by Nancy Naigle
“I can cover that. Plus, it gives you the whole weekend to take care of your aunt and get back home.”
“Right. Yeah. Oh my gosh.” Joy swiped at the tear that slipped down her cheek.
Renee placed her hand on Joy’s arm. “Are you sure you’re okay to drive?”
Joy fumbled for her keys. “Yes. I’ll be fine.”
“Then don’t just stand there. Go. Don’t worry about a thing at the office.” Renee hugged Joy and stepped back, urging her to leave.
Joy walked as fast as she could to the nearest elevator to the executive parking level, then ran all the way to her car with the dress bag billowing over her shoulder.
Chapter Four
Ben stooped to pick up an ornament that had fallen from the Christmas tree in the atrium of Bridgewater Regional Hospital. He’d worked at the hospital for ten years running—ten Christmases—and this had to be the prettiest tree yet.
He flipped the ornament in the air and caught it.
It had taken him three trips to find the perfect Fraser fir that would do the skylighted central court justice. He’d made careful calculations to determine just how tall the tree needed to be so that once it was in the stand with the tree topper, it would just clear the ceiling. All his effort had paid off too. Not an inch to spare. Decorating for the holidays hadn’t been in the budget, but his staff had embraced the opportunity to get creative. Garlands made of plastic patient bracelets laced the branches in a twisting kaleidoscope of color. Recycling at its best. The staff had also volunteered to decorate everything themselves since there was also no budget to hire the team that usually came to do that work. The people in this town lived the holiday spirit every day.
Ben admired the ornament he’d just rescued, its shimmering fabric pinned into place with stacks of sequins in red, white, and green. Each ornament was tagged with the name of a patient, and the shiny length of ribbon on this one read SARA. Ben hung the ornament carefully on a limb near a bright blue twinkle light, hoping Sara would be back home by Christmas Day.
It was tradition at Bridgewater to have ornaments that represented each patient staying in the hospital over the holidays—a tradition his mother had started years ago as a candy striper. When a patient was released, they took their ornament home with them, or moved it out to the community tree located in the grassy area outside the emergency room.
Ben had always hoped that by Christmas Day, the only remaining ornaments on the tree inside would be the shiny red balls. That wasn’t realistic, but it didn’t stop him from believing that maybe one day that would be the case. Because every heart deserved to be filled with hope, no matter what seemed logical. After all, miracles happened at the most unexpected times.
Soft holiday music filled the corridor, and the scent of pine from the fresh boughs of greenery draping the hospital entrance hung in the air, masking the usual aroma of antiseptic and adhesive.
Only one family sat in the waiting area right now. Although it wasn’t good for business, seeing a near empty waiting room had its pluses. Especially this time of year.
Ben shared a smile with the family waiting to be called to complete admission paperwork. He wondered which member of that family would have an ornament on the tree tomorrow. The mom, dad, or one of the children?
His phone rang as he walked down the hall toward his office. “Hello, Mom.”
“Honey, your grandmother just called. Ruby took a fall, she just got out of surgery. If you have time, could you stop in and pay Ruby a little visit while your grandmother is there with her? It would make her day to show you off a little, and I thought maybe you could pull a few strings to make her stay a little more pleasant.”
“Of course.” Ben always had to laugh at how Mom called Bridgewater his hospital. He refrained from asking her what had happened to Ruby, else he’d end up on the phone for a good thirty minutes.
“Thank you, son.”
“It won’t take but a few minutes. No problem.”
“Thanks, Ben. Oh, and I wanted to talk to you about Christmas dinner. I heard from your brothers. Finally. Everyone will be here this year. Kendra and I have an idea. Can I run it past you? Do you have a few minutes?”
“Sorry, Mom, I don’t.” If he hung on the phone with her too long, he’d have to mention that they might have to drop out of the Extreme Gingerbread Bake-off this year. He’d rather find a replacement for Ashley than disappoint Mom. Either way, it was better to have that conversation in person. “Tell Kendra to hang around. I’ll stop by the shop and catch up after work. Does that work for you?”
“Yes. It can wait. But don’t forget to stop in on Ruby.”
“Got it. I’ll talk to you later.” He pushed his phone into his pocket, turned, and headed for the elevator. Might as well knock that out now while he was thinking about it. He took the elevator to the top floor. The facility had only three floors, the first dedicated to the ER, gift shop, cafeteria, Outpatient Services, and Administration. What used to be the physical therapy wing was now rented out as doctors’ offices to bring in more money for the facility.
When the doors of the elevator opened on the third floor, gone were the soothing holiday scents of pine from the first floor, and the holiday music was replaced by the sounds of nurses doing their jobs.
A first-year nurse glanced up from the beeping monitor in the nurses’ station. “Good evening, Ben. What brings you here?”
“Checking on a friend who was admitted earlier. Ruby Johnson.”
“She came through surgery fine. She’s still foggy as a Froot Loop, but you can visit her. She’s a pistol, that one.”
“That’s an understatement. What happened? I hope it’s not serious.”
“She took a nasty fall, but she’s going to be fine.” She pointed down the hall behind her. “Hope I’m just like her when I’m her age. Room 326.”
Ben exchanged hellos with a couple other nurses moving equipment down the hall. He knew most everyone who worked at the hospital, if not by face, then certainly by name, since he oversaw all the hospital’s accounting, including payroll.
Easing open the partially closed door of room 326, he knocked as he entered Ruby’s room. She was propped up against pillows with her leg elevated, her bruised toes sticking out of the end of the cast. “What have you gone and done to yourself, Miss Ruby?”
“Ben.” Ruby dragged his name out like it was three syllables long. “Did Shirley call you to help spring me from this joint?”
His grandmother was seated in the chair next to the bed.
“Hardly.” Ben’s lip trembled with the need to smile at that. He placed his hand on his grandmother’s shoulder. “But you and my grandmother better be behaving.”
Ruby put her hand across her mouth. “Your grandmother and I always behave.”
“I wish I believed that,” he said, teasing her affectionately. “They treating you right, Ruby?” He squeezed his grandmother’s shoulder. “How are you doing, Grandma Shirley? You keeping Ruby in line?”
Ruby raised her arm, sending the plastic tube of the IV flinging like a jump rope. “Keeping me in line? If she were a good friend, she’d be wheeling me out of this place!” She crossed her arms over her generous bosom and harrumphed. “I can’t believe I broke that easy. I’ve had much worse falls. I just stepped in a hole this time. Funny thing is, it isn’t even the ankle of the foot I stepped in the hole with that got broken. Figure that out, would ya?”
Shirley shook her blond curls and tsked. “I keep telling her she needs help around that place. If it hadn’t been bridge day, no telling how long she’d have lain there until someone found her.” Shirley tugged on Ben’s sleeve. “She never misses bridge. When she didn’t show up, I knew something was wrong.”
“You were just missing my famous spinach artichoke dip.” Ruby wasn’t spitting out her words quickly or clearly. “I’m fine. Be a good boy, Ben, and fetch me some crutches so I can get on about my business.”
“That’s big talk for someone who
just came out of surgery,” Ben said. “I believe those pain meds have you feeling ten feet tall and bulletproof, but I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere anytime soon. What can I do to help make your stay more comfortable?”
“Get me home.”
“Besides that.”
“Not a thing. It was sweet of you to come by and check on me, though,” she said with a crooked smile.
Shirley shook her head. “Actually, there is something he can do for you.”
Ruby’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“Have you forgotten how much work it is to get your place ready for the Crystal Christmas Cookie Crawl? It would be a shame for me to have to cancel your house as a stop. Oh goodness, we don’t have much time to figure this out. They are printing tickets this week!”
Ruby glared at Shirley. “Cancel me? You will do no such thing. This is a temporary setback. I will have my house ready, like I always have for as many years as you’ve hosted that holiday home tour.”
“Have you even started?”
“No, but I’ll get it done, and Ben had already scheduled to come over next Thursday to start the outside lights.”
“Then you’d better plan on letting Ben get moving along on decorating the inside too.”
“I’m happy to do that,” Ben said. “Don’t worry about a thing.”
Ruby’s face sagged. “You know how much I appreciate you helping me out now and again, but you don’t have to do that. I can still carry my own weight. I’m not some helpless old lady,” she insisted. “No doctor is going to treat me that way either. I’ll be up and out of here tomorrow. Take my word on that.” Her lips pulled into a tight line. “I can decorate some trees and bake with a cast. It’s not like my arms are broken. No big deal.”
“Not so fast there, Ruby,” Ben said, carefully choosing his words. “You need to follow doctor’s orders, or your stay could end up even longer.”
Pffft. Ruby’s face contorted and dismissed the very thought.
“After seven years running, I know exactly where everything is stored and where it all needs to go. I’ll take care of the decorations, Ruby.”
Brushing her hair back from her face, Ruby sniffled and said, “You know how much I appreciate you being my handyman, but I will not ask you to do all of that by yourself. Besides, you’ve got your own place to worry about.”
“You don’t have to ask. I volunteered. Besides, my house is not on the Cookie Crawl. It’s as much for me as it is for you. I like winning.” And there it was. One more thing on his top-heavy plate to juggle. “Besides, you know how much I enjoy those projects.”
Her expression softened. “That’s true. You can sure whistle a holiday tune like nobody’s business too. You kinda break all those stuffy, boring accountant stereotypes.”
“Thank you. I think?” He had to admit he hadn’t had much in common with the other students majoring in accounting back at NC State. In fact, most of his buddies there had been in vet school or off campus, already working blue-collar jobs. And as much as those guys had bellyached about those jobs, Ben loved doing that kind of work. His position in administration at Bridgewater Regional Hospital had come with a nice salary, but there was something to be said for getting outside and seeing the sunshine now and again. “Your farm will be the best-looking stop on the Crystal Christmas Cookie Crawl again this year. I promise. I’ll have it all ready for you in time for the event.”
She shot straight up in her bed. “I better be home well before that!”
“I hope so, but don’t push yourself, and don’t give the nurses a hard time.” Ruby was known for her fiery redhead behavior in this town.
“I won’t be here long enough to give anyone a hard time.”
Somehow Ben doubted that. In fact, if he had to guess, everyone already had their hands full with Ruby, and she hadn’t even spent the night yet. “I’ll check in on you tomorrow.”
He checked his watch. It was going to be a late night in the office for him tonight, but he had errands to run too. Maybe he’d zip out now, take care of a few things and grab dinner, then come back. Probably wouldn’t hurt to check in on Ruby later either.
He hoped, for her sake, that she did get back on her feet soon, and home, else he might have to put a warning label on Ruby Johnson to protect the staff.
Chapter Five
Joy clung to the steering wheel so tightly that her arms ached. For the last hour she’d wrestled with her emotions, unsure which was winning—concern for her aunt or regret for letting so much time pass since her last visit to see her. Okay, and the guilty feeling that she should really have stayed at the office, but it had to have been over two years since Joy last made the trip to Crystal Falls, North Carolina.
Ruby had come to visit her in D.C. twice during that time.
Joy stretched tall in the seat, trying to ease the pain of sitting still for this long. How could I have let a seventy-year-old make this trip? Maybe because Ruby had always seemed rather invincible, but now Joy could kick herself for not having made a better effort. Joy stretched her back against the driver’s seat. It was a long drive even for her.
Once she finally reached her exit from the interstate, the roads quickly became narrow and dark. Water ponded along the side of the road from a recent shower, splashing beneath the wheels of the car, sounding as if someone were saying “shhhhh.” Joy wished the white noise would shut down the negative thoughts playing in her mind. Mom would hate that I haven’t kept in touch with Aunt Ruby. What if Ruby’s injury is serious? I can’t lose her. She’s all I have. Ruby is so different from Mom, so why does it break my heart all over again when I’m with her?
Joy pulled in front of the small Bridgewater Regional Hospital just before nine o’clock.
She swung into a front parking spot and rushed inside. Her footsteps echoed in the atrium, empty except for the furniture and a huge Christmas tree. Across the way, a uniformed security guard, who had to be pushing seventy himself, sat behind the reception desk, flipping through a magazine.
“Ruby Johnson was admitted earlier. I’m her niece, Joy Holbrook. Can I see her?” She slid her driver’s license across the desk, trying to speed up the process.
“That’s not necessary, young lady.” The old man tugged his glasses off and cleaned them on his shirt. “Visiting hours ended a little while ago, but let me see what I can find out for you.”
She glanced around the familiar atrium, trying to remain calm. This place still held icy memories for her.
The last time she’d been to a hospital, it was to visit Renee after her daughter, Cassie, had her tonsils removed. There were still five minutes left before visiting hours that day, and they wouldn’t let her up. Her worry had only increased during the five-hour drive when her attempts to call Ruby’s friend back to get an update had gone unanswered. Don’t let it be bad news.
The hospital lobby looked different decorated with fresh greenery for the holidays, adding cheer to the place in an odd way. Not how she remembered it all. So maybe it wasn’t exactly like the last time Joy had been here, but those memories still haunted her.
The security guard made a phone call, then snapped his fingers to get her attention. “You can go right down this hall and take the elevator to the third floor. The desk nurse will help you.”
The flood of relief that those words gave her made her want to leap across the desk and give that guy a hug. If she hadn’t been able to see Ruby tonight, there was no way she’d get a wink of sleep. “Thank you so—” She spun and nearly collided with a gentleman walking by. “I’m sorry. I—”
The dark-haired man caught her by the arm, her keys just inches from his shoulder. “Whoa, there.”
She shrank back to keep from stabbing him with her keys. Out of habit they had been laced through her fingers like little spears. City living kept a girl on her toes.
“Yeah. Sorry. I’m here to see a family member.” She yanked her hand down to her side and shook the keys loose from her fingers.
“Yes. Excuse me.” Joy sidestepped him and forged ahead. She stabbed at the elevator button, then glanced back. The man walked with purposeful intent down the far end of the hall.
Those days she’d spent here with Mom suddenly felt like just yesterday. Fighting the frantic feeling washing over her, she searched her mind for something less personal. Research studies proved that the traditional lighting in hospitals never gets bright enough to tell the brain it’s time to be awake and alert, nor does it get dim enough to ease sleep, which could impact a patient’s ability to heal.
She knew more trivia about things she’d done market research on, from agriculture to health care to zoo life, than one person should ever know. That trivia was usually her safety net, but right now it felt highly inappropriate. Hopefully, her aunt wouldn’t be in here long enough for the lighting to make a difference. Please be okay.
Joy punched the elevator button again and waited. Then pressed it again. Finally the elevator arrived. The doors opened so slowly that she practically ran into them as she got on. After a painfully slow lift to the third floor, she stepped out, and the desk nurse, a ripe-bodied woman, smiled and motioned her over. “You must be Mrs. Johnson’s niece.”
“Yes, ma’am. I just got here from D.C. I’ve been so worried. Can I see her?” The last words barely made it out. She took in a deep breath and pressed her hands together. “Please?”
“Oh, honey, you better settle yourself down or you’ll end up her roommate. I’m busy. I don’t have time for any more patients on this floor tonight.” A hearty laugh filled the air as the woman hoisted herself up from the chair. Her bright white shoes squeaked with every step as she rounded the nurses’ station to Joy’s side. “Your aunt is going to be just fine. Come with me.”