pain. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was just trying to get out of work, and then I felt guilty for being so jaded. It’s just that in the few months that I had been at PCI, I had been lied to more than the entire rest of my life. However, I vowed again, right then and there, not to become so callused that I expect to be lied to.
At the end of the hallway and to the left, I entered the officers’ station for the infirmary. There I found to both my surprise and delight Nurse Strickland, whom I had briefly met the day before. She was seated on the officer’s desk swinging her legs back and forth and chewing bubble gum while warmly conversing with Officer Straub.
“Well, hello, Chaplain. Jordan, isn’t it?” Strickland said.
“Yes, John. Hello. How are you two today?”
“Never better,” she said in an upbeat voice, but she was looking down. “By the way, my name is Sandra, but everyone calls me Sandy.” When our eyes finally met, she glanced at me and then looked away. She was that not-so-rare combination of beautiful and insecure. At that moment, I wished for the chance to help make her more secure. She was beautiful and I wanted to tell her so.
“I’ve never seen you here during the day before and now I’ve seen you two days in a row,” I said. “Have you been transferred to day shift?”
“Oh, no. I’m too much of a night owl. I wouldn’t be much use around here most mornings. Just with everything that happened yesterday and all, I’m trying to lend a hand. We also have an ACA inspection coming up soon, and I’m putting in a lot of overtime to whip things into shape.”
“We keep trying to get her to join us here on day shift,” Officer Straub said, never taking his eyes off her, “but she just won’t do it. I think she’s a vampire.”
She slapped at him in mock anger and then opened her mouth just enough to expose her vampire teeth and started toward his neck, but then got embarrassed and stopped. She looked down and then back at me to see if she had made a complete fool out of herself.
I tried to think of something to say that would assure her that she had not. “If you want to drain his blood, I can wait in the other room.” And then I laughed, but soon discovered that I was laughing alone. She looked upset and a little pale.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I forgot all about yesterday. I know you were the first to check Johnson. It was very insensitive of me. I’m really sorry.”
“It was just so horrible. So much blood . . . everywhere. It really got to me. I didn’t think it would, but it did. I think I’m going to walk outside for a minute and get some fresh air. Would you like to join me, Chaplain?”
“Sure,” I said and then turned to say good-bye to Straub, but could feel the intensity of his stare immediately. I had interrupted his play and he made no attempt to hide his anger. I simply nodded and turned and walked away.
Outside, the fresh air was far too hot and humid to be refreshing, but it did restore Nurse Strickland’s color. Or perhaps it was the super slim Capri cigarette she was inhaling the way underwater swimmers take in air when they finally reach the surface again. We were standing at the back right of the medical building where the smokers normally congregated, but, for now, we had it all to ourselves.
“I’m really sorry about that. Are you okay?” I said.
“Oh, yeah, don’t worry about it. It was no big deal and any other time would have been funny. It’s just . . .”
“I know. Did you know him very well?” I asked.
“Who?” she asked as if I had just awakened her.
“Johnson.”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, as well as you can know any of these men, I guess.”
“Was he in the infirmary a lot?”
“Not a lot, but still a lot more than most of the other men,” she said.
“What can you tell me about him?” I asked.
“Why so many questions? What are you, an undercover cop?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just that I was
At the end of the hallway and to the left, I entered the officers’ station for the infirmary. There I found to both my surprise and delight Nurse Strickland, whom I had briefly met the day before. She was seated on the officer’s desk swinging her legs back and forth and chewing bubble gum while warmly conversing with Officer Straub.
“Well, hello, Chaplain. Jordan, isn’t it?” Strickland said.
“Yes, John. Hello. How are you two today?”
“Never better,” she said in an upbeat voice, but she was looking down. “By the way, my name is Sandra, but everyone calls me Sandy.” When our eyes finally met, she glanced at me and then looked away. She was that not-so-rare combination of beautiful and insecure. At that moment, I wished for the chance to help make her more secure. She was beautiful and I wanted to tell her so.
“I’ve never seen you here during the day before and now I’ve seen you two days in a row,” I said. “Have you been transferred to day shift?”
“Oh, no. I’m too much of a night owl. I wouldn’t be much use around here most mornings. Just with everything that happened yesterday and all, I’m trying to lend a hand. We also have an ACA inspection coming up soon, and I’m putting in a lot of overtime to whip things into shape.”
“We keep trying to get her to join us here on day shift,” Officer Straub said, never taking his eyes off her, “but she just won’t do it. I think she’s a vampire.”
She slapped at him in mock anger and then opened her mouth just enough to expose her vampire teeth and started toward his neck, but then got embarrassed and stopped. She looked down and then back at me to see if she had made a complete fool out of herself.
I tried to think of something to say that would assure her that she had not. “If you want to drain his blood, I can wait in the other room.” And then I laughed, but soon discovered that I was laughing alone. She looked upset and a little pale.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I forgot all about yesterday. I know you were the first to check Johnson. It was very insensitive of me. I’m really sorry.”
“It was just so horrible. So much blood . . . everywhere. It really got to me. I didn’t think it would, but it did. I think I’m going to walk outside for a minute and get some fresh air. Would you like to join me, Chaplain?”
“Sure,” I said and then turned to say good-bye to Straub, but could feel the intensity of his stare immediately. I had interrupted his play and he made no attempt to hide his anger. I simply nodded and turned and walked away.
Outside, the fresh air was far too hot and humid to be refreshing, but it did restore Nurse Strickland’s color. Or perhaps it was the super slim Capri cigarette she was inhaling the way underwater swimmers take in air when they finally reach the surface again. We were standing at the back right of the medical building where the smokers normally congregated, but, for now, we had it all to ourselves.
“I’m really sorry about that. Are you okay?” I said.
“Oh, yeah, don’t worry about it. It was no big deal and any other time would have been funny. It’s just . . .”
“I know. Did you know him very well?” I asked.
“Who?” she asked as if I had just awakened her.
“Johnson.”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, as well as you can know any of these men, I guess.”
“Was he in the infirmary a lot?”
“Not a lot, but still a lot more than most of the other men,” she said.
“What can you tell me about him?” I asked.
“Why so many questions? What are you, an undercover cop?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just that I was
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