stared up at her, her supposed
friends anyway. She missed them, but the way they had all treated her in the
end blocked out any of the good times they’d had together. Seeing the photo
again brought all those unpleasant memories back. The pain of remembrance
doubled when she saw Steve’s face. His easy grin and arms wrapped around her
waist was the main reason the picture was still sitting in the spare room.
Turning the frame upside down, she put it at the bottom of the stack. Those
were memories she would love to lose.
At least
her interest in John wasn’t based on physical appearance as it had been with
Steve. Gretchen took comfort in John’s kindhearted personality, but his swollen
face looked like someone had spilled a palette of watercolors on him. It was
impossible to tell what he would look like when healed. Smoothing out the
blankets on the bed, Gretchen smiled to herself, glad she couldn’t say whether
John was attractive or not. Appearance had nothing to do with why she was so
anxious to get back to the hospital. Even Carl couldn’t argue with that.
The room
didn’t look great. There were still more boxes than furnishings, but it would
do for the time being. Grabbing her backpack, Gretchen hurried out the door.
***
Gretchen
rushed out of the elevator and headed for John’s room. He’d handled things
pretty well the day before, but she wasn't sure how he would be doing on his
own. She didn’t intend to stop at the nurse’s station, but Lynn jumped out from
behind the desk and grabbed her arm as she passed.
“Hey,
Gretch, wait a minute. I wanted to talk to you about something real quick,”
Lynn said. Maria stepped up behind her and the other nurses were obviously
listening in as they worked.
Gretchen
glanced down the hall to John’s door. Anxiety and guilt had her itching to get
back to him. “Can this wait?” she asked. “I’m worried about him being on his
own for so long.”
“Ann just
checked on him a minute ago. He’s asleep,” Lynn said. “And no, this can’t
wait.”
Gretchen
pulled her backpack onto her shoulder a little tighter, and said, “Okay, what
is it?”
“On Dr.
Sanchez’s recommendation, Dr. Marshall just signed John’s release order. He’s
going to be released tomorrow afternoon after the physical therapist talks to
him.”
“Tomorrow?
That’s so soon.” Gretchen thought she would have a little more time.
“You know Dr.
Marshall. He likes to get patients out of here as quickly as possible so he
doesn’t have to deal with them anymore,” Maria said.
“But
medically, they’re right,” Lynn said. “His wounds are healing fine. There’s
nothing else we can do for him here. He just needs time to heal. So he goes
home tomorrow.”
“That’s
what we wanted to talk to you about,” Maria said.
Gretchen
nodded. None of the nurses were quite as attached to John as she was, but they
were all fond of him and worried about his future. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking
about that too,” Gretchen said. She wasn’t expecting to have to bring this up
quite so soon, but maybe testing out her idea on Lynn and Maria would help her
prepare to make the real offer to John. And tell Carl.
“Would you
guys think I was nuts if I offered to let John stay in my spare room? Just
until he’s ready to take care of himself, of course,” Gretchen said quickly.
Maria and
Lynn grinned. “I told she was already planning on taking him home,” Lynn said
to Maria.
“Thank
goodness,” Maria said, “because I don’t think my husband would have appreciated
me offering up the guest bedroom.”
“My son
would have loved a roommate, but I think John might be a little old for bunk
beds. I knew the moment I met Gretchen that she’d be dying to take that poor
boy home,” Lynn said. Her pleased cackled instantly annoyed Gretchen.
“What do
you mean by that?” she asked, pulling her bag even tighter.
Maria
laughed wholeheartedly. “You should see the way you look at
friends anyway. She missed them, but the way they had all treated her in the
end blocked out any of the good times they’d had together. Seeing the photo
again brought all those unpleasant memories back. The pain of remembrance
doubled when she saw Steve’s face. His easy grin and arms wrapped around her
waist was the main reason the picture was still sitting in the spare room.
Turning the frame upside down, she put it at the bottom of the stack. Those
were memories she would love to lose.
At least
her interest in John wasn’t based on physical appearance as it had been with
Steve. Gretchen took comfort in John’s kindhearted personality, but his swollen
face looked like someone had spilled a palette of watercolors on him. It was
impossible to tell what he would look like when healed. Smoothing out the
blankets on the bed, Gretchen smiled to herself, glad she couldn’t say whether
John was attractive or not. Appearance had nothing to do with why she was so
anxious to get back to the hospital. Even Carl couldn’t argue with that.
The room
didn’t look great. There were still more boxes than furnishings, but it would
do for the time being. Grabbing her backpack, Gretchen hurried out the door.
***
Gretchen
rushed out of the elevator and headed for John’s room. He’d handled things
pretty well the day before, but she wasn't sure how he would be doing on his
own. She didn’t intend to stop at the nurse’s station, but Lynn jumped out from
behind the desk and grabbed her arm as she passed.
“Hey,
Gretch, wait a minute. I wanted to talk to you about something real quick,”
Lynn said. Maria stepped up behind her and the other nurses were obviously
listening in as they worked.
Gretchen
glanced down the hall to John’s door. Anxiety and guilt had her itching to get
back to him. “Can this wait?” she asked. “I’m worried about him being on his
own for so long.”
“Ann just
checked on him a minute ago. He’s asleep,” Lynn said. “And no, this can’t
wait.”
Gretchen
pulled her backpack onto her shoulder a little tighter, and said, “Okay, what
is it?”
“On Dr.
Sanchez’s recommendation, Dr. Marshall just signed John’s release order. He’s
going to be released tomorrow afternoon after the physical therapist talks to
him.”
“Tomorrow?
That’s so soon.” Gretchen thought she would have a little more time.
“You know Dr.
Marshall. He likes to get patients out of here as quickly as possible so he
doesn’t have to deal with them anymore,” Maria said.
“But
medically, they’re right,” Lynn said. “His wounds are healing fine. There’s
nothing else we can do for him here. He just needs time to heal. So he goes
home tomorrow.”
“That’s
what we wanted to talk to you about,” Maria said.
Gretchen
nodded. None of the nurses were quite as attached to John as she was, but they
were all fond of him and worried about his future. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking
about that too,” Gretchen said. She wasn’t expecting to have to bring this up
quite so soon, but maybe testing out her idea on Lynn and Maria would help her
prepare to make the real offer to John. And tell Carl.
“Would you
guys think I was nuts if I offered to let John stay in my spare room? Just
until he’s ready to take care of himself, of course,” Gretchen said quickly.
Maria and
Lynn grinned. “I told she was already planning on taking him home,” Lynn said
to Maria.
“Thank
goodness,” Maria said, “because I don’t think my husband would have appreciated
me offering up the guest bedroom.”
“My son
would have loved a roommate, but I think John might be a little old for bunk
beds. I knew the moment I met Gretchen that she’d be dying to take that poor
boy home,” Lynn said. Her pleased cackled instantly annoyed Gretchen.
“What do
you mean by that?” she asked, pulling her bag even tighter.
Maria
laughed wholeheartedly. “You should see the way you look at
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