Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
After searching her soul and thoroughly thinking things through, Erika made a list in her phone of a step-by-step plan she would follow. Lists were how she’d stayed organized when she had several professional plates in the air at once, and she figured why not apply the same skill to her personal struggles, as well?
She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t thought of this before. So far, her plan had seven steps.
Step one: Schedule the final exams for the practitioner program.
Step two: Ace those exams.
Step three: Create a new updated resume.
Step four: Research potential job openings.
Step five: Tell Callie of my plans to leave.
Step six: Request a formal meeting with Tim to inform him of my career goals.
Step seven: Text Cody.
That last one was a doozy, but since it had been outlined on the list, the item must not only be addressed but completed. That had always been nonnegotiable for Erika. It was how she managed to get so much done despite her full schedule. The system worked for her, and she wouldn’t alter those parameters now. Otherwise, she would never accomplish anything.
The wrench came when as she was in the midst of doing step one, Cody texted her .
Cody : I know you may not even be interested in hearing from me anymore, but I’d like to throw my hat in the ring one more time for my own conscience’s sake. Will you give me another chance? Even if it’s just over these texts?
Okay, messing up her order of operations wasn’t something she’d been prepared for. But since he’d already done what she’d been trying to gather up the courage to do, she didn’t think it’d be right to ignore him.
Erika : I’d prefer to meet in person, if that’s okay. Not this Saturday, but next Saturday if you’re available.
His response came back immediately.
Cody : I’m available. When and where?
Erika : How do you feel about Three Sisters Barbecue Excellence?
She figured neutral territory would be somewhere they’d never been, which turned out to be most places since they’d never gotten their feet off the ground, so to speak.
Cody : I love BBQ.
Erika : How about six that evening?
Cody : I’ll be there.
Despite not expecting it, she felt a remarkable amount of relief that Cody had reached out to her first. It boded well for them figuring out what to do in the future. But first, she must laser in all her efforts on the steps that came before that.
So, Erika did.
She scheduled her exams for that Saturday morning and after the four-hour time period allotted to her, she wrapped them up. It’d been somewhat tiring to have all the knowledge she’d been studying for so long summarized on a screen in front of her like that, but she’d departed the testing center feeling fairly confident.
Nothing had tripped her up or caused her to freak out because she hadn’t known the answer. No. She’d recognized every question they’d thrown at her. She could be wrong about that, of course, but for that particular moment, she felt like she’d held her own.
Also, it felt incredibly rewarding to check that item off her list.
Since she didn’t know if she’d aced her exams or not, she continued to build her resume. That didn’t prove hard since she already had the template she’d used to get hired on at the pediatric office a year and a half ago.
With a few tweaks, she had an updated page of all her qualifications noting the date she’d taken the exam. She was thinking positively and had her plan set up to include sending her resume to every organization that might have an opening. She wasn’t letting not having the official test results yet slow her down.
It was an admittedly new outlook for her, but since she was all about embracing change at the moment, it felt good to try it out.
Sending those resumes came with the ease of hitting a button as she emailed them to the various positions looking to hire someone with her expertise. One of them was the main clinic here in town. She loved the idea of such a short commute, especially since she was applying for an open position in their endocrinology department. With luck, she’d soon be doing her part to cure type one diabetes.
Yet as earthshattering as taking those steps had felt, the next two scared her even more. Still, she bit the bullet.
“Callie, can I take you to lunch today?” she asked her friend, placing her trembling hands behind her back.
“Of course. Where do you want to go?”
“This may sound like an oddball request, but could we pick up something and eat in my car?”
A quizzical look dawned on Callie’s features, but she didn’t balk. “I don’t see why not.”
So after purchasing the deli sandwiches they so often partook of, Erika broke the news. Callie knew she’d been working on her certification all this time. “You’re my friend, so I wanted you to know first. I’ve taken my nurse practitioner exams.”
“Oh? That’s awesome. What score did you get?”
“Not sure. Not yet. I’ll let you know whenever I do. The thing is that I’m eager to work in a field more directly related to treating type one diabetes in children, so I’m applying for jobs in that arena.” Erika paused, expecting an explosion. When it didn’t come, she went on. “Outside of your brother’s office.”
“Yeah, I figured that’s what ‘applying for jobs’ meant.”
Still no explosion.
“Are you mad at me?”
“Mad?” Callie squinted at her. “No. I’m not looking forward to you leaving, but I can’t say it’s a surprise.”
Erika goggled at her. “It’s not?”
“No. It was kind of a no-brainer that you’d want to explore bigger and better things. Why go for such a hard-won certification otherwise? We’ve been lucky to have you for this long, especially with Tim’s hijinks.”
Wow. That wasn’t nearly as painful as Erika had been afraid it would be.
“So, you don’t mind?”
“Mind? Of course, I mind. The selfish part of me wants to sink to my knees and beg you to stay. It’s going to be awful to not have you around anymore. But I get it. Nursing is important but specializing so you can do more is even more important. I’ll be happy for you even if it’ll stink for me. Sorry. Shouldn’t have said that.”
“Oh…” Erika hugged her friend, and it struck her how differently Callie had reacted to this news than either of her in-laws would’ve in the same position.
If Nikki or Bruce had been in Callie’s place they likely would’ve guilt-tripped her until she felt compelled to remain in the same position despite all the time and education Erika had put into her achievements. Even if doing so might deprive her of the opportunity to help cure the disease that killed their son.
Not that they would purposely do that, it was simply how they were accustomed to behaving. It was almost like maintaining the status quo had become one of their most central personality traits. That and being the parents of an only child who had passed away in his early twenties. Everything in their lives still centered around that single tragic event.
Just like so much of Erika’s life and personality had.
The more she contemplated how she’d been existing rather than living, the more it upset her. She didn’t believe for one minute that dwelling in the past like that would ever be something that Blake would want for her. And going to her grave this last time had proved that.
Erika had been more at peace since that visit than she’d been in, well… sixteen years.
“The next person I need to speak to about this is your brother,” she told Callie. “I came to you first because I didn’t want you feeling blindsided.”
“Before you do, can I ask you for one thing?”
“Definitely.”
“Will you wait until a formal offer of employment elsewhere has been made to you before presenting your resignation to Tim? That way I can put some feelers for another registered nurse out in the ethers of the internet.”
Over the next week, Erika kept her nose to the grindstone while also checking her email for news on her test scores. She at last received the scores that Wednesday, and not only did she pass, she aced them. Unable to hold back, she approached Callie at the front desk the second she was between patients.
“Guess what?” she whispered.
“What?” Callie said, typing something with her keyboard.
“It’s official.” Erika flipped her phone toward her friend and Callie gasped.
“Is that a perfect score?”
Erika nodded. She was beside herself with joy. If it wouldn’t have shown a distinct lack of professionalism, she would have skipped around the office whooping and hollering.
Callie clapped her hands over her mouth and did a near silent whisper-scream. Still, both Julie and Tim threw them pensive looks when they came across their quiet but clearly delighted display.
“What’s going on?” Julie asked.
“Everything all right?” Tim inquired right on her heels.
“All good,” Callie covered for Erika, and again, she was reminded of just how good a friend the sister of her boss had been to her.
Within an hour of that, Erika received a request for an interview with the local clinic and instantly agreed to it. It was amazing how swiftly things seemed to jump forward when all the right circumstances fell into place.
Once closing time came, Erika rushed to make her exit. Despite how she’d left everything with her parents, she felt excited to update them. Even though they kept butting heads about Blake and her hanging out so much with the Cantrells, they’d also been endlessly supportive of her, especially of her career. She knew they felt proud of her, and now that she’d come so far, she yearned to share this with them.
Yet Tim approached her before she made it to the door.
“Erika, may I speak with you?”
“Uh,” she didn’t bother to be discreet about checking the time. “Sure.”
“So, I hear you’re thinking about leaving us,” he said once she’d shut the door behind her, and Erika felt sorely tempted to throttle her best friend. How could Callie rat her out like this?
“Where did you hear that?”
“The Rocky Ridge Medical Clinic.” He tapped on his computer keyboard. “They were checking your references.”
Right. She’d forgotten all about that. In her head, she apologized to Callie, thankful she hadn’t accused her of anything out loud.
“It’s true,” she confirmed. It was time to be straight with her current employer. “I want type one diabetes eradicated in children, and I’m dedicating the rest of my career to making that happen.”
Like with Callie, she’d been anticipating a much larger blowup. Tim could be short with people, and while none of those people were ever his young patients, she knew from direct experience that the adults in this office could be fair game. Not that he’d sniped at her in months and months now. Not since his sister stepped in on Erika’s behalf.
Yet the doctor remained cool as a cucumber.
“Have they already offered you a position?” He was being nosey, and he must’ve realized this because he backtracked. “If you don’t mind updating me.”
She sat back in the chair opposite his. “No. I have an interview with them, but no offer has been formally extended to me yet. They seemed quite interested, though, so I’m confident they will.”
He spun to face her. “I’m not trying to impede your career choices or anything, but if you’re willing to hear me out, I have a proposal for you.”
What was all this about?
“I’m listening.”
“I’d like to expand this practice so that I’m only working in-office three to four days a week. Preferably three. Amanda would like me home to help with the kids more, and well, we’ve just discovered that she’s pregnant with number four.”
Talk about unpredictable events.
“Oh, wow. Congrats. Does your sister know?”
“Yes. We told her a couple of days ago. We can hire another RN to fulfill your original duties, and now that you’re fully qualified, you can take on some of my patient load. If you’d like, we can make sure any patient with diabetes or endocrinology concerns are directed to you. We could share the practice, which would mean your name going up right next to mine. I’d be willing to share ownership as well, maybe a sixty-forty split in my favor?”
Erika gawked at him, speechless. Tim waved a hand in a dismissive gesture.
“We don’t have to worry about all that right now,” he said. “But if you’d like to consider it, I’d like for you to stay. We can hammer out all the details later. I’ll have Callie adjust the appointment schedule accordingly, then we’ll set up a meeting with our attorneys to make it official. If you agree, that is.”
Thoughts churning like a merry-go-round, Erika openly gawked at him, still incapable of speaking.
It took her three swallows and a raspy clearing of her throat before she eventually succeeded. “I don’t know what to say. I never imagined you asking me this.”
Tim shrugged. “Well, I am. You’re not just competent and efficient as a nurse, you’re caring. You get along well with Julie and obviously Callie. And me, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do. But you probably need to think about it. Will you let me know by the new year?”
The new year, a little over a month away.
“No problem.”
Erika had so much to parse out in her brain, but she appreciated Tim providing her with an opportunity she’d never considered. If she could transition into her new role and treat the patients she wanted to treat, would it be worth it to stay? Should she? Erika didn’t know. She needed to process everything it might entail first.
But the concept excited her.
On her way home, Erika’s thoughts scampered away from the mechanizations of her job and toward her meetup with Cody. If that night wound up going as well with Cody as this just went with Tim, she’d be so grateful.
And maybe due to her past tendency to be pessimistic—a habit she just started attempting to break—but an annoying little niggle in the back of her psyche warned her that it would be highly unlikely to be that simple.