already paid my landlord the extra hundred dollars to keep you, so you can stay forever, if that’s what they want.”
Isabella meows making me realize my blunder. “No, no, don’t worry. I didn’t mean it that way. Jared will be fine in no time and he’ll want you home with him. Don’t worry, little kitty. I didn’t mean it, only that I love having you here, that’s all.”
At the hospital, I have a nice chat with Sara Ianovich, the nurse recruiter in the personnel office. She takes my completed paperwork, looks it over, staples the corners together and puts it aside.
“How are you feeling?” she asks, turning her full attention to me now, with a look of satisfaction, making me feel that I must look happy despite my earlier melancholy. I remind myself that people here at Pacific West Hospital don’t know about my recent breakup with Alex.
I sigh deeply. A sense of relief escapes in my breath just knowing I don’t have to endure anybody’s pity. She’s inquiring about my physical health following the accident, that’s all. I answer honestly, “I feel fine. No lingering aches or pains, just a bit of worry about Jared Wise, the man who was driving the car. I didn’t know him well, having just met him. He’s in ICU and I’m hoping they’ll let me in to see him.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” she says matter-of-factly. “You’re on staff now. Hold on, I’ll get your badge.” She leaves briefly and comes back with the thick plastic nametag that identifies me as a staff nurse on Medical-Five. “If you want to swing by ICU right now, you can borrow my white lab coat, just bring it back before you go home.”
I slip into the lab coat and fasten my nametag to its pocket. “Thank you,” I say with a genuine smile. People are so nice here. I just know I’m going to love working here.
“Call me Sara,” she says when I leave her office, as if we’re already friends. I think about her as I weave my way through the maze of hallways to the elevator that will take me up to the second floor ICU. Sara looks older than me with gray hairs mixed in her otherwise dark curls. In the family photo behind her desk, she’s posed next to a slightly chubby man with three school-aged children in front of them. They’re all dressed for hiking in the country with backpacks stacked alongside a Jeep Grand Cherokee, all of them wearing LL Bean style clothing. It reminds me of how much I used to enjoy hiking before I met Alex.
Maybe Sara’s not so much older than me. It’s hard to tell. She probably has worries about her children. If I’d started earlier, I could also have three school-aged children and worries about them, turning my hair prematurely gray. I surprise myself with my thoughts. I’d never thought about it like that before. Melancholy threatens to wash over me again, but I arrive at the ICU Nurses Station before it gets a chance to grab hold. Jenny, Jared’s nurse, sees me immediately and smiles a greeting. “Hi, I see you’re feeling better,” she says, pointing to my lab coat and nametag. “You’re already back to work?”
“No, not yet,” I confess. “I came in to talk with Sara Ianovich in Personnel. She loaned me her lab coat so I’d look clinical enough to visit Jared. How’s he doing?”
“The same, though the doctor wants to try weaning him off the respirator tomorrow morning.” She walks me towards his bed where I see a young woman dressed in Calvin Klein jeans, topped with a mauve colored short-sleeved jersey, sitting at his bedside. Her long, thick, sandy-colored hair looks lustrous and shiny, like from a Clairol commercial, and is pulled back from her face with a tortoise shell hair clip. She looks young, attractive, and stylish.
“This is Marta Lewski,” Jenny introduces. “She’s employed by Jared’s aunt to be a sitter/companion to him until she can come in to be with him herself. His aunt is traveling on
Isabella meows making me realize my blunder. “No, no, don’t worry. I didn’t mean it that way. Jared will be fine in no time and he’ll want you home with him. Don’t worry, little kitty. I didn’t mean it, only that I love having you here, that’s all.”
At the hospital, I have a nice chat with Sara Ianovich, the nurse recruiter in the personnel office. She takes my completed paperwork, looks it over, staples the corners together and puts it aside.
“How are you feeling?” she asks, turning her full attention to me now, with a look of satisfaction, making me feel that I must look happy despite my earlier melancholy. I remind myself that people here at Pacific West Hospital don’t know about my recent breakup with Alex.
I sigh deeply. A sense of relief escapes in my breath just knowing I don’t have to endure anybody’s pity. She’s inquiring about my physical health following the accident, that’s all. I answer honestly, “I feel fine. No lingering aches or pains, just a bit of worry about Jared Wise, the man who was driving the car. I didn’t know him well, having just met him. He’s in ICU and I’m hoping they’ll let me in to see him.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” she says matter-of-factly. “You’re on staff now. Hold on, I’ll get your badge.” She leaves briefly and comes back with the thick plastic nametag that identifies me as a staff nurse on Medical-Five. “If you want to swing by ICU right now, you can borrow my white lab coat, just bring it back before you go home.”
I slip into the lab coat and fasten my nametag to its pocket. “Thank you,” I say with a genuine smile. People are so nice here. I just know I’m going to love working here.
“Call me Sara,” she says when I leave her office, as if we’re already friends. I think about her as I weave my way through the maze of hallways to the elevator that will take me up to the second floor ICU. Sara looks older than me with gray hairs mixed in her otherwise dark curls. In the family photo behind her desk, she’s posed next to a slightly chubby man with three school-aged children in front of them. They’re all dressed for hiking in the country with backpacks stacked alongside a Jeep Grand Cherokee, all of them wearing LL Bean style clothing. It reminds me of how much I used to enjoy hiking before I met Alex.
Maybe Sara’s not so much older than me. It’s hard to tell. She probably has worries about her children. If I’d started earlier, I could also have three school-aged children and worries about them, turning my hair prematurely gray. I surprise myself with my thoughts. I’d never thought about it like that before. Melancholy threatens to wash over me again, but I arrive at the ICU Nurses Station before it gets a chance to grab hold. Jenny, Jared’s nurse, sees me immediately and smiles a greeting. “Hi, I see you’re feeling better,” she says, pointing to my lab coat and nametag. “You’re already back to work?”
“No, not yet,” I confess. “I came in to talk with Sara Ianovich in Personnel. She loaned me her lab coat so I’d look clinical enough to visit Jared. How’s he doing?”
“The same, though the doctor wants to try weaning him off the respirator tomorrow morning.” She walks me towards his bed where I see a young woman dressed in Calvin Klein jeans, topped with a mauve colored short-sleeved jersey, sitting at his bedside. Her long, thick, sandy-colored hair looks lustrous and shiny, like from a Clairol commercial, and is pulled back from her face with a tortoise shell hair clip. She looks young, attractive, and stylish.
“This is Marta Lewski,” Jenny introduces. “She’s employed by Jared’s aunt to be a sitter/companion to him until she can come in to be with him herself. His aunt is traveling on
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