Chapter Five
To say I’m disappointed in the way my conversation with Emmy went the other day would be an understatement. I’ve been constantly replaying the moment in my mind, wondering if there’s anything else I could have said, or done, differently. So far, Emmy seems determined to bury our discussion under layers of everyday routine, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s more to explore between us.
The sun pours through the spotless windows of my office. I try to focus on the charts and paperwork that I need to fill out, but this morning’s work is proving to be even more boring than I anticipated. I take another sip of coffee—it tastes bitter and cheap, thanks to the vending machine in the hospital hallway that doesn’t dispense anything better.
Suddenly, a strange pain courses through my chest. It’s as if an icy claw has suddenly gripped my heart and refuses to let go, squeezing more and more until I can hardly breathe.
I get up and try to move around, convinced it’s just a spasm, but the pain in my heart refuses to relent. “I need to stop drinking this cheap coffee, it’s going to kill me. This and the stress … not to mention the twenty-four hour shifts.” I mutter to myself, blaming the pain I’m feeling on the caffeine.
But it’s a strange type of pain, one that I’ve never experienced before.
Out of nowhere.
My head grows a little dizzy, and the fluorescent lights bother me as well. I can’t comprehend what I’m feeling, and I think about asking for a second opinion from one of my colleagues.
As I’m about to leave my office, the pain disappears just as suddenly as it appeared. “That was so weird. I need to get more sleep,” I say to myself, trying to settle back behind the desk and work.
Knock. Knock.
“Dr. Davis? You’re needed in the emergency room, sir. A patient with a broken arm,” the nurse tells me.
“Alright. I’ll be there in two minutes.”
Glad to be able to abandon the boring paperwork, I make my way to the emergency room.
As I arrive, there’s the usual chaos—the patient is lying on the table, as their relatives hover around making lots of noise, asking questions, and giving advice they saw on TikTok.
Just an ordinary day.
I adjust my gloves and step through the examination room door.
But my heart stops at the sight—my breath gets caught in my throat.
As a doctor in the emergency room, there are many things I wish I’d never have to see, but this is, by far, the one I dread the most.
On the table, clearly in pain and babbling, is my best friend, Emmy.
She’s surrounded by Larisa, Jo, and a third woman I don’t recognize. They all look terrified and try to help, but the nurses pull them back.
I take a few steps forward and everything seems to happen at the same time.
Emmy spots me and reaches out her hand for me, while her friends immediately surround me trying to tell me what happened, but all I can hear is a mess of jumbled words and sentences. The third woman smiles and puts out her hand as well, trying to make my acquaintance as if we’re in a bar, not an emergency room.
“Alright! I need everyone to stay quiet and take a few steps back so I can examine the patient,” I call out.
They obey my demands.
Well, all of them except for the third woman who lingers around me, smiling and staring. “Hi, Evan. I don’t think we’ve had the pleasure, but I’ve heard so many incredible things about you. I’m Carol, by the way, and I’m…”
“Emmy, how do you feel?” I ignore the woman and step closer to Emmy.
She looks up at me, and I can see that she’s frightened. “Aa … aa … pain … arm … hurts … help me … Evan…”
“That’s alright. Don’t worry. I’ve got you now. You know very well I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She squeezes my hand while I caress her hair gently.
“What’s the patient’s status?” I ask the nurse.
“Female, twenty-eight-years old, broken left arm, possible concussion at the back of her head. No prior diseases or ailments that we know of. According to her and her friends here, she slipped and fell. She’s not on any medications, according to her statements, and she wasn’t drinking when she broke her arm.”
“Of course, she wasn’t drunk.”
The nurse gives me an odd look, as if to ask how I could possibly be so sure.
“I know the patient. She’s my … best friend,” I add.
Emmy looks into my eyes and tries to smile, but the pain is obviously overwhelming her.
This woman, that I’ve known since I was a thirteen-year-old boy, is now lying in pain on a table in my emergency room. And somehow, I can feel it in my own body, coursing through me in waves. It’s like I can feel her suffering—her angst and exhaustion, her misery and fear.
“That’s alright. This will all be over soon, Dolly,” I tell her, nearly overcome with the urge to lean down and kiss her forehead. Both for her sake and my own.
But I know I can’t.
Even though we’ve been best friends since middle school, I’m still her doctor.
I need to act professionally.
“Nurse, please order a set of x-rays. Let’s see exactly where and how she broke her left arm. And let’s also see what’s going on with her head. I suppose she hit her head when she fell, but we need to know the details.”
“Yes, doctor, right away,” she says.
“Emmy, after we do the x-rays on your arm, we’ll take you into the other room and splint it. Then, in a couple of days, once the swelling goes down, we’ll put your arm in a cast. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
She nods and continues to squeeze my hand.
“Great. In the meantime, I’ll administer you something for the pain.”
She smiles and nods again. Then I give orders to the nurse to perform the task requested and turn around to talk to Emmy’s friends.
But Emmy refuses to let go of my hand.
“Please don”t go,” she begs.
“I’m not going anywhere. I promise. I just want to talk to your friends.”
Still, she won’t let go of my hand, so Larisa and Jo come forward to talk to me.
“This was such a freak accident. One moment we were talking, and the next she was on her back. She slipped on a broken perfume bottle. I think she hit her head because she was out for like a minute or so. We called the ambulance right away,” Jo explains.
Now I understand why there’s a strong smell of perfume enveloping everything and everyone.
“Is she gonna be alright, Evan?”
“Yes, from the looks of it, she’s going to be just fine. And I’ll make sure she gets all the necessary tests on her arm and head. Please, don’t worry. The arm will take about two months to heal, but then she’ll be right as rain,” I tell them.
“Thank God! I was so worried,” Larisa says.
“I know. You two are good friends. But, by the looks of it, this is just a simple fracture. She’ll be back on her feet in no time!”
“Thanks, Evan. You know, she always says that you’re a superhero, and I think she’s right,” Jo says.
“Oh, I’m just doing my job,” I reply humbly, but knowing Emmy tells her friends that about me is incredibly flattering.
The nurse comes back in with an announcement. “Radiology is ready, Dr. Davis. We can take Ms. Williams now.”
“Good. Thank you. Emmy, Nurse Brink is going to take you to get x-rays now. Don’t worry. It’ll only take half an hour or so.”
“Can you come with me?” she asks.
“I can’t. I’m sorry. I’m not a radiologist, and they don’t allow other people in the room. But I’ll be right out here the whole time. I promise. Come on, will you do this for me? Just half an hour?” I try to encourage her.
“Fine. Half an hour.” She pouts.
“Good girl.”
I can’t help myself this time. I lean down and kiss her forehead, knowing full well that the nurses will give me odd looks and even gossip behind my back.
But I simply don’t care.
Emmy is more important than anything else.
Together, Larisa, Jo, and I watch as the nurse rolls Emmy away on the table down the hospital hallway and toward radiology.
“Ladies, this will take about half an hour, and this examination room needs to be sanitized now, so I’m afraid you can’t be in here anymore. I suggest you go downstairs to the cafeteria for some coffee. Or, if you prefer, across the street to Starbucks?” I smile.
“Oh, that sounds great. But please text us when Emmy comes out. We’ll come right back to take her home!” They wave at me and disappear through the revolving doors.
I grab the charts off the niche in the wall, knowing that I have to fill them out.
It’s so weird to think that Emmy, of all people, is now my patient.
Behind me, a small voice attracts my attention. “Umm … Evan?”
I turn around and see the woman who came in with Emmy, Larisa, and Jo.
“Yes? How may I help you?” I ask, feeling a bit peeved that she’s using my birth name as opposed to Dr. Davis—considering we’re at the hospital, and we’ve never met before.
“Oh, I was just wondering where I can get a cup of coffee? You know, as I wait for Emmy to come out?” the woman asks me.
I gaze at her for a moment, knowing full well that I just gave this information to Larisa and Jo. “There’s a cafeteria downstairs for nurses and doctors, but it’s open to patients’ families as well—if you want to eat or have some coffee. Otherwise, there’s a Starbucks across the road,” I reply for the second time in under a minute, feeling like a tour guide in my own hospital.
“Really? Is that so? How fancy!” She laughs even though I didn’t say anything funny.
“Yes. Didn’t you hear me tell Jo and Larisa?”
“Oh, I must’ve missed it!” she replies, running a hand through her red hair.
“I’m sorry, do I know you? You keep referring to me as Evan, but I’m not sure we’ve met before. How do you know my name?”
She starts laughing again, this time even harder, leaving me baffled. I truly haven’t said a single thing that could be perceived as even remotely funny.
“No, heavens no! I mean, you don’t know me. But I do know you!” She winks.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“No, no! Goodness, that came out wrong. I’m not a stalker or anything like that! But I did look at your Instagram page a few times! Your favorite ice cream flavor is rum and raisin, right? Yum! Well, I think it’s gross, but yum!” she keeps talking, making me more confused than ever.
I have the vague impression that this is how celebrities must feel when they meet random fans who know far too much about them than they should.
“Again, I’m sorry. I don’t understand what’s happening. Who are you?” I ask her.
“Carol! Carol Masters!” She laughs loudly and presses her hand lightly against my chest. In a very studied gesture, she then passes the same hand through her hair again, ruffling it slightly.
“I don’t think we’ve met, Carol.”
“Of course, we have! Just a minute ago! Remember? I came up to you and introduced myself!”
“Yes, well. I was working. This is an emergency room,” I say, my voice dripping in sarcasm. “And I was focused on Emmy.”
“Emmy, yes. Emmy is a great girl, isn’t she?”
“Of course. Carol, do you have any business here or did you just wander off the street because you’re a fan of my Instagram?”
Without notice, she lets out a piercing laugh. If we were outside, it would’ve been enough to scare the pigeons away. Luckily for the pigeons, I’m the only one who has to deal with it.
“You’re so funny! So, so funny! I mean, like, seriously funny! Like top notch, stand-up, SNL, Pete Davidson, levels of—”
“I get it. I’m funny. Thanks. But, you haven’t answered me. Do you actually know Emmy or…”
“Heavens, yes! We work together at Floreale! I was there when she slipped and fell and, of course, I accompanied her to the hospital. Poor thing, she’s so clumsy. But she’ll be fine, right? Tell me she’ll be fine, Evan, please!” She wraps both her hands around my arm, clinging to me like a drowning woman.
At the same time, two nurses come back into the emergency room. They see what’s happening and give us a suspicious look.
“How many best friends does he have?” I hear one of the nurses say to the other.
I pull my arm away from Carol’s grasp. “Yes, Emmy will be more than fine. Listen, why don’t you go home now? Larisa and Jo are here, as am I. Three people is more than enough. We’ll take care of Emmy. Alright?”
“If that’s what you want me to do…” she says in a flirty voice.
“Yes, that’s what I want.”
She leaves through the revolving doors, and I’m left alone with the nurses.
“Your … other best friend is almost done with her x-rays, Dr. Davis,” one of them tells me.
I leave the emergency room, not bothering to answer her.
All I care about is Emmy.