by Lola James
"Well, at least let me take you to breakfast after we see my patient." I smiled and had a warm fuzzy feeling that seemed to not want to go away, and I didn't want it to either. I had never felt such bliss from the simple touch of a man, not even Kevin — and I’d thought I loved him. Ben didn’t respond; he just stood up and took my hand.
"Okay, let's go up then." We walked towards the elevators, where we stood waiting for the doors to open.
"Do you live nearby?" he asked.
"Close, but I can't really afford much with my student loans. Still, I need some place to sleep, so I do what I must.” I shrugged as we walked on the elevator he released my hand and I pressed the seventh-floor button. “What about you?"
"Have you ever heard of an area called Pacific Heights?"
All the blood drained from my face. He’s not a nurse; he’s here to review me. I pushed the button to stop the elevator and turned to look him in the eye.
"You live in Pacific Heights?”
“Yes.” He must have sensed me tense up because he took a step back and towards the furthest corner.
I knew my next few questions could get me fired, but I needed to know. “Is this an evaluation? Did they send you to see if I would be a good sport about this tour?"
"I do not understand." He looked lost by my question.
"If you’re living in Pacific Heights, your salary can’t pay your rent. So I’m guessing that you must be here to review me." I folded my arms across my chest.
"No, I am not here to review you, Dr. Hollander. I live in Pacific Heights because that is where my friend’s home is located." His words calmed me, and I felt ashamed for calling him a spy.
"I'm sorry, I—" Before I could get another word out, he’d moved in front of me. I leaned against the wall of the elevator as I looked up at him and he down at me.
"Do not worry. There is a lot that you will not understand about me," he said, before taking a step back. I exhaled deeply like I was holding my breath when the elevator doors opened to the seventh floor. He must have somehow released the stop button without me noticing. I looked up at Ben as he was exiting the elevator, and, I regained my composure, followed him.
"PICU. Your patient is a critically ill child?" he asked.
"Yes, Dylan came into emergency with a stomachache that turned out to be a ruptured appendix. While in surgery, I found he had an enlarged liver that was later diagnosed as advanced leukemia." I stopped at the first door and I stood on my tiptoes to look through the window.
"He's asleep, so I'll just ask the charge nurse how he’s doing." I walked over to the nurse’s station. "Hey Jackie, how's my favorite patient?" I asked as I picked up Dylan’s chart to review it.
"Dylan is better — slowly but surely better. He starts chemo later this morning. But the real question is, who’s your sidekick?” she said with a smile. Jackie was the funniest and flirtiest nurse I knew. I rolled my eyes.
"Jackie, this is Benjamin Slaton, our new surgical night nurse," I said, looking back at Ben.
"Benjamin Slaton? THE Benjamin Slaton?" Jackie asked, eyeing Ben. I looked from her to him.
"I guess," I answered, since they both remained silent.
"Wow, it's an honor to meet you!" Jackie said, pulling him into a hug.
"Okay, what did I miss? Why are you hugging him?"
"You don't know who your sidekick is?"
"Apparently not!" I said, looking up at him. "Should I?"
"He’s the nurse that saved all those kids in that school bus crash down in Los Angeles a few weeks ago."
“Is that true?” I questioned as he nodded and fidgeted with a pen.
Jackie began to gush more about Ben. I stood there for a second, looking into his face, before it hit me: He was really Nurse Hero! I had seen his picture on one of the news bulletins. A bus driver with eleven kids onboard had lost control on a rainy night coming home from a sporting event; the bus flipped over four times down an embankment, killing the driver and one kid instantly. Ben was passing by, saw the crash, and saved the ten that survived.
"It is you. Wow! I had no idea that I’ve been walking around with Nurse Hero," I said with a smile, before reexamining Dylan’s chart, partially to conceal what an idiot I felt like.
"Nurse Hero, mmm," Jackie said as she pulled him closer to her.
"Well, Jackie, you can find him in Emergency, Friday night to Tuesday morning on the graveyard shift. Please tell Dylan that I stopped by and said hi." I pulled Ben's arm to release the hold Jackie had on him, intending to make our way back to the elevator.
“Will do, Dr. T, and see you around, Nurse Slaton.” She smiled and winked at Ben. He waved as we walked towards the elevator. I pushed the button to the elevator then turned to Ben.
"Why didn't you tell me? I thought everyone was looking at me like I was crazy all day when, in fact, they were looking at you, Nurse Hero." I folded my arms across my chest.
"I liked that you were unaware. That is why I left Los Angeles. Too much attention and I’m a private person. I just wanted to be a regular nurse again," he said sincerely.
The elevator doors opened as a high-pitched alarm went off. Startled we both turned and raced back towards the shrieking sound that came from the PICU.
The blaring sound sent a pain in my head and made my stomach churn as I saw nurses and doctors flood the doorway of Dylan’s room. I felt like I moved in slow motion compared to the speed of Ben. By the time, I made it to the doorway of the room I found Ben beginning a chest compression as a doctor pushed a steroid into Dylan’s IV. The flat lined sound buzzed vociferous in my ear as I grabbed a pair of latex gloves. I stepped next to Ben to take over the resuscitation process when the rhythmic beep of the machine started, prompting the alarm to silence.
“You saved him!” I was breathless like I had just completed the marathon chest compression. Ben shook his head.
“No, I just gave his chest a little push to help wake up his heart” Ben winked as he motioned his head to walk out of the overly crowded room.
“But—how did you get there faster than I did?” I questioned.
“You froze when you saw it was Dylan’s room.”
“I froze? I never freeze, that was my patient. I would do everything I could to save him, again!” I vented. I was trying to convince myself that I didn’t shut down from panic and a high-pitched noise. I was used to these things.
We continued to look busy for another thirty minutes on the PICU floor, partially to make sure Dylan was fine and so that I could figure out why I froze on my patient. I eventually gave up and figured that I was hungry. We rode the elevator in silence but as we walked toward the locker room I offered, “Let’s get breakfast, my treat. I mean, you did save my patient’s life."
"I would rather go home, but you can come to my house for breakfast. Believe it or not, I can cook," he offered, smiling.
"As tempting as a home-cooked meal sounds, I have to pass. I don't know you well enough to come to your house yet," I smiled back. "But maybe next time."
"Sure," he grinned as he walked into the locker room.
I went to find Dawn to say goodbye.
"So how did it go with Nurse Hero?" Dawn asked.
"You knew too?" I looked at her, confused.
"Yeah, who didn’t?" she laughed.
"How about me?" I raised my hand.
"That's because you don't have a life, dear.” She swung her arm around my neck as we walked back to the locker room. We entered just in time to catch a glimpse of Ben's perfect six-pack. "I give him until the end of the week," Dawn said.
"End of the week for what?" I asked, eyeing her.
"Before he sleeps with one of the nurses," she said bluntly.
"I doubt it. He's shy. Plus, he asked me out already." I turned toward my locker.
"What?" Dawn asked in her annoying high-pitched voice.
"Shhh! I declined. He wanted to make me breakfast this morning," I replied.
"I don't know what to say about
that, but now I know you’re crazy," she shook her head.
"Shhh," I said.
"Why? He meets your rigorous list of requirements. So what’s the problem? He must live in a shitty part of town.”
"No, he lives in Pacific Heights," I pulled my scrubs off.
"Okay, honey, I’m going to check you into the psych ward. You are crazy," she said as I pulled my jeans on.
"Just leave it alone,” I commanded. “I did just meet the guy."
"I’ll remember that when he’s with some random nurse; he asked you out first," she said.
"Got it," I nodded as I tied my shoelace.
Ben chuckled as he walked up. "Hey, Toni thanks for a great tour. The offer still stands for breakfast," I wondered if he had heard our conversation. I turned to look at Dawn, whose eyes were now pleading with me to go.
"Okay, fine. Give me a minute," I answered.
"Really?" Ben and Dawn both said simultaneously, I just rolled my eyes.
"I’ll need to follow you," I pulled my motorcycle helmet out of my locker.
"I would never have taken you for a biker girl," he smiled.
"There’s a lot you don’t know about me," I winked and closed my locker. I stuck my tongue out at Dawn as I walked away.
"Have fun, T!" Dawn yelled as we walked out of the hospital and to the employee lot where my motorcycle was parked.
"So where did you park?" I asked, putting my helmet on as he sat down on the jet-black motorcycle next to mine. His dwarfed mine in size and probably in price.
"This is me," he grinned. I beamed at the possibility that this might just work out!
CHAPTER TWO
We didn’t have far to drive to Ben's friend’s Pacific Heights house. He opened the empty, one-car garage of the Victorian home for us to park in. I could see the sun beginning to rise as he closed the garage. I stood motionless in the dim light as he opened the door, that lead to a dark room. I could only see the updated vintage wood floors that lay in the doorway of the room we were entering.
"So your friend is your roommate?"
"No, my friends own the house, but they no longer live here, no one has for a while" he said, as he stepped into the shadowy kitchen. He ran his hand along the wall adjacent to the doorway, touching the light switch that was hidden in the darkness. The lights illuminated the room, making it alive. The smell of fresh paint filled the house; I wondered if everything had just been redone.
"So you live here alone?" I marveled as I looked around the modern kitchen that might have been featured on the Food Network. I ran my fingers along the shiny stainless steel countertop as I made my way around the kitchen. Ben stayed on the opposite side of the kitchen, keeping his distance from me. He slowly opened the refrigerator door, shielding the contents. I thought he might be ashamed of only having beer in there, so I didn’t make a big deal about it. I did make it a point to keep my jacket on, since his house was colder than the hospital.
"Can I walk around and give myself a tour?" I asked. Without waiting for an answer, I stepped into the next room as my voice echoed in the darkness.
"Sure; I will be down here cooking," he said as he walked around the kitchen, looking in various cabinets. I ran my hand against the wall until my fingertips touched the light switch. Thankfully, it lit up the empty dining room and the room next to it. I wandered through what would be a formal dining room, if it were furnished, and found myself in a large living room with a bay window and fireplace. The house had a cold feel to it, and not just the temperature but also the mood; maybe it was a guy thing. The living room had an enormous front door that didn’t look like it had been used in years. All the curtains were closed, so I couldn’t see the view, which I knew was pristine. Why would someone who lives in a home with a view like this keep it hidden?
As I walked on, I noticed that the furniture, in the rooms that had any, was all from the fifties, restored to perfect condition, except for the larger-than-life flat-screen TV. Leave it to a single man to put a big TV in a formal living room. I made my way to the staircase that led to the bedrooms and flipped a light switch that lit up the stairway and hallway. I ran my hand along a wall that was painted a deep red, the only other contemporary thing I saw besides the kitchen in this house. The stairs creaked, reiterating the age of the home with each step.
The first bedroom on my right was a large white room. The little furniture it contained was also white; the bedding was white, as well as the walls, and everything about this room felt serene. I walked over to the window, hoping to see the view I’d missed downstairs, but the perfectly tailored white curtains kept the sunlight from spilling in. In fact, the blackout electronic blinds prevented me from seeing outside.
A door led to a Jack and Jill bathroom with a motion-sensor light. The white tiled floor, tub, and sink continued the theme of the bedroom. The opposite end of the bathroom opened into a dim office/library. There were books everywhere, and a small wooden desk in the center of the room that held a laptop and hundreds of papers, most resembling bills. I closed the bathroom door and made my way across the dim room to an open door that ended in a small hallway. At the end of it was the last room, which I assumed belonged to Ben.
The light of the hallway didn’t reach that end and his room was completely black. I strolled into the empty darkness and my nose recognized the scent of a man’s cologne coming from it. I stepped into the threshold of the doorway and ran my hand along the rooms inside wall, feeling for the light switch. After a failed attempt to find it, I turned to make my way to the lit end of the hallway and found Ben silently standing behind me. I gasped as my hand covered my chest. Why hadn’t I heard him come up the stairs? Being so near to him made my heart beat faster.
"The light is on the other side of the room."
"How can you see to the other side of the room to turn it on?" I asked as he vanished into the blackness.
"I think I know my way around the house,” he said as a dim, bedside lamp came on. I realized that my hand still covered my chest when he looked confused by my pose. I straightened up and looked around the room. As I slowly entered, I saw the only furnishings were a bed and two nightstands with lamps. The furniture was black, along with the bedding and the walls. I guess they’re into monochrome themes.
"Black walls and sheets," I teased as I passed the side of the bed where he was standing. I headed for the open door to the right of him that appeared to lead to a bathroom.
"I have been working the night shift for as long as I can remember and I need to sleep in the daytime, so, yeah, black walls." He walked closely behind me as I flicked the bathroom light on. My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open as I took in the marble countertop, shower, and Jacuzzi tub.
"You have an amazing bathroom." The space was immaculate and looked like it was rarely used. He smiled and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
"Uh, thanks. I came to let you know that your breakfast is ready." He smiled; obviously proud, that he’d made breakfast.
"Great! I'm starved."
"Me too." He flicked the switch off in the bathroom, leaving me in darkness, and took my hand. He guided me into the lighted part of the hallway before releasing me. I followed him down the stairs, across the living room, and into the kitchen. As the aroma of delicious food made my stomach growl loudly, I noticed there was only one plate of food. Embarrassed, I put my hands over my belly and crossed to the bar stools in the kitchen.
"I’m sorry, I thought you said you were eating too, but you didn't make a plate. Are we sharing?" I asked, confused.
"Well, I am, but I cannot eat before I go to sleep. So I just drink, uh . . . tomato juice." He sat on one of the three stainless steel bar stools. I sat next to him and gazed hungrily at my plate of perfect pancakes. If Martha Stewart could have seen these, she would’ve been jealous. I poured the warm syrup on the pancakes and picked up the fork and knife to cut my first bite. Then his words registered on my brain.
"Tomato juice? Is that a Bloody Mar
y?" He smiled at my question, which told me everything.
"That is the perfect name," he said, and took a big gulp from his drink. I was less concerned with his choice of drinks than I was with fully enjoying pancakes that would’ve made every chef on the Food Network envious.
"These are the best pancakes I have ever tasted." I barely looked up as I pleasured my taste buds.
"So what did you think of the house?" He watched me inhale my meal. I turned my head to answer him as he gulped the rest of his cocktail.
"It's beautiful. I mean, I don’t understand the retro look of the living room, but I like the color theme upstairs. Oh, and I understand the curtains and blinds, being a night owl myself.”