by Holly Rayner
SIX
Rosie’s life went on. It was horrible that she had to accept it, but she did—donning her scrubs the following day and heading to work on the crummy bus. It always smelled the same, she thought as she leaned her head back. The Seattle rain pattered against the windows, and she thought back to the sun shining the morning before with that massive brunch spread before her naked body. God, it felt like it had all been a dream. She had felt like a goddess.
She headed into the hospital in her white tennis shoes, realizing this was the first time she’d been back since her whirlwind adventure. She wondered if she looked different, as if events could change her face the way they changed her heart. As she clocked in beside another nurse, Vanessa, she asked her how her week had been. Vanessa began rattling off a list of all her complaints about the week. Her kids were sick, vomiting all through the night. Her husband still hadn’t gotten a raise. And God, how about this rain, huh?
Rosie blinked at this news, feeling deflated, like she could hardly breathe.
Vanessa clearly didn’t notice a difference, or, perhaps, just couldn’t see beyond herself. “And what about you, Rosie?” she asked. “Another night in with a movie?”
Rosie frowned. “Yeah. Just wanted to rest up for my shift.”
Vanessa scoffed and went on rotation, then, winding her way from room to room with her clipboard and her terrible attitude. For a moment, Rosie’s heart burned with anger.
All at once, however, Amy appeared in the doorway. She flipped her blond hair and grinned at her friend, placing a stethoscope around her neck. “Rosie, darling,” she said. “I haven’t seen you in a week. You have to tell me all about this date you had.”
Rosie decided to play along, not to show her cards just yet. “Oh, Amy. I don’t know if you’ll be interested…” She teased. Her smile felt strange on her face.
Suddenly, Rosie’s buzzer started beeping, alerting both of them that they were needed in a hospital room, that moment. They exchanged glances.
“You ready to rumble?” Amy said.
Rosie chased after her friend, thoughts of the Sheikh ebbing and flowing from her mind. Like he’d said, she had an important job to do. And she couldn’t linger on the past, no matter how sweet it was, if she was going to help bring lives into the world.
Hours later, deep into their twelve-hour shift, Amy and Rosie found themselves in the same room once more. Rosie was drawing blood from a woman who was struggling with the beginnings of her labor, and Amy was helping make her comfortable, asking her questions to distract her. The girls worked well together, having been a team for several years. It was like they had a sixth sense, always knowing what the other was thinking.
“Now, I know it’s painful,” Amy began, “but just look at my friend Rosie over there. Rosie went through a painful date last night. Imagine being out in the dating world again! You’ve got a husband, you’ve got your baby. And now, just one final mountain to climb.”
Rosie scoffed playfully. “How rude.”
The pregnant woman was practicing her breathing, but allowed herself to laugh for a moment. “I really do have to agree,” she said. “I never want to be back on the dating scene. It was the worst.”
“Come on, now,” Rosie said, shaking her head as she remembered the look the Sheikh had given her in bed the morning before. That wasn’t the stuff of the dating world. “I’m doing the best I can.”
“We know you are, honey,” Amy said. “We’re just teasing.”
“Was he handsome?” the pregnant woman asked, trying to keep her mind from her labor. “Heee. Hooo,” she breathed.
Rosie nodded. “Terribly attractive, yes.”
“Those are always the heartbreakers,” Amy said, warning in her voice. “That’s why I settled down with someone less attractive than me.”
“Me too,” the woman in labor said. In the corner, her husband slept soundly with his nose in the air, between two chubby cheeks. They’d been together too long, Rosie thought, and she couldn’t actually tell which one was better looking than the other. But she smiled all the same.
“Want to go to dinner later?” Amy asked. “I want to try that new salad place, and I have the babysitter till midnight.”
Rosie considered. Beneath them, the pregnant woman inhaled, exhaled, and said: “I wish I could join you, ladies, but I have a life to create.”
“You’re busy,” Amy agreed, using that mom voice again.
The girls laughed, both on autopilot. In the corner, the woman’s husband sent a snore rocketing into the ceiling.