Worthy

by Ryan, Syd

  “Fine?”

  She looks like she doesn’t believe me. Gavin decides to join us. “Good morning, Erin.”

  Erin stands up a little straighter, pushing her barely-B cups toward Gavin. “Morning, Gavin. I was just checking with Jamie about her anger management classes.”

  “I would say everything is going great, she has perfect attendance.”

  Erin gives him a bright fake smile that suggests she wants him to fuck her. “I wanted to make sure she is in compliance, and if you have any issues, Gavin, please let me know. Would you like to have lunch today?” The nerve of that bitch. If she weren't my boss, I would go the fuck off on her.

  “Sorry, Erin...I have plans today.”

  “Maybe another time, I will give your office a call.” I can’t listen to another minute of this conversation, so I go back to the nurse's station.

  “Who is the nurse assigned to Rooms Thirty and Thirty-One?” Gavin asks.

  My distance from him was short lived. With a deep sigh, I walk up to him. “I have the patients in Rooms Thirty and Thirty-One if you can be bothered with that right now.” My tone is betraying me by showing my feelings.

  “Sweetheart, I can be bothered by you anytime. I think you sound jealous of your boss, Erin. Is that the excuse for your agitation this morning?”

  “My fucking agitation is about discussing the anger management class that I should not even have to go to. Then I have to discuss it with you and watch her eye fuck you. I could have done without it this morning. I’m so fucking done with this day, and it’s only fucking ten o’clock.”

  “Come with me. Cheryl, can you cover Jamie’s patients a few minutes? I need to go over the new admission protocol for psych admissions.”

  Cheryl gives him a thumbs up, and I go with Gavin although it’s the last thing I want to do.

  Gavin pulls me into a conference room off the unit.

  “Gavin, I have a lot of work to get done.”

  “Jamie, did you enjoy your evening out last night? Did you follow my instructions? How do you think I felt seeing you out with Chris?” Gavin doesn’t give me a chance to answer any of his questions as he pulls me toward him. “I will tell you what I want at this very moment. I would love to see your sexy red lipstick around my dick as I fuck your throat. I will be fucking you so deep that your gag reflex will be begging me to stop. But knowing you, Jamie, you won’t want me to stop until I shoot all my cum down your throat. Your underwear will be soaked and you’ll be begging me to take the ache away. Unfortunately, we don’t have time for that today. We have patients to see...let’s get to it.

  Gavin goes in to see the drug withdrawal patient. First, he explains to the patient that his VA benefits dictate where he gets his healthcare. We go over the grievance procedure in depth, and the patient voices understanding but not acceptance. Gavin offers him some additional psych resources, but his accepting them is a whole other matter. I like the patient’s honesty. He never promises he is going to stop using drugs, and in this business it is refreshing.

  “The patient in Room Thirty-One is a seventy-eight-year-old female. She was recently diagnosed with dementia, and it is progressing very quickly. She has a daughter out of state and a neighbor that checks in on her daily. She is alert but confused about time and place and maybe her age.” It takes everything in me not to crack up and tell Gavin the rest of the story.

  Gavin checks his cell phone, and I take in his appearance. He is playing the role of McDreamy today. The light blue scrubs don’t take away from his exquisite masculine form. We walk into the room, and I make a point of shutting the door and blinds. “Good morning, Elouise. Did you get some breakfast?”

  “I did not get the Bloody Mary I ordered this morning. I had a rough night last night, I need all the help I can get.”

  “Elouise, tell me about your night last night.” I hit the jackpot with that question, and Gavin is about to get an earful.

  “I went out to the bar last night with my sister Joanne. I met Jerry at the bar, and we went home. I stayed up all night. A girl has needs. I needed some dick, but Jerry’s dick was the size of a broken pencil. It will be the last time I let Joanne pick out my date at the bar.” Gavin tried his hardest to keep his chuckle in.

  “Elouise is only thirty-two years old, she is not sitting home on a Saturday night.” Then Elouise becomes serious. “Are you a doctor?”

  “No ma’am, I’m a therapist. Is there something I can help you with?” Ellouise raises her gown, putting her vagina on full display with her uterus hanging out. Gavin looks puzzled.

  “Her uterus is falling out. I have a call to Gynecology to come and see her.”

  “I have no clue what to say to that, the psychiatrist on call will see her for medication management.” Gavin walks out of the room speechless and more confused than ever.

  “Psychiatry will be down to see her this morning,” he says when I join him in the hallway. “Everyone else has orders submitted, and I have some patients to see in my office today. Did you need anything else from me?”

  “No, I will page you if I need anything else.” He starts to walk down the corridor. “Gavin, I forgot something. Elouise asked for your phone number, and I gave it to her.

  He throws his hands up in the air and awe transformed across his face. “I know... I got it like that.” His eyes sparkle with the mischief I love about him. He enjoys my sense of humor.

  The rest of the morning is uneventful. Uneventful meaning nothing crazy; I have enough work to keep me busy. I have been able to get the withdrawal patient stabilized quickly, so he is resting. Elouise is given a sedative via intramuscular shot. I trick her by telling her it’s an injection for birth control, hoping she will stay rested until we get her admitted on the floor. I manage to get one patient transferred out without any difficulty. The patient who attempted suicide is stable; the liver enzymes have not shown any elevation. I want to get her a medical bed until a psych bed is available. The transfer is expected late this afternoon.

  I glance at the clock. It is about two o’clock and I have not seen Regan yet. My day has been busy; I hope it keeps flying at this pace. Gavin has not been back down to the department. I guess he changed his mind about lunch.

  Lunch and pee breaks are a novelty in the emergency room. Today, I’m fortunate enough to enjoy both. We have enough coverage today that we have a nurse floating to cover our lunches. I text Regan, but she doesn’t respond. I was hoping we could have lunch together. We’re usually limited to eating illegally at the nurse's station, meals spent charting and dealing with multiple interruptions. I would take that any day, but we are usually assigned to rooms that are not even close together. I think Cheryl, the nurse manager, likes to keep us separate because we are best friends. She tells us it is because she does not want two new nurses working together. We call bullshit on that one, but we don’t want to rock the boat with her. She has the ability to make our lives hell at work.

  Chapter 19

  “Hey, Cheryl. I will have Kylie cover my patients. They are behaving at the moment. Where is Regan assigned today?”

  “Regan called off this morning, I can’t believe you did not know anything about it.”

  “Sure didn’t, it’s news to me. I will call her at lunch and check on her.”

  “Kylie can cover you, make sure you have your locator turned on. Especially if you go off the unit.” I can’t stand the locator; it is Big Brother at its best. I can’t stand the thought of them knowing my every move. I believe it is a violation of my privacy.

  As I get ready to walk out of the nurse's station, I see Dickhead Doug. I turn away from him in hopes that he didn’t see me. I can feel the color drain out of my face, and my heartrate picks up as the anxiety increases. I walk the long way around the nurse's station in an fruitless attempt to lose him.

  “Where are you going, Jamie?”

  The nurse's station is the last place I want to have a scene. It’s not like I don’t have enough problems as it is he
re in the emergency room. “Just going to lunch, nothing too exciting,” I say, thinking my choice of words could have been better.

  Doug's eyes widen with delight. “I would have been here sooner, sorry to keep you waiting.”

  “Umm...waiting for what?”

  His eyebrows rise. “I left a note on your locker about us doing lunch today.” He grimaces.

  “How about we invite Gavin to join us? Gavin was seeing patients down here earlier and mentioned lunch. I’m sure you don’t mind since you guys are friends and all.” I’m so full of bullshit. I don’t want a scene in the E.R., and I’m doing everything in my power to avoid it. I hope I’ll get paged back to the nurse's station. “Let me grab my locator, I will text Gavin, and he can meet us in the cafeteria.”

  Doug plasters on a fake smile. “Sure, I will wait for you here.”

  Doug is pissed but playing a good game of hiding it. I snatch the locator. Jason from hospital security is outside my patient’s door. “Doug left a note on my locker this morning. I was hoping Gavin left the note.

  I’m texting Gavin right fucking now, I don’t know what to do. The last thing I want is a shitshow in the E.R.”

  “I will have one of the techs cover me, and I will follow you down to the cafeteria. I don’t want to be alone with him anywhere. What did you tell Gavin?” Jason starts to stand out of his chair.

  “I told him to meet me in the cafeteria. I texted him 911. I put DOUG in caps.” I want Gavin to get his ass in the cafeteria quickly.

  “Go ahead out, I will be behind you not making it visible.

  “I got my locator, thanks for waiting. You ready?” Doug smirks at me, looking like he knows a secret that I don’t know. “I have plenty of time, I go off call at 3:00 p.m.”

  “If you are going off call at three o’clock, why are you taking a lunch break?”

  “I want the opportunity to enjoy lunch with you. Otherwise, I would be getting ready to leave for the day.” I can easily see he is full of bullshit, but I keep my comments to myself. I slowly walk to the elevator, giving Gavin more time to join us.

  The elevator ride is quiet, although it’s full of riders. I hope that Gavin gets the message. I want Doug dealt with once and for all. I have too much going on to be messing with him.

  The cafeteria is unusually busy for this time of the afternoon. The lunch rush is usually over by this time. I look around, but Gavin is nowhere in sight.

  “I’m not very hungry, I’m going to get some fresh coffee.” I exhale deeply, trying to center myself. Doug nods and, to my disappointment, he follows me to the coffee area of the cafeteria. I’m not as known for my chitchat as Regan, she enjoys chatting it up with people. I’m pulling out all the straws to chat, because at this point the plan is to do something and something quick. “So, how is the Anesthesia department?”

  “No, complaints. My on-call time has been cut in half, and I am loving it. I’m ready to take a vacation. As a matter of fact, I leave in a couple of weeks.”

  “Where are you going?” I think, fucker, it can’t be far away enough for me. I want to relay that bit of information, but my common sense instructs me to hold back.

  We line up at the cash register, and Doug makes me pay for my own. No wonder he can’t find a bitch; his cheap ass won’t even pay for coffee. I look around for Gavin as we locate a booth that is unoccupied. “So, tell me more...where are you going on vacation?”

  “The sin city, Las Vegas. The plan is to join the high rollers and enjoy the hot women.” The only image that comes to my mind is Doug joining the senior citizens for the early bird buffet. I chuckle at that one.

  “Anyone going with you to Sin City?”

  “Jamie, are you trying to wrangle an invitation? I’m treating my dad to a vacation. He recently divorced wife number three, and he is a little down in the dumps.”

  “I’m sorry to hear about your dad. Divorce is painful at any level, whether it is wife number one or wife number five.”

  “Oh hell...don’t feel sorry for him. The divorce is the best thing that could have happened to him. She loves money, and Dad had reached his credit limits. Therefore, she walked out the door.”

  “How long are you going to be gone?” I do a happy dance in my head, rejoicing in his departure. Though vacations to Vegas usually last a few days to a week, I’m hoping he’ll be gone longer.

  Gavin walks up to the table. “Coffee and no lunch?”

  “We decided to just have coffee since Doug is going off call at three o’clock.”

  “My coffee is already full from earlier,” Gavin says. “I asked my secretary, Karmen, to join us if you don’t mind.” Karmen is a social butterfly; Gavin did well inviting her to join us.

  Karmen joins us with her coffee, sliding into the booth next to Doug. “The cafeteria is pretty slow today.”

  “Doug and I picked up on the same thing when we came down. Doug was telling me about his upcoming vacation to Vegas.”

  “Oh my God...I’m going to Vegas next week on Thursday,” Karmen said. “When are you leaving?”

  “We fly out on Wednesday.”

  “That is so cool...where are you staying? I’m staying at Planet Hollywood.”

  “We are staying at the Mirage.”

  “Oh...who are you going with?” Karmen says with disappointment. I think Karmen is interested in Doug. Damn, Gavin is so good. His master plan couldn’t have worked out any better.

  “My dad is going with me. He needs to recoup after his divorce. A little down in the dumps. We will be there for ten days.”

  “I’m visiting my older sister and staying a week. Gavin wouldn’t know what to do if I was gone longer than a week.” Gavin nods in agreement.

  We chit chat about the current politics of the hospital for fifteen minutes before I return to the E.R. “I need to head back, Kyle is covering all our lunches.”

  “Karmen, can I have your number?” Doug says. “Maybe we can get together out in Vegas. It would be nice to hang with someone I know.”

  “Sure,” she says.

  “Gavin, can you walk Jamie back to the E.R.? I’m going to walk Karmen back and get her number, if that is okay with you.”

  “I’m able to walk her back,” Gavin says. “If I don’t talk to you before you go, have a great time sinning in Sin City.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  We separate, going to different elevators. “Damn, Gavin, I thought you were never going to make it. I had Jason keeping an eye on me until you got here. That master plan of yours worked perfectly. I hope Karmen can keep his interest. She has a happy, bubbly personality and is full of fun with a rigid side.”

  “She is a dominatrix as well,” Gavin says with a straight face. I burst out laughing. I give Gavin’s plan an A plus for perfection and timing. I can just imagine them in a kinky sex club in Vegas.

  “Doug just found his new girlfriend. I bet his days of stalking you are over. I put more thought into it, I think Doug is just lonely. He just needs to find a new way to go about and finding women. Karmen can handle herself. Jamie, please still be aware of your surroundings in case I’m wrong. I hope it’s the end of Doug. Until then...safety in numbers.”

  As the elevator comes to a stop, I kiss Gavin on the cheek. Diverting Doug’s attention to Karmen couldn’t have worked out any better. They seem like total opposites. Doug seems ordinary, and Karmen seems exotic. She is culturally diverse from all her travels, and I could tell that from a brief conversation with her.

  Before I return to the floor, I have a few minutes to spare. I go to the staff lounge and call Regan. She never misses work. She worked sixteen hours yesterday because of her call time, but it would take more than that to take her out. “Hey, Regan...I have you on speakerphone. I’m refreshing my makeup before I go back to the unit. Why are you not at work today?”

  “My stomach is upset. I puked three times today. I’m going to rest up and recoup after working sixteen hours yesterday.”

  “Regan, you sound a
little off. What is it that you are not telling me?”

  Regan takes a big cleansing breath. “Take the phone off speaker, please.”

  I follow her instructions. “It’s off the speaker, what’s up?” I hope it’s nothing major; I can’t handle any more shit. The situation with Jake took a lot out of her and, damn, it took a lot out of me.

  “Jamie, I’m pregnant. I had the stomach flu last month and, apparently, my pill didn’t stay down.”

  At a time like this, I’m grateful for the Mirena implant I put in five years ago. “Regan, is this a good thing?”

  “Jamie, this is a perfectly great thing. Grayson and I are going to get married soon. A little beach wedding with our closest family and friends.”

  “Get some rest and plenty of fluids. If you need anything when I leave work, please let me know. I’m off tomorrow, so I can come by no matter how late it is.” I end the call with Regan, letting her know I will text her later. She is going to laugh her ass off about Doug and his new dominatrix, Karmen.

  I am dreading my return to the unit, realizing I’m at the halfway point of my shift. But, although it’s been filled with tedious tasks, my day is turning out way better than I expected.

  Natalia will be here, ready for report, shortly. Shift exchange is completed without any difficulty. My patients are stable, and we are waiting for psych beds to open up. Elouise never settles down; her sedative is far from sufficient. But she is easy to transfer since her uterus was a medical emergency. She kept me on my toes all day, and I loved her spunkiness. The expression on Gavin’s face was priceless.

  I administer my 8:00 p.m. meds, and my beds have never looked better as my shift comes to a close. My exhaustion is reaching a whole new level today. I can honestly say I worked my ass off from the beginning to the end of my shift. But something out of the ordinary happened today: I was able to go to the bathroom twice. Yes, miracles do happen.

  I get my purse from my locker and creep out the exit farthest away from the emergency room. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but the bar is not even enticing me tonight. I want some fatty take-out food, a hot shower, and some television.