The Units

by Jamie Mackay

  ***

  Tuesday and Wednesday were basically repeats of the days before. Tatum saw patients, Tim napped. Thursday was different. Thursday and Friday were to be her report-writing days. This meant Tatum still saw patients if necessary, but that the intent was for her to be mostly free to do paperwork, including the research component of her program, once it started.

  Report writing meant Tatum needed an office. She hadn't been officially assigned anything up until that point; she had access only through generally available computers in the administration building. So, she started her morning by going to the board room as she had all of the mornings before.

  She was pleasantly surprised to see Anne walk into the boardroom in place of Dr. Glaser as she had expected. Anne came bearing a cup of coffee.

  "Didn't know if you'd want this, but thought I'd bring it just in case."

  Anne's smiling, rosy face was just what Tatum needed today.

  "You bet I want it." Tatum sipped at the freshly brewed cup. "I have coffee with my friend Milligan every morning before work. But some days one just isn't enough," she said thankfully.

  "So, I guess my job for this morning is to get you all squared away like a real doc, hey? You'll get an office, not much of an office, but, still, more than us lowly nurses," she teased.

  "I'm so glad to see you," Tatum told Anne genuinely. "After spending the week with Tim, I really needed a friendly face and someone who actually talks back."

  "Yah, Tim's not one for chitchat. Good heart, but lacking a bit in the company-keeping department," Anne joked.

  "I think he slept most of my supervision hours away," said Tatum with a note of seriousness.

  "I'm sure you did just fine," said Anne. "You certainly strike me as someone who knows what they're doing. Maybe you could've even taught him a thing or two if he hadn't been asleep."

  Anne winked at Tatum in her typical supportive maternal fashion.

  "Well... ready to see your 'bureau'?"

  "Yeah, let's go."

  .

  As they walked Anne explained that throughout the years more and more administrative space had been taken up by the overwhelming demand for patient room. As a consequence, only doctors and research associates were currently allowed to hold dedicated office space. Researcher office space was all limited to Unit Six, while space for physicians, psychiatrists and psychologists was spattered throughout the units and was typically assigned according to the individual's primary patient load.

  Tatum's office ended up being a small room not far from the filing room on Unit Three.

  "Well, this is it," said Anne. "Not much, but it's yours."

  "It will be just fine," said Tatum, trying as much to convince herself as she was her friendly compatriot.

  The 'office' looked as if it was originally a janitor's closet. The space was long and narrow, just right for storing vacuum cleaners, mops and brooms, but not so much designed for desks and files. The lighting was good, thankfully, because windowed offices were obviously at a premium, and Tatum was at the bottom of the food chain. At the far end were a series of filing cabinets. Tatum presumed they were empty and for her use, as she had been clearly instructed that all client files were stored only in the dedicated unit filing room. In front of the filing cabinets, along the wall, was an old desk accompanied by an office chair and desk lamp that she was certain had been there since the early seventies. The computer on the desk was newer, probably even within the last few years. Tatum was thankful for that. An old desk was one thing, but old computers often ate up more time than they saved.

  "Could spruce it up a bit, I guess," Anne said.

  "Yeah, a little paint, a new throw rug, it'll be as good as new."

  Both Anne and Tatum knew that there wasn't a carpet in the world that would make this place as good as new.

  "Are you okay with logging on and everything?" asked the nurse.

  "Mmm hmm," answered Tatum, "I've accessed the schedules and what-not from the general computers like you showed me."

  "See, I knew it. You're a quick study. Got everything you need then?"

  "I think so. But, is there as template or something that I'm supposed to use to write reports?"

  Tatum had already looked and was fairly certain she knew where to find the template she needed, but she was desperate for a friendly face and some workplace conversation, so she wanted Anne to hang around as long as possible.

  .

  After Anne left, Tatum busied herself with writing reports. She started with the report for Kory from the week before. Since her assessment, Kory had been placed on Unit Three. However, a move up to Unit Four was a distinct possibility. This would be decided subsequent to the completion of Tatum's report.

  "You'll learn in the trenches," Dr. Fraser had said. She had taken him at his word, but still found herself surprised at how independently she was already working at only one week into her internship.

  She had always been good with words, and found report writing flowed easily. She had been given two full days to complete the reports from the week previous, but she knew that she would need much less. Knowing she would complete her duties with time to spare, Tatum resolved to complete two other tasks with the time she had remaining.

  First, she would make time to review the files that remained in her inherited filing cabinet. She would do this with the door closed because she knew full well from her other placements that patient files were to be reviewed only when she had been assigned a particular patient for a given purpose. Tatum was secretly hopeful that someone had left behind a file or two from Units Four or Five. Second, she resolved to get some information, from Dr. Glaser or whoever might know, about when she could become involved in her research component.

  .

  With her reports almost finished, Tatum made her way down to the cafeteria and then up to Unit Three, a routine that was becoming well established.

  "Good afternoon James. Mind if I sit?" she asked as she did every day.

  She told him about her office, the lack of windows, the seventies decorating and the broom closet shape. Then she told him about her computer and how thankful she was that at least the computer wasn't decades old.

  After she'd caught him up on the generalities of her morning, Tatum started to talk to James about some things she was wondering. She mentioned the filing cabinets containing some old information she would like to take a peek at and her intention to start pushing a bit to get involved in some research.

  For the first time, Tatum thought, just for a moment, James' hands stopped moving.