by Holly Rayner
I shook my head. “Not at all.”
How could I? I’d researched him plenty.
“Well, that’s good news. Because I have a question for you, and I’d really like you to consider it.”
This was it. He was going to ask me out. That’s what the entire evening had been leading to: Dr. Spencer Hunt was going to ask me out on an official date, and I was definitely going to say yes.
“I’d like for you to come work for me at my clinic. As you already know, it’s a private practice. Your hours would be more regular, giving you the ability to be with your brother more often, if you’d like. It’s also just a great job at a great place with fair pay.”
“This isn’t charity, is it? Because I’m doing fine. I know I alluded to money problems and told you about my brother, but I wasn’t looking for pity.”
He waved both hands to stop me. “This isn’t charity. Like I said, I looked into your employment history. You have brilliant reviews from your managers and patients, and I have an eye witness who assured me that you are amazing with kids.”
“Who?” I asked.
Spencer smiled. “Jamie. He told me how kind you were and how safe you made him feel. Someone like you would be a huge asset to my practice.”
As I sat and soaked in Spencer’s offer, I couldn’t decide whether I was elated or disappointed. I’d been certain he was going to ask me on a date. But this was better, right? Not only would my hours be more regular, but I would be so much closer to my dream of becoming a children’s doctor. I’d learn so much from one of the best pediatric surgeons in the world. Plus, as much as I wanted to deny it, the thought of spending more time with Spencer sounded nice.
“You don’t have to answer right now,” he said. “But if you could give me an answer by—”
“I’ll take it,” I said, interrupting him.
His eyes widened. “You will?”
I nodded. “It sounds like an incredible opportunity, and I’d be a fool not to take it. So, yes. I accept.”
He clapped his hands together and then leaned back into his seat, arms crossed over his chest. He looked immensely pleased, like a man who had just solved a difficult puzzle.
“Welcome to the team, Jess Richards.”
I tried to wrap my head around the strange turn the evening had taken, but quickly gave up. It would be a while before the reality sunk in.
“Happy to be on board, Spencer Hunt.”
Chapter 7
The hardest part of handing in my two weeks’ notice was telling Ciara. Though we’d been friends since my first day on the job—she gave me my tour of the building and taught me where on the floor to go for ten minutes of peace and quiet away from the head nurse—I hadn’t realized how close we had really become.
Since we both worked so much, it was hard to hang out together outside of work. So, I had always imagined Ciara was a work friend. That person you saw at work and hung out with because of close proximity, but not someone you would choose to spend your free time with. Except, when I saw the glimmer in her eyes when I told her I’d be leaving and felt the welling in my own, I realized I’d been wrong. Ciara was a friend. A real friend.
“I knew there had to be something more to the meeting. Rich men don’t just take time out of their schedules to say thank you,” she said.
Greg had said something similar. Apparently, I was the only person who hadn’t expected the meeting to be anything more than a courtesy.
“He thinks I would be great with the kids in his practice, and it would give me a lot of practical experience that I could only dream of here.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me,” she said, wrinkling her nose and sniffling. “I completely understand. I’d do the same thing if I were you. It’s a great opportunity, babes.”
“Yeah…” I said, my voice trailing off. I couldn’t wait to get started working with Spencer—I supposed I should start calling him Dr. Hunt again. But still, I wished I could take Ciara with me. “It’ll be weird to work with new nurses.”
“The first few weeks are always weird, getting accustomed to a new flow. But you’ll pick it up in no time. You had things around here down in a matter of days.”
I laughed, remembering my first few days on the job. “Remember when I got confused on my rounds and ended up following Ashley around for three hours before I realized? She’d go into a room and then I’d pop in fifteen minutes later to do the same things. All her patients were so confused about why they were seeing so many nurses, and my patients thought I’d forgotten about them.”
“Because you basically had,” Ciara said laughing. Her giggles trailed off to a faint smile. “I’ll miss you around here.”
I pulled her into a hug. “I’ll miss you, too. Thanks for everything.”
The next hardest part of leaving was saying goodbye to the patients. Or, the regular patients, at least. A lot of the kids were only there for a few days, but Alice and her mom had been in and out of the hospital since she was a baby. They always requested me to be their nurse when I was on duty, and it worked out, because I always requested to take care of Alice. The idea of not seeing her anymore broke my heart.
“You’re leaving?” Sarah asked, placing a steadying hand on Alice’s shoulder, trying to preemptively calm any emotional outburst that might come.
I nodded. “I’m taking a new position at a private practice. I’ll still be working with kids, but I won’t be here at the hospital anymore.”
“Who will be my nurse?” Alice asked, eyes wide.
“Ciara will still be here,” I said, desperate to reassure her.
She puckered her lips. “Yeah, I guess.”
“I’ll try to stop in and see you,” I said. The promise was the definition of bittersweet, relying on Alice being readmitted to the hospital before I could see her again.
She shrugged and then nodded, her red braids bobbing against her collarbones. “Okay. That would be nice.”
I pulled her into a hug, thinking that the difficulty of this moment would be forgotten when the doctor came to see her in half an hour. Alice was going home. She would make it to her best friend’s birthday party. She’d get to see Stacey Play in concert, and for a few hours, she’d get to forget about cystic fibrosis and focus on being a kid.
Alice smiled and waved as I left, and I knew it would be the last time that I saw her for a while. I walked immediately to the place Ciara had shown me on my first day in the pediatric unit. It was an unused maintenance closet beneath the back stairwell. I closed the door behind me, leaned against the cinder block wall, and cried.
Greg, on the other hand, was ecstatic about the move. He kept making plans for all of the things we would do together now that I would have most evenings free.
“We can go go-karting. Or paintball. Laser tag!”
I nodded. “Yeah, great.”
“Don’t get too excited, Jess. I’d hate for you to pull a muscle trying to smile or something.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m just beginning to wonder whether I made the right decision.”
He paused his game, dropped the controller in his lap, and stared at me. “What are you talking about?”
“My job, obviously,” I said.
“I know that. But why would you be having second thoughts? Dr. Sexy is the best surgeon around, right?”
“One of the leading pediatric surgeons in the world,” I said with a nod.
“And this job pays better and has normal working hours, right?”
I nodded again.
“And you hope to one day be a pediatrician, do you not?”
“You know I do,” I said, sighing.
“Then, what’s the problem?”
I didn’t know how to explain it in a way that made any sense. I knew that my decision made sense on paper, but as much as I wanted to claim ignorance, I also couldn’t ignore the part of my brain that wished I’d turned Spencer down, just so I could have asked him out on a second date. Or a first date, re
ally. The dinner didn’t count as a date. It was a business dinner, nothing more.
I sighed. “I’ll miss my friends and my regular patients.”
“You’ll make new friends and have new patients,” he said. “You’re just scared of change, but this will be a good thing for you. I know it.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, willing myself to believe it.
My two weeks at the hospital ended with a surprise brunch in the nurse’s lounge. Ciara had made banana muffins and Ashley had made virgin mimosas. I cried when I told them goodbye and Mr. Antione even showed up before I clocked out to thank me for my great work at the hospital.
Then, I changed out of my scrubs, dropped my ID badge off at the nurse’s station, and walked through the double doors as an employee of the hospital for the last time.
I was on to bigger and better things. I hoped.
Chapter 8
My alarm went off at six a.m. on my first day, and Greg and I ate breakfast together.
“It’s weird that we’re getting ready for the day at the same time,” he said.
“Agreed. It feels like we actually live together properly.”
“Well, get used to it,” he said. “This is the first day of your new life.”
The declaration felt a little melodramatic, but as I walked across the parking lot towards the pediatric surgery center, I felt like I was walking into my future.
The building was concrete and steel and glass like most modern buildings, but unlike most modern architecture, there was a warmth beneath it all. The lush landscaping was a welcome spot of green, and bits of whimsy had been woven into the building’s design. Organic shapes were carved into the concrete, curlicues of metal made the door handles, and cute gnomes making faces were scattered throughout the garden. I could imagine children walking up to the building, terrified about their surgeries, only to be distracted by the little secrets hidden along the way.
As soon as I stepped inside, a woman behind the front desk stood up and came around the front. She wore crisp gray pants, a white button-down, and her black hair was pulled back into a low bun.
“You must be Ms. Richards. I’m Alexandria. I’m the receptionist, but I also have my hand in everything around here. I’m the practice’s secret scheduling weapon.”
I smiled, liking her immediately. “It’s great to meet you.”
She nodded and then waved me through a glass door to the left. “This way.”
The room just beyond the door opened in a huge circle, explaining the circular footprint of the building from the outside. Doors were set into the wall every few feet. In the center was a large circular desk, inside of which doctors and nurses flitted around.
“The circular room provides transparency for the patients and the employees,” Alexandria explained. “And the skylight offers natural daylight as an alternative to only fluorescents, which increases productivity and general wellbeing. Dr. Hunt asked the architects to design a building that would create the best working and recovery environment, and if you ask me, it was a success.”
The room felt hectic, but warm. Cozy, almost.
I met the rest of the staff within the next five minutes, remembering no one’s name. I smiled, hoping I didn’t look too frazzled, and reminded myself that I would learn everyone’s names eventually.
“And this is the chief nurse, Brittany Solveson,” Alexandria said. “I’ll go ahead and leave you in her capable hands. Welcome aboard, Jess.”
I thanked Alexandria, slightly reluctant to see her leave so soon. I didn’t feel prepared to be on my own, and in the short time we’d been walking around together, Alexandria had become a friendly, familiar face, which was a comfort I needed. But I turned back to the chief nurse with a smile, my shoulders straight.
I held out my hand. “Brittany, right?”
The imposing woman nodded. She was at least an entire head taller than I was, with platinum blond hair that was pulled back in a thick ponytail. She looked like Nurse Barbie, except instead of the painted-on smile, she wore a slight frown. “Jess, right?”
I smiled and nodded, trying to maintain eye contact and not look at the pastel blue laminate floor the way I desperately wanted to.
“I hear you were recruited by Dr. Hunt personally?” she said.
I wasn’t sure exactly how much Spencer had told his employees about our meeting and how much I was supposed to share. “Yes, he did.”
Her eyes narrowed for a second and then, quite suddenly, her frown cracked into a wide smile.
“Well, that’s great. We’re so happy to have you on board.”
“We certainly are.”
I turned at the sound of the familiar voice. Spencer was coming out of one of the rooms, a clipboard clutched to his chest.
“How are you doing, Jess?” he asked. “Nervous?”
“A little,” I admitted.
“Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you, here. Won’t we, everyone?”
Everyone nearby nodded, including Brittany, who couldn’t seem to take her eyes from Dr. Hunt for more than a few seconds at a time.
“You’re in for a treat today, because I have a few interesting cases going at the moment, and I’d love for you to consult with me on them,” he said, dropping the clipboard he was holding onto the desktop and picking up the one a nurse behind the desk slid to him.
“Wow. Okay, that sounds great.”
I’d assumed I would be doing mostly desk work for the first few days, or weeks, even. So, I was thrilled at the idea of jumping right in.
“I’d be happy to come along and help her learn the ropes,” Brittany said, moving next to me, her elbow accidentally bumping into my arm.
Without looking up, Spencer shook his head. “No, that’s okay. I can take care of Ms. Richards.” Then, he turned to me. “Are you ready?”
“Absolutely.”
I gave Brittany one last smile before following Dr. Hunt into the room directly to my left. The smile she’d had on her face a moment before was gone, and then, she spun around in a whoosh of blond ponytail.
The room was painted a bright blue and colorful tropical fish covered the walls. It felt like stepping into a cartoon ocean. A little boy no older than eight was sitting up in bed. He smiled when we walked in, but I could tell it took effort. He looked pale and thin.
“How are you feeling today, Alan? Any better?” Spencer asked.
Alan teetered his hand back and forth and shrugged.
His mother, sitting nearby, sighed. “He couldn’t sleep last night because he was so sore. The pain medication helps a bit, but not much. Do you have any idea what could be going on just yet?”
“We are narrowing down the options,” Dr. Hunt said. Then, he touched my shoulder and pulled me forward. “This is Nurse Jess. She’s new here. Do you mind if I fill her in on some of your symptoms, Alan?”
The little boy shook his head and Dr. Hunt started.
“Alan has had lower back pain for the last four months. Recently, his joints have begun to stiffen, especially first thing in the morning. He has a hard time getting quality sleep because of the pain. Anti-inflammatories help, but don’t fully alleviate the pain. His blood work has come back normal and his vitals are good. Aside from the pain, young Alan here is healthy as a horse.” He winked at Alan. “He’s also a football player. Wide receiver, right?”
“Best on the team,” Alan said proudly. “I’m also a defender for the youth soccer league.”
“So, as you can see, Ms. Richards,” Spencer said. “It’s imperative that we discover what is causing Alan’s pain, so that he can get back to tearing up the field in both the football and soccer season.”
Even though he’d said Alan’s vitals were fine, we checked them once more before saying goodbye and leaving the room. When we got to the nurse’s station, Spencer’s smile faded.
“His symptoms are synonymous with some kind of arthritis, but I just don’t know.”
“He’s so young,” I said. �
�Even early-onset arthritis doesn’t usually happen until the patient is in their twenties.”
“Exactly.” He twisted his mouth to one side in thought.
“Maybe it could be an autoimmune disorder?” I asked. “I’ve seen patients with similar symptoms end up being diagnosed with one.”
“I had the same thought,” Spencer said. “I’ll have to do some more research and get back to it. For now, we are going to up his pain medication, so he can get some sleep.”
“Do you want me to put in the order for Naproxen?” I asked.
He looked up at me, seemingly surprised, but then wiped the expression from his face and nodded. “Yes, that would be great.”
“160 milligrams?”
He smiled. “Yes, perfect. To be administered every twelve hours.”
I left the order with the nurse behind the desk and then followed Dr. Hunt into the next room. The patient was a young girl who was having dizzy spells. She had passed out in school a week before and hadn’t been able to do much other than lie in bed since then. Spencer ran tests on her, having her walk in a straight line and bend over and then straighten back up, all the while talking to her about her favorite cartoon. He told her it was one of his son’s favorite shows, too, and even broke out in the theme song at one point, making the little girl laugh.
I’d seen a lot of doctors during my career who couldn’t relate to children. They wanted to do their best by every patient, but they didn’t have it in them to connect with the kids. Even just a few minutes in a room with Spencer, and it became obvious that he loved his patients and was beloved in return. He was gentle and kind and funny, all without pandering to them. As soon as he walked through the door, he put on a smile, regardless of what had just happened in the room before. He didn’t carry the stress with him, which was an incredibly difficult thing to do as a doctor.