Chapter 3
Skylar
Finally, it was Friday. TGIF. I used to watch special shows on TV on Fridays, and ever since, it was ingrained in me to look forward to the weekend.
Every week, though, it never failed, I got behind on paperwork.
I had to stay behind and catch up because going in on a Monday and facing paperwork from the week before was never a good thing.
I’d learned that very early on. Always finish it on Friday.
I finally finished and headed for the front.
As soon as I came out of the back hallway, I saw Cam, still at the desk, working on paperwork of her own.
Half the time she was there later than me, updating billing records and the like.
Since we’d put her on salary, she just did it, no matter how often I tried to get her to hire someone part-time.
“It’s not in the budget,” was her rote answer.
“I’m sorry, dear, but the doctors have all gone,” she said. I stepped forward and peered around the corner to see a tired-looking mom and the top of a blonde-headed child’s head on the other side of the counter.
With an internal sigh, I walked closer until I could see the child. Strep was going around severely, and the ER was probably a cluster right now.
The mom spotted me. “Can you see us?” she asked pitifully. “She’s running a fever, and now I’m not feeling so great.”
“I could see you,” I said. “But hospital policy requires there be a doctor and a nurse present. I could be either in this situation, but I’m the only one here.” I hated to tell her that, knowing something nonemergent like this would take ages at the ER.
“I’m here.” Damn it. Anthony’s voice was the last one I wanted to hear.
Why couldn’t it have been one of my nurses?
It’d been a trying week. Working in close proximity with Anthony after not being around him for so long was beyond strange.
It was like I didn’t know how to act around him anymore.
He was a different person. The guy I’d known and loved was a young boy, but Dr. Mason was a grown-ass man.
His voice was deeper. He’d grown even taller and though I tried so hard to ignore it, he was a lot more handsome.
He’d outgrown every bit of gawky teen that my best friend had been back then.
On top of that, it was odd seeing him in his element. He was obviously a good doctor and loved his chosen career. The kids all loved him, too.
Not to mention the moms. It hadn’t escaped my notice that suddenly there were fewer dads bringing their kids in for their checkups. How those mothers had gotten the word in one week, I had no idea.
Another thing that I hadn’t missed was the fact that we both chose careers in the medical field and we both chose to work with children. Again, I ignored it because it didn’t matter or mean anything. Not at all. Not even a little. Who cared what field he’d gone into? Not me.
“Great,” I chirped. “Come on, you guys. Cam will get you checked in.” I shot her a grateful look before turning around and going back toward the exam rooms. I waited there for Cam to finish, staunchly ignoring Dr. Mason, who waited beside me, then the mom and daughter walked into the back waiting area. “Come on, you get no-wait service.”
The mom beamed at me. “I’m Briana. And I can’t thank you enough.”
Waving her off, I grabbed a tablet and started the questions.
Dr. Mason had requested that the information be filled in completely, so as we walked to the closest exam room, I made sure to be thorough, not skipping the least little question, no matter that I knew damn well this child had strep and all we needed to do was the test, which was easy as pie.
They even made strep tests that could be done at home.
No medical degree required, though most adults didn’t realize they could get them.
Fifteen minutes later, after I went through every possible question and family history section, I swabbed the sweet girl’s throat. “Okay, Hayden, this will be uncomfortable for a second.”
Dr. Mason stood in the background, basically useless. But I hadn’t needed his help, anyway, just the stupid policy that there had to be two of us here. “Now, we just wait for this to react in the fluid, and we’ll get you out of here.”
“Thank you again, so much.” Briana shot Dr. Mason a look, half interested and half curious why he was even there. I hadn’t let him get a word in edgewise.
Sure enough, it was strep. I calculated the dosage for the antibiotic and wrote out a prescription for Hayden.
“Here you go. There’s a twenty-four-hour pharmacy across the street.
” Then, I looked up the ibuprofen dosage for Hayden’s age and weight and wrote it down for her mother.
It was super important to be careful with how much ibuprofen they got at that young age.
“If she gets any worse, call us and come back in.”
“I will. I just can’t thank you enough. I’m a teacher, and my mom keeps Hayden after school. She’d told me she was feeling rough, but I didn’t know how sick she was until far too late in the day when I picked her up.”
“Hey, I get it. I’m glad we were still here.”
“You and me both,” Briana said. “Thanks again.” She hesitated, and I waited a second.
I’d been about to get up. “I hate to ask, but we’re new in the area.
Could you recommend anywhere a mom could, I don’t know, unwind?
My parents moved with us, so I have them constantly begging to babysit, but then I find myself at home alone and bored. ”
I grinned. “I get it. It’s a small town, so you have to go seek out excitement.
Let’s see. There’s Jace’s Place downtown.
It’s a bar, mixed drinks and beer sort of place.
Mostly they play music off a jukebox. It’s a good place to shoot pool and throw darts.
And right next door is the only club in town, Blue Cats.
It’s fun, but it can get too loud and overwhelming unless all you want to do is dance and drink. ”
Normally, I didn’t get involved in any way with my patients or their families. But damn, this really was a teeny town. “Let me get your number,” I said. She seemed really nice, anyway. Something about her made me want to give her a shot. “I’ll text you and maybe show you around town one day soon?”
She beamed and rattled off her phone number, which I put in my phone. “Thanks. I’m glad I asked. I don’t know how else to make friends, and I can’t only be friends with the other teachers at my school. Besides, it seems like most of them are much older or much younger.”
I chuckled. “We have that problem in this town. Like the whole town skipped a generation. Everyone is either in their forties or higher or twenties or lower.”
We continued chatting as I walked her back before returning to clean the room. I got there to find Dr. Mason had already done it. He was putting the disinfectant up as I opened the door. “Well,” I said, shocked. Doctors never cleaned rooms. “This might be a first for me.”
He laughed and threw the paper towel away. “I’m not too good to wipe down an exam table.”
Could’ve fooled me. “Thanks,” I said brightly before whirling around to beat a hasty exit.
“Wait,” he called.
Sighing, I froze. “Yeah?” I didn’t even turn around to face him.
“I was glad to help, but we have schedules for a reason. I hope you’ll follow protocol in the future, so my schedule isn’t thrown off again.”
I managed to keep my frustration in check, barely.
I gritted my teeth and sucked in a deep breath, channeling every inch of professionalism I had in me.
“I didn’t mean to take up your precious time.
I understand all too well that sometimes…
” I turned to look at him over my shoulder, “you just have to run.” I didn’t miss his flinch before turning away, and I also didn’t feel the least bit bad about it as I walked away.
It might’ve been eighteen years ago, but he’d kissed me and then took off.
The moment his lips met mine was literally the last time I’d laid eyes on him until that moment in the conference room.
With my head held high, I walked out of the office and grabbed my purse. Dr. Mason didn’t follow.
What a dick.