Stern Desire Love Redeemed

by Leah Shay

After losing their unsafe dilapidated dance studio, these children were dancing in an open lot. This was their after school activity an escape from the harsh life of the inner city - the drugs, gangs, and violence. The Robert Greene Foundation was started and funding to purchase and remodel the dilapidated building came from some very willing family members, friends, local businesses, and coworkers.

  I was very proud of these kids they have gone on to win several competitions. Dancing is a release, an escape and a healing tool for me and I understand it is also true for these kids. They live to dance and they are good at it. Not only did dancing rescued them from the street, but dancing fosters discipline, encourage teamwork, give them a sense of achievement, and belonging.

  My heart raced as I scrolled down and there were pictures of Jared and a very attractive girl. Her name was Ella Knight: tall, beautiful, brunette and a model. There were a few pictures of them together, and a couple with them smiling; his smile never reached his eyes, but she looked immensely happy, always clinging onto him.

  So, he did have a girlfriend. That was good to know. Where was she? Why wasn't she at his bedside holding his hand? What was his game?

  Chapter Three

  As usual, Nate woke me up right on time. Aunt Maggie made us garlic salmon, baked potatoes, and vegetables for dinner. We ate together. I got dressed, and left to go to work. As I drove through the iron gate of my community, I caught sight of my hands on the steering wheel. I had forgotten to put my ring on. I should go back; it would only take a few minutes, and I would still be early. I had never left this early for work. I was always rushing to clock in by seven PM. I wanted to turn back for the ring, but the urgency to get to work was much stronger. So, I drove on. Jared's face — those tantalizing, mesmerizing, gorgeous eyes — beckoning me forward.

  I got to work half an hour early. At the hospital entrance, I noticed several television vans with their antennas stretched sky high. Something big was happening. I would probably hear about it later.

  I could not believe I had forgotten my ring. Usually, I took it off, cleaned it, and put it back on. Now, after meeting this angel, I felt as though he had a controlling power over me that made me feel and do things that I would not normally do. I walked into the hospital feeling like a teenager going to meet her boyfriend: all anxious, excited, and deliriously happy. What was I doing? And why was I acting like this? What were the chances that he was really interested in me? Maybe it was a game for him. He was way out of my league, and if this ended badly I was going to be right back into that dark hole, buried even deeper. I was absorbed in my thoughts when I heard my name being called. I looked around: it was Jenn, standing by the emergency room entrance. I waved and continued to the employee entrance. I did not want to be seen here; she would notice that I was not wearing the ring and make a big deal out of it.

  "Kyra," she called again. "I'll come up later."

  "Later," I called back.

  I hoped she would be so busy tonight she would not find the time to come up.

  I heard the voice of Amanda, my nurse manager, before I saw her on the unit. I wondered what she was still doing here. She was hardly ever here this time of the evening.

  "Kyra, I hope you got a good sleep." She took my hand like I was a child. "Come, let's go to my office."

  "Am I in trouble?"

  She smiled and closed her office door behind us. "You know, you are one of the best nurses on this unit. I have never gotten a complaint about you from anyone, patient or coworker. Everyone loves you. Your coworkers think of you highly, you are a hard worker, and you never complain about anything."

  "Amanda, am I getting a promotion or a raise?" I interrupted.

  I knew where this was going. Her praises were always followed by requests for a favor. If Amanda was here at this time of the evening, obviously waiting to speak to me, something was definitely wrong.

  "I need a favor," she finally admitted.

  "Another one?"

  She smiled.

  "Please, Kyra, I need you to work with me on the new schedule."

  "What new schedule?"

  "First, those are for you." She pointed to her windowsill. I turned to see an elegant silver vase containing some stunning yellow and orange orchids with intricately woven red veins and bright red lips. The vibrant hues were amazing and reminded me of Mark's vibrant, multi-faceted, hazel eyes.

  "From whom?" I asked, pretending not to know who they were from.

  "Mr. Mark Stone."

  "Wow, they are beautiful," I said with just a little excitement in my voice.

  "I'm not sure if you saw the news vans at the entrance of the hospital. Our VIP, Mr. Stone, seems to be very newsworthy, and that entire media circus is for him. So, we changed his name today again to Phillip Jacobs. Security has a list of his visitors, who should know the security code. Security will call you or him when he has a visitor, and they will escort visitors up to the room."

  "Okay."

  "Also, for his safety, we would like for him to have the same staff members throughout his treatment."

  She leaned back in her chair and paused.

  "Kyra, I wish I did not have to ask you this, but can you pick up an extra day Mondays through Thursdays?"

  "I'm sorry, but you know how busy I am with work, school, and clinical."

  "You made me feel so proud this morning when I did rounds on our VIP. He had nothing but good things to say about you and the hospital. Then my boss, the chief nursing officer, and the chief executive officer, visited him; they were all very impressed."

  She leaned forward in her chair. "Kyra, he is requesting that you be his nurse."

  "No, Amanda, you can't do this to me." I shook my head.

  "Please, Kyra. He thinks very highly of you, and he wants you to be his nurse."

  "So, you want me to work Mondays through Thursdays, for how long?"

  "About two weeks."

  I was having a hard time already fitting all the things I had to do in a week, and now I needed to work an additional night. Luckily I did my clinical hours at Dr. Sanchez's practice. He was Jenn's fiancé, so I could work around my clinical hours.

  "Okay, but only for two weeks, and there's going to come a time when I'm going to need a big favor."

  "And when that time comes, I'll be happy to grant it." She looked relieved. "Jasmine will do the rest of the week, and if you guys need to switch days around please feel free to do so."

  "Also, my evaluation is coming up, and I need my six percent raise. This new three percent is not going to do it." I stared her in the eye.

  "Six percent and that's only between us." Amanda agreed.

  "Thank you."

  Next to the orchids was a sealed envelope with my name. I picked it up and placed it in my back pocket. "Get home safely," I said.

  "Thank you, Kyra," she said sweetly.

  Sophia was tied up with another patient, so I went to see Mark Stone. I entered the sitting area and a man who looked like a bodyguard glanced up from his newspaper. He placed the paper on the chair next to him and stood up. He looked like a wrestler, well-built and tough.

  "Change of shift?" he asked.

  "Yes," I said, a bit uncertain, wondering if he was going to frisk me before I entered. "I'm Kyra. I'll be the nurse tonight." I showed him my badge.

  "Go on in, ma'am."

  "Thank you." Glad that he did not frisk me, and upset that I had to be screened to see my patient, I took a deep breath to calm myself, knocked, and entered the room. A delicately balanced scent of lemon, cedar, and lavender floated up my nose. Whoa, it smells good in here.

  "Hi, Kyra, nice to see you. Are you all right?" Mark asked, concerned.

  "Why would you ask that?"

  "You don't hide your feelings very well, Kyra."

  "I'm fine. How was your day?"

  "It has gotten much better now," he answered. I noticed his eyes shifted to my left hand.

  He was sitting up in bed in a tight white t-shirt and some white
basketball shorts. I could see every ripped muscle on his chest and arms. No more hospital gown, even though he could make them the latest fashion craze. The hospital pillows were gone, except the ones elevating his left leg. He had his own pillows and a plush, comfy bedspread. He smiled, his eyes twinkling. I was drawn closer to his bedside; the green in his eyes was more vibrant than ever.

  "Are you in any pain?" I asked, hoping he would not ask about my ring less hand.

  "Sophia medicated me twice today. When she cleaned the pin sites, that solution stung like hell." The sparkle from his eyes disappeared as he remembered the pin site care.

  "I'll medicate you before I do the dressing."

  There was a knock at the door and Gabby, his beautiful, bubbly sister, stuck her head in.

  "Hi, Kyra," she said. "Just checking on my brother."

  She had a mischievous look on her face.

  "I'm fine," Mark said, sounding annoyed at his sister's interference.

  "Haganos saber si podemos volver," Gabby said.

  Let us know when we can come back.

  She gave him a wink and her head disappeared out the door. The door closed. I smiled to myself. He kicked them out at the change of shift when he knew I was coming.

  "So, what are we calling you today? Is it Mark or Phillip?"

  "Jay."

  "Pardon me?"

  "My name is Jared Stern, but my friends call me Jay." He paused; our eyes met. "You can call me Jay."

  "Well, Jay sounds like a great nickname for your friends to use, but I don't know you that well so I'm going to stick with Jared," I said. He looked away because I couldn't. If only he knew the things he could make me do by looking at me the right way. His eyes shifted to my left hand again.

  "Is there something you would like to ask me?" I turned to write the names on the board of everyone who would be taking care of him tonight.

  "Am I allowed to?"

  "Please go ahead. This might be your only chance."

  "I noticed you are not wearing your ring."

  "You are very observant, Mr. Stern." I turned around. I was not prepared to spill it all. I took a quick glance at him. He was waiting for an explanation, but I said nothing.

  "You are an enigma, Nurse Kyra."

  "Mr. Stern, you made an observation which does not necessarily warrant an answer. You should have asked me a question."

  "You're right." He chuckled. "Can I get a do-over?"

  "You had only one chance. No do-overs."

  He gave me that sad, boyish look. "I trusted you enough to tell you my name."

  "I took it off to clean it when I got home, and forgot to put it back on."

  "Have you ever played the game 'Truth or Dare'"?

  "I have."

  "Well, we should play. Here are the rules," he said. "One truth or dare per day, so use it wisely. There is a twist to our game, though. The question is asked first. You have the choice to reply with truth or dare, and then you have twelve hours to carry out the dare."

  "I prefer not to play games."

  "Why not?" he enquired.

  "Fine," I conceded.

  "We start tonight."

  "You used up your question already."

  "That was before the game arrangement; furthermore, I did not get an answer."

  "I have to go. Call if you need me."

  "Did you get your orchids?" he asked as I turned to leave.

  "Thank you, they are beautiful. I got distracted when I came in and totally forgot."

  His eyebrows raised. "Distracted, by what?"

  "They are exquisite. Thank you very much."

  "Did you read the card?"

  "No, not yet."

  "It's tucked in your back pocket." He pointed at me.

  My hand instantaneously went to my back pocket. I forgot I put it there.

  "Orchids are the most delicate, beautiful, exotic flowers. They symbolize beauty, affection, elegance and perfection. I think orchids are your flowers. They are a perfect symbol of you."

  There was a knock at the door. Thank God. It was getting too hot in here for me. I needed to escape. "I'll get that."

  I opened the door, and of all people it was Jenn standing there.

  "What are you doing here?" I asked Jenn.

  "Who is it, Kyra?" Jared asked.

  I stood back and gestured for her to come in.

  "Jenn," Jared said, like he had known her forever. "Come on in. You two know each other?"

  "Unfortunately," Jenn answered jokingly. "She is my best friend."

  She placed her arm across my shoulders.

  "I came to see how you are doing, and also to thank you for that lovely bouquet."

  "You guys have been exceptional. I am very happy with the care I've received, and the nurses are simply the best."

  "We try our best."

  "So, Jenn, how did you guys meet?"

  I was about to panic. Jenn looked at me and gave me her I've got you look. "It's a long story and I have to get back to the ER."

  "Jenn, I'm looking forward to seeing you again. Please stop by anytime," Jared said.

  "I will."

  "I felt like I walked in on something," Jenn said as we walked down the hall.

  "No, you didn't."

  "What is going on?"

  "Just drop it."

  "You are going to tell me everything." She reached into her pocket, took out her iPhone, touched a few keys, and handed it to me. On the screen was a huge bouquet of flowers.

  "They are beautiful, Jenn," I said.

  "These are those beautiful fake flowers that you could not tell if they were real or not...they felt real, even smelt like real flowers."

  "I remember we looked at them in that store, and they were very expensive. A bouquet like that would cost hundreds of dollars."

  She nodded with a big smile on her face. "What did you get?"

  "Orchids."

  "I'm sure they are beautiful," she said, as she placed her phone back in her pocket. "Kyra, I think he likes you." Jenn gave me a hug and whispered into my ear, "Where is your ring?"

  Nothing escaped her.

  "I'm coming up for lunch. Tell me about it later." She was gone.

  I did rounds on all the patients, making sure everyone was comfortable and happy, and with those who were not, I did damage control. My phone rang. It was a nurse from another floor asking for help. She had a patient who had a wound vacuum, and they were having difficulties getting it to function properly. I asked Marie to cover for me while I went to Three South to help fix the dressing. I had just gotten to Three South when my phone rang. It was from Room 825.

  "Mr. Stern, how can I help you?" I asked.

  "What's with the formality?

  "I'm off the floor right now."

  "Kyra, when you find time, can I please have some pain medicine?"

  "I'll have someone come in and medicate you."

  "I'll wait." Then, in a very low sexy voice, he said, "I only want you to medicate me."

  The phone almost fell from my hand.

  "Jared, there is no need for you to suffer in pain."

  "Kyra, I'll wait, and please don't send anyone else." Click. He hung up.

  The dressing was in a very intricate position on a large woman. It took three nurses to fix this dressing: one holding the leg, one holding up the belly, and me getting up under there to fix the dressing. Fifteen minutes later, there was no leak anymore. I felt so dirty and tired, like I had done twelve hours already. I hurried back to my floor, so that I could medicate Jared.

  The wrestler bodyguard was still in the sitting area. He looked up from his phone and nodded. I knocked on the bedroom door and entered. Jared looked very uncomfortable; he was in pain.

  "Jared, why did you let yourself suffer unnecessarily?" I asked as I injected the med into his intravenous line.

  "Are you mad at me?"

  "Yes, I am."

  "I'll suffer in pain if that's what it takes to see you again."

  I ig
nored that comment. "Do you want me to do the pin site care now?"

  "It was done once today already."

  "It's ordered for two times per day. I'm sure you want to get better and get back to your life."

  I prepared the supplies and removed the old sponges from the pins when the questions started.

  "Kyra, how long have you been a nurse?"

  "Five years."

  I was concerned about the look of a pin site. It looked inflamed, and he winced and swore under his breath when I applied the new sponge with the disinfecting solution.

  "I'm sorry," he apologized. "That really stings."

  "That pin site is a bit inflamed."

  "What made you become a nurse?"

  "My friend Jenn was instrumental in my decision."

  "So, Jenn was the reason. She must have made quite an impression."

  "We met under difficult circumstances. She was a total stranger to me at the time, but she really helped me through everything with her compassion and generosity. She went above and beyond to help me and my son."

  "You have a son?" he asked, surprised.

  "Yes, his name is Nathan, and he is ten years old."

  "You have a ten-year-old son? I'm sorry, but how old are you?"

  "Take a guess." This was not a strange question for me. I got asked my age a great deal, and I liked to have them guessing. A patient of mine told me once that I looked like I should still be in high school.

  "You don't look a day over eighteen."

  I smiled.

  "I had a patient last week who refused to let me put a Foley catheter in him because I look younger than his daughter, and she was eighteen."

  "So, are you going to tell me, or should I keep guessing?"

  "I'm thirty."

  "Wow."

  "People think my mom is my sister. I hope I look as good as she does when I get to her age."

  "I have no doubt you will."

  He stared at me. I busied myself, but the compulsion to look at him overcame me. I looked up and he was staring at me. His eyes tugged at my heart.

  "It's very impolite to stare," I said, and quickly looked away.

  "I could have said the same to you on several occasions," he replied.

  I smiled.

  "Did you read your card?"

  "No, not yet. I've been busy."

  I finished his pin care and cleaned up.