinion, rounds were dismal. It felt like a negative force field existed between her and Jordan; the air around them was saturated with bad vibes. Stuart added no enthusiasm like usual. He was always off in his own mind, she thought, like his photographic mind was turning the pages from an internal medicine textbook.

  Donn wasn’t much better. He deviated between talking about current events to patient care, depending on what area of the hallway they stood, and the two residents talked among themselves like they were planning a party. Except for her, they all acted like Bob’s absence was a normal occurrence.

  After rounds, she hunted down lab work, wrote progress notes on patients, and then finally sneaked away to the ICU for a real cup of coffee. It made a mockery of the previous cup from the cafeteria and she sipped with pleasure as RNs came in and out of the kitchenette.

  A sip of the brew slid down her throat when her phone dinged with a text from Donn.

  You’re up first. Come to the ER for the first admission.

  Annabel thanked the last nurse in the room for letting her steal their coffee and left. Outside the automatic doors of the ER, she chugged down the last sip, pushed the Styrofoam cup into the waste container, and revved up her eagerness for a new patient.

  Dr. Schott and Dr. Burg’s heads were clumped near each other at the end of the desk like they were in collusion over a plan. Annabel parked herself next to them as Donn shook his head.

  “We all make mistakes,” he said. “We over-diagnose certain situations and sometimes we underdiagnose. Hindsight is easy, but I wish the ER doctor had chosen the more cautious approach and admitted him overnight when he showed up for help. After all, they hydrated him late into the evening and could have called us for a consult. It would have been no sweat to finish his fluids on the medicine floor overnight and then reevaluate him in the morning.”