Twenty-Four Days

by Janet Albert

  Jamie laughed quietly. "All right, knock it off. You of all people should appreciate how I can't afford to let myself go. People need to believe in some sort of ideal and I have to be that ideal. I have to set an example. They need to trust what I say and be able to believe they can look the way I do if they work hard enough."

  Alicia stared at her for an extended moment before she said, "I understand what you're saying, but believing they could look like you would really require a major leap of faith."

  Jamie made a face. "You know what I mean."

  "I do, and when you're right, you're right. Salad it is. Far be it from me to argue with such sound logic."

  "I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking." Jamie scanned the gym one last time. "All the equipment's inspected and ready. Tomorrow we'll do a final check to see if we have everything done and then we'll have a little free time before the passengers put the fun back into this floating steel hotel."

  "By the way, I heard we're getting a new doctor. I'm sure he'll be coming around to check on us and give us another training session on how to use that damn defibrillator thing. The thought of sending an electrical current through a person's heart gives me the willies. It sounds like something out of a horror movie."

  "I agree." Jamie's look of disgust confirmed just how much. "I hope we never have to use it and I hope this new doctor's a whole lot nicer than the last guy we had. He was a jerk. What is it about some doctors?"

  "I don't know. I'm sure glad I never had to go see him for anything." Alicia closed her eyes and shook her head rapidly as if shaking off a sudden chill. "Well, let's get going so we can get on with the fun part of our day. Why don't we go to the pool after we eat and veg out in the sun for a while?"

  "Sure, that would be great. I'm looking forward to relaxing."

  "I'm going to the staff party later tonight. Wanna come?"

  "Why not? I'm not going to drink much or stay up too late, though. I don't want to be tired tomorrow. We still have a lot more work to do."

  Alicia nodded. "Where do you want to start our workout?"

  "How about doing a half-hour of aerobics first and then maybe a half-hour of strength training? We don't have to kill ourselves, not today."

  "Absolutely not. I think I'll start on the treadmill."

  "Me too." Jamie followed Alicia and stepped onto the treadmill next to hers. "It's an absolutely gorgeous day, isn't it? Look at the color of that sky."

  "It certainly is. Makes you feel good to be alive, doesn't it?"

  "Aren't you going home soon, for a break?" Jamie asked.

  "Yes, after these next two cruises. I didn't tell you this, yet, but when I get home, I'm going to talk to my family about staying on the ships for another year, maybe longer."

  "I think you should. You're young and it's good money and..."

  "And it's fun, don't forget that," Alicia interrupted. "I get to see some of the most beautiful places in the world and sunbathe on the world's greatest beaches. I'll never have another chance like this again."

  "Exactly. You have plenty of time to settle down later." Jamie wiped a fine layer of sweat from her brow.

  "That's what I told my parents when I took this job, but you know how parents can be. They think I'm on a perpetual vacation. They don't understand how hard we work. Yeah, we have fun and all, but while we're on board it's work, work, work."

  "You're right about that, sweetie." Jamie sighed. "Work, work, work."

  "What about you, Jamie? How long are you planning on doing this?"

  "That depends. Right now my future is up in the air." Jamie's future was more like an uprooted tree swept away by hurricane force winds. In fact, she didn't even have a place to live back in the states. Her things could fit in a car if she had one, which she didn't.

  "So who needs a future? We should live for the moment anyway."

  "Yeah, for now let's just get through today."

  Chapter Three

  "CAN I HELP you?" The question floated down from a young woman balanced on the top rung of a folding ladder, busily arranging boxes of sterile gauze pads and medical supplies on the shelves of a metal cabinet.

  "I'm Dr. Ross," Miranda informed her, looking up at the petite blonde. "I'll be filling in for a while until your new doctor gets here." She held her hand up in the air, offering to help the young woman climb down.

  "Hi, Doctor Ross." After wiping the palm of her hand on the side of her jeans, she grasped Miranda's hand to steady herself as she carefully descended. "We were thinking that you might arrive any minute now."

  "I actually got here earlier, but I had to meet with the captain, eat lunch and get my things unpacked. Please call me Miranda. I'm not into being formal with the staff, especially when there aren't any patients around. And you are?"

  "I'm sorry. Excuse my manners or lack of them, I should say. I'm Lynn, one of the nurses." Lynn held her hand out and shook Miranda's. "Pleasure to meet you."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lynn. I'm looking forward to working with you, even if it is only for the next twenty-four days--well, twenty-six if you count today and tomorrow. For the next two cruises, anyway."

  "Same here. The captain told us you'd be covering until our permanent doctor arrives. I guess he got delayed because of some kind of family emergency? His mother had heart surgery or something?"

  "She had a coronary bypass, I believe. My contract was up, but I agreed to cover the ship for him until we reach Barcelona. He should be coming on board then."

  "That was nice of you to do that."

  "Well, it's unusual, but it worked out for me, so here I am." Miranda saw no reason to expand any further. "How long have you been a cruise ship nurse?"

  "Well, let's see..." Lynn concentrated on the ceiling while she scratched her short, spiked blond hair. "It was exactly a year the fifth of last month. I know because I signed another contract. What about you?"

  "It's been two years now." Miranda marveled at how much time had passed since her sister had suggested she become a cruise ship doctor. At the time it struck Miranda as an insane idea straight from the lips of a lunatic and yet, she'd ended up doing it.

  "What are you going to do after this, if you don't mind me asking?"

  "No, I don't mind at all," Miranda replied. "It's nothing exciting though. I'll be going back home and getting on with my life. I know some doctors choose to do this for a living and I can even understand why to some extent, but this is too strange and too lonely a life, even for someone like me."

  "I don't plan on doing this forever, either. You said you'd be going home. Where exactly is your home?"

  "I live in Washington, DC. You've got a familiar accent, Lynn, but I can't quite place it. Where are you from?"

  "Canada. Calgary to be exact."

  "How many ships have you been on so far?"

  "This is my third. I joined the Sea Goddess for her first cruise."

  "Good. I'm not going to be here long so I'll need someone who knows their way around. Have you always been on the lesbian cruises?"

  "No, sadly enough, but they're my favorite." Lynn said.

  "Mine, too. One of the reasons I took the job was because I knew I'd be on the lesbian cruises. I couldn't stand the thoughts of taking care of a hoard of partying heterosexual singles or worse yet, a ship full of couples and their adorable children."

  "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I hate that, too." Blushing slightly, Lynn went onto say, "I like the all women cruises. I've met some interesting people and made a few friends along the way."

  "I prefer to keep to myself. I don't like everyone knowing my personal business and I find that people are far too fascinated by the ship's doctor as it is." Miranda guessed Lynn couldn't be any more than eight years her junior and yet she felt a hundred years older than the young nurse. Somewhere along the way, she'd lost the innocence of youth, the optimism, and the blind trust in others that she'd once possessed. But then, having a lover who breaks your heart and walks out on you would do that.
When Lynn became silent, Miranda asked, "Is the rest of the medical staff on board?"

  "Yeah, they're at lunch but they'll be back any minute. We have a nurse practitioner. Her name is Toni and we have a male nurse named Guy. What do you think of that, huh? A guy named Guy."

  "That's really something." Miranda smiled in spite of herself. Lynn was easy to talk to and quite likable and if she liked the others half as much, she'd have a pleasant month to look forward to. "I was thrilled when the captain told me I'd have a nurse practitioner on board. She'll make my job a lot easier."

  "You'll like Toni. She's terrific." Lynn looked serious as she changed gears and got down to business. "So, do you want me to show you around?"

  "Yes, if you don't mind. Just give me a quick run through, because I'd prefer to explore on my own over the next couple of days. I need to actually see things with my own eyes before they sink in. I'm one of those visual learners."

  "Whatever you want to do, although you don't have to worry about where everything is. We nurses will get you anything you need."

  "I know, but I don't expect to be waited on hand and foot," Miranda told her. "You know, practicing medicine has never been the problem for me anytime I've started a new job. Getting comfortable and getting to know where everything is, now that's the hard part."

  "It's the same for us nurses. Come on, I'll show you the lab first." Lynn led Miranda into a small room. "We're probably the same as the other ships you've been on. We can run basic lab tests, just to treat emergencies and stabilize patients."

  "This looks like the last one I had."

  Next, Lynn took Miranda on a brief tour of the pharmacy and after that, she took her back into the main room of the infirmary. "We have a better set up than the older ships. We have two infirmary beds and one monitored intensive care bed. We also have another portable monitor and a ventilator. We keep our X-ray and EKG machines over there." Lynn pointed to a locked supply room.

  "This is nice," Miranda said. "More modern than the other ships I've been on, better equipped, too." Miranda sat in one of the chairs at a charting area and motioned for Lynn to sit down next to her. "What kind of nursing did you do at home?"

  "After I graduated, I worked on a general medical floor for a couple of years and then I transferred to the Emergency Room for two years."

  "Tell me a little about the others."

  "Toni has loads of ICU experience and every nursing certification you can get. She worked at a trauma center in Los Angeles. Guy used to be an Army medic and then he became a nurse after he left the service. He worked in an ER in Miami. He's single and kind of macho, but he's nice and he has a goofy sense of humor. He says he's cruising to meet chicks."

  "Much like most of the lesbians on board." Miranda laughed.

  Lynn joined in the laughter. "That's true."

  "With the extensive range of experience this team has, we should be able to handle anything that comes our way."

  "That's a big should--one that keeps me up at night," Lynn said.

  "Me too, sometimes."

  "Wait here." Lynn left Miranda sitting there while she went into a small office area. A few minutes later she returned waving a couple of sheets of paper in the air. She handed one of them to Miranda. "Here's a list of where we keep all of the automatic defibrillators on the ship. It's also posted on the bulletin board in the infirmary."

  Miranda stood and briefly scanned the list. "Looks like the usual places--the fitness center, main dining room, promenade deck."

  "Here." Lynn handed Miranda the second sheet of paper. "Here's a list of the places that have their own first aid kits. As you can see there's another code cart in the fitness center identical to the one we have down here."

  "That's great. We won't have to drag one up there."

  "Come on, I'll show you your office," Lynn said, leading the way.

  "This is a nice office." Miranda ran her hand over the top edge of the brand new flat screen computer monitor. She placed the papers Lynn gave her down on the desk. "I'll look these over more carefully, later."

  Lynn pointed to a chart on the wall. "There's a diagram of the entire ship. Shows you where everything is located."

  "Great. Thanks, Lynn."

  "One last thing, Miranda. I want to show you the SeaMed system. I know you've used it on the other ships, but we've got the latest equipment." Lynn took Miranda back into the infirmary. The SeaMed system allowed the ship's medical staff to consult with specialists from a major medical center back in the states. With the click of a button, they would be able to send data and video images through cyberspace and receive advice on how to handle a complex case.

  Miranda took a good look at the new system. "This is a little different than the one I used on the last ship, but I'm sure I'll get the hang of it."

  "You will and we'll help you if you need it. We're connected to..."

  "We're back," a plump brunette with short hair sang out as she and a brawny looking man, burst into the room. "Oops...sorry Lynn." She stopped dead in her tracks. "Didn't know you had company."

  "Hey, glad you're back." Lynn held her hand out toward Miranda. "This is the doctor who's covering until the new one gets here." Lynn launched right into the introductions. "Doctor Ross, this is Toni O'Dell and Guy Ellison." She pointed to each of them as she said their name. "The rest of the nursing staff."

  Toni's friendly demeanor changed rapidly to a more serious one. She stepped closer and shook hands with Miranda. "Nice to meet you Doctor." Then she went over and stood next to Lynn.

  Guy came up to Miranda, took her hand in his and shook it. "Welcome aboard. Nice to have you with us."

  Noticing the side glances between Guy and Toni and the way they had changed so suddenly when Lynn told them who she was, Miranda thought she'd better break the ice and set the tone for the rest of their time together. She didn't blame them for being leery of her. They had no idea what she was like. They were used to working with each other and now she comes on the scene, the instant boss by virtue of her position in the pecking order. She didn't know what the previous doctor had been like and she knew only too well what some doctors could be like. "I want you all to know I have nothing but respect for nurses, especially the ones I've worked with on the ships. I know how hard you all work and I haven't met a single nurse who hasn't been a dedicated and talented professional."

  "Thanks for saying that," Toni said.

  "Yeah, we appreciate it," Guy added.

  "How many patients do you see in a day, on average?" Miranda asked.

  "Around thirty-five to forty," Guy answered.

  "That's about what I'm used to." Miranda hoped that they were beginning to feel more at ease. "Tell you what. Why don't we all have dinner later on this evening? We can talk and get to know each other better."

  "Sounds good," Toni said, looking from Lynn to Guy for confirmation. All three of them nodded their heads enthusiastically.

  "Good," Miranda said. "I don't know about all of you, but I find it hard to function in a tense atmosphere. I admire a strong work ethic, but I don't believe people perform their best under pressure. I'm not talking about the pressure inherent in the job, because we can't do anything about that. I'm talking about unnecessary pressure inflicted on them by someone else." She saw them glance at each other and smile as though they knew exactly what she meant. "I'm easy to get along with and no one has complained about working with me yet, at least not to my face." As they laughed, she saw them visibly relax. "We all know what we have to do, so let's stick together and we'll be just fine."

  Toni breathed an audible sigh of relief. "That sounds good to me."

  "Me too," Guy said, grinning.

  "Me three," Lynn chimed in. "I hope I'm not out of line saying this, but the last doctor we had was very hard to work with. He was ill-tempered and demanding and downright unpleasant. Toni used to say he was proof personified of what can happen when a person's intellect greatly exceeds their emotional development." Lynn looked at Toni. "Hop
e you don't mind me quoting you?"

  "No," Toni reassured her. "I did say it and I'd say it again. In his case both his intellect and his emotional maturity were sorely lacking. It's awful to say that about someone, but it was the truth. When he put in a transfer, we all went out and celebrated."

  "I've worked with all kinds, believe me, and I recognize his type," Miranda said. She smiled at the three of them for a moment and then she said, "You guys decide where you want to eat and we'll all meet back here around six. I like to eat just about everything, so surprise me. Tomorrow morning we'll meet here at nine to go over work schedules and discuss who's doing what and when. Then we'll have the rest of the day to make sure we're set up and ready. Does that sound acceptable to you?"

  "It does," they all said in unison.

  "Don't worry about a thing, Doctor," Toni added. "We know how to handle just about anything that might come our way and we'll be right here to back you up."

  "Yeah, we're all in this together," Guy said. "If you don't mind, Toni and I have some things left to do before we call it a day. We'd better get to it."

  "Sure, don't let me keep you," Miranda said. "I'll see you both later."

  After they left, Miranda turned to Lynn. "I think I'll get my office set up and then go to my cabin for a while. I'd like to finish getting settled in and rest a while before we all go out. I also have to visit the fitness center sometime soon."

  "I think that's where Guy just went. He said he wanted to check their first aid kit and code cart and make sure everything was stocked and ready to go." As she talked, Lynn opened a box of syringes and started putting them away in a drawer.

  "Good, maybe I won't go there until Wednesday morning. I need to see the place and touch base with the person in charge before the cruise starts."

  Lynn stopped replenishing supplies and gave Miranda her undivided attention. "That would be a woman. I don't know her personally, but I've seen her. Wait until you get a load of her. Even if I worked out day and night, seven days a week, I'd never look as fine as that woman does. It's not normal."