24. On The Lighter
ON THE LIGHTER
“Ho, ho, ho,” Gabriela said, walking into the third patient’s hospital room on Christmas morning two and a half weeks later.
“You’re not Santa,” Molly said, giggling. “You’re my doctor.”
“I’m not Santa,” she agreed. She was wearing red scrubs under the lab coat, had a black belt around it, and black sneakers on her feet.
Even had some white fuzzy socks that she’d tucked the bottom of her scrubs into.
The Santa hat was her crowning touch. “But I like to pretend I’m him. How are you feeling?”
“Better. Can I go home today? Santa came. I know he did. And I’m missing it.”
Poor little girl came in running too high a temperature for Gabriela to consider releasing her home yesterday. All her preliminary blood work came back good, except her white blood cell count. High enough to show some kind of infection, but nothing pointing to what or where.
And with her fever not breaking, it was a night in the hospital, despite everyone’s protests.
“I know, sweetie.” She’d pulled up Molly’s chart before she came in. “Your fever is still here, but not as high. So that is good. Nothing hurts on you at all?”
She was completely baffled, but if the fever broke, they’d have no reason to keep her.
“I’m hungry,” Molly said. “Does that count? Like my belly hurts because it wants food. I ordered it. The nurse showed me how.”
She turned when she heard a noise behind her, saw Molly’s mother coming in. She knew there was another child in the family and probably home with the father.
“Can Molly come home today?”
“Merry Christmas. We were just talking. Her fever isn’t as high, but that is to be expected since we are keeping acetaminophen in her round the clock along with fluids.
She ordered breakfast. Her blood work is showing an infection, but without knowing what, I don’t want to blindly give her an antibiotic or just assume. ”
“But if her fever is down, can she still go home? It’s Christmas. Even for a few hours and come back.”
“I’m sorry. It doesn’t work that way. If we could pinpoint the infection it’d make it easier and I’d get her out of here for you this morning, even with the fever at what it is.”
“I want to go home and open my gifts,” Molly said, starting to cry.
She really felt for the little girl. Six years old was still young enough to believe and old enough to really enjoy the holidays.
“Here is your breakfast. Why don’t you try to eat and I’ll have a little chat with your mother in the hall?”
The aide brought over Molly’s food, took the top off and left while Gabriela stood outside the door.
“There is no way she can go home for a few hours?” Molly’s mother asked. “I want her better, but she’s just a kid.”
“Let’s give it some time. My fear is letting her out of here only for her to come back again tomorrow. If in a couple hours she’s still stable with her temperature, I’ll release her. Our office isn’t open this weekend. No one wants to sit in the ER again.”
“No.”
“Let’s see how she’s doing with her breakfast.”
They moved back into the room to see Molly spitting her food out.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, moving closer. “Does it taste funny?”
“It hurts.”
“What does? Your throat? Your tongue?”
“My tooth.”
Gabriela pulled her penlight out. “Open up for me.”
She was looking around at the back teeth, then up under the roof of her mouth. She didn’t see anything.
The minute she pulled Molly’s lower lip down, she saw the swollen and red gum around two of her bottom front teeth, almost in the front, then looked on the inside.
She touched the tooth and gums. “Ouch,” Molly whimpered. “Right there.”
“Well,” she said as cheerfully as she could, even though it looked painfully swollen with a little bit of pus. “Found the infection. Which is a good thing for sure.” Not so good that this was most likely going to hurt, but she could treat it and send them home.
“What is it? Her tooth?”
“Come here,” she said to Molly’s mom. “She’s got what looks to be something stuck between her two teeth. Maybe food. I’ll get it out, but it became infected. Maybe her body was fighting it last night and it just appeared now. Did your tooth hurt last night, Molly?”
The little girl shook her head. “No. And I was eating before I didn’t feel good.”
“She ate a big lunch with no problems. She didn’t start running a fever for a few hours after.”
“I’m going to get some dental floss. If you can be a good girl and let me try to get it out, it will relieve some of the pressure and pain, and then I can give you some medicine to swish around in your mouth and more to take for a week. You should be able to go home.”
“Really?” Molly asked.
She turned to Molly’s mother. “I’m going to want you to call the office on Monday and bring her in to be checked, or if you prefer, call her dentist to get in.
If she can’t get in there Monday, then we’ll see her to assure the infection is getting better, but she still should see the dentist to make sure there isn’t anything else I’m not able to see. ”
“I can do that.”
“I don’t like the dentist,” Molly wailed.
“Well, sweetie, few people do. But you know what? If you flossed daily like I think they tell you to do, you would have gotten this when it happened.”
Gabriela left to find floss, which proved to be a harder thing than she imagined and had to get help from a nurse.
There was some lecturing going on between Molly and her mother when she returned, but there was no reason to harp on it now.
“Is it going to hurt?” Molly asked.
“It might. I can’t promise it won’t, but we’ve got to get it out. Can you open wide for me?”
Molly opened her mouth, gripped her mother’s hand and she slid the floss in, wiggled out what she thought it was and kept going while the child flinched but held as steady as she could.
The bubble of pus popped while she was at it, saving her from having to go back in to take care of that.
She wiped away that mess and the blood, had Molly swish her mouth out a few times, then they were done.
There were a lot of tears over that. Maybe some on her part over the smell.
But all things considered, it could have been worse.
“What is that?” Molly’s mother asked of the particle she’d taken out of her daughter’s mouth that she’d laid on a napkin.
“Some kind of fruit peel maybe?” She was trying not to look too closely.
“I had an apple a few days ago,” Molly said.
Days? Did the kid not brush her teeth?
“Now we know the importance of brushing and flossing twice a day. I’m going to get her script written and you can fill it right at the pharmacy here before you leave. We’ll give her one dose through her IV to get her started.”
“She doesn’t swallow pills yet.”
“Not a problem.” She typed into the computer. “Sent off. It should be ready by the time we get Molly discharged. Which still could be an hour or more, but we will get her out of here.”
“Thank you so much,” Molly’s mom said. “I hope you get to spend some time with your family today.”
“You have a great day.”
She finished up with two other rooms, went down to the ER to see if there was anything they needed there, returned to her ward, checked in with the parents or other family members who showed up and said she’d be back to check in later, but to call with questions or concerns.
Her mother was doing brunch today, so that everyone could relax and enjoy the rest of their time off.
Not her.
She worked last night, had a few hours off before she had to return, and wished she could have spent the night with Luca, but so far had agreed that when they were working, it was best to not put that pressure on each other.
They talked when they had breaks, but otherwise it was part of keeping things on the lighter side.
Until they had those five days off together.
Then it was hot and heavy.
She hoped it was working for him as much as it was for her.
She left the hospital, her gift for him in the backseat. They’d exchange them before she brought him to her parents’ for brunch, then bring him back home when she returned to the hospital.
The minute she pulled into his driveway, the front door opened and Luca was standing behind the screen, a big welcoming smile on his face.
“Merry Christmas,” he said, his eyes dropping to the white socks she had outside her red scrubs. “Are you in costume?” Her jacket was covering most of her outfit.
“I am. My form of Santa. Do you like my hat?”
He opened the screen door wide for her, leaned down and gave her a kiss, then took her jacket, eyeing the rest of her outfit.
“I like your hat and everything else. I might have to copy that with red scrubs sometime.”
“Easy and comfy. The kids enjoy it. And I’m the hero discharging one now that I admitted last night.”
“Couldn’t be too serious then.”
They moved into his living room where he’d put up a tiny fake tree. One she’d bought and brought over so he had some cheer in his house for this holiday.
She was guessing he had done nothing for the past few years.
“Came in last night running a high fever that couldn’t be tamed.
High white blood count but no signs of where the infection was.
Until she tried to eat breakfast and her tooth hurt.
It didn’t yesterday. I won’t tell you what I dug out between her teeth.
” She shivered. “No way I could be a dentist. I tried not to gag over the smell either.”
He laughed. “There are worse smells than that.”
“It didn’t seem it to me this morning when I was popping pus and anything else that might have been living there. This little girl doesn’t like to floss and I’m betting she doesn’t brush as much as she says she does.”
“Okay, enough. You’re going to ruin my appetite for brunch.”
“Here’s your gift,” she said, shoving the big stocking in his hand. It was more fun for her to do that.
“Well, well, well,” he said. “I think we might have been thinking along the same lines again.”
She moved into his living room and saw a big stocking lying on the floor with the name Gabby on it.
“Very funny.”
“That’s the point. Not that I’d call you that, but really, I couldn’t fit your whole name on it and thought I’d pick on you and your last mixer date.”
She shook her head, grinning. “Who goes first?”
“Ladies first,” he said.
She sat on the floor and reached for the stocking. One by one, she pulled out lotion that she loved, and he must have noted it staying at her place.
There was a bottle of perfume the same brand as her lotion. “I’m not sure I knew they made this.”
She took the top off and sniffed, the light floral scent was more pleasing than her lotion, so she spritzed it on her wrist.
He grabbed her hand and brought it to his nose. “Sexy. That’s why I got it.”
“I’m learning you don’t need much to turn you on.”
“Only you.”
The wiggle of his eyebrows was meant to keep it funny, but when he said things like that, she wanted it to be more serious.
But she didn’t want to be the first to say it or change their dynamics.
She cleared her throat. “Let’s see what else is in here.”
There was a pair of socks with stethoscopes on them, a couple different kinds of chocolate, even a small bag of chips like the one they emptied after their first night of sex.
That was a cute touch. A funny one.
Something she wished she’d thought of.
In the bottom was a small jewelry box.
Yikes.
This might be getting too serious now.
“It’s not going to bite you,” he said. “It’s nothing fancy. Just something that caught my eye. It goes with today, I guess.”
She ripped off the paper, then lifted the top and saw the silver snowflakes hanging off of lever backs.
“These are great,” she said, taking them out of the box and then pulling out her little silver studs. “I love snow.”
“I know you do. You told me. Now Santa can wear snowflakes today.”
She put her new earrings in, then leaned over for a kiss. “They’re perfect. I love them. I love everything. You’re a good gift giver.”
“I try,” he said softly.
Softer than maybe he meant it to be.
She didn’t care. Their dynamic was changing and it was in a good way.
“Open yours now.”
They had more than similar ideas. Some of his favorite candy, his aftershave. “Oh my God. Where did you find socks with French fries on them?”
“You said they were your weakness. Don’t worry, I won’t steal them. They won’t fit anyway.”
He rolled his eyes. “I’ll be wearing them the next time I’m on shift.”
She glanced at his feet and noticed the red and green ones on, just a bright pattern.
He pulled out a few more funny pairs of socks she’d gotten him once she realized he enjoyed doing that and making the kids laugh.
The last gift was a pair of leather gloves since he complained his hands were cold the other day.
“I think we both did well,” she said.
“We did.”
“Are you ready to face my parents now that they know we are more than just friends?”
“Are they going to grill me or something?”
“It’s too cold to light the grill. But you’ll be fine.”
Because she’d already warned her parents not to overstep.
They’d just given her a sly look like they knew she’d been lying to them—and herself—all along.
But she really wasn’t.
Just because she had felt more than friendship for Luca weeks ago didn’t mean he did the same.
Or hadn’t until they had sex.
Now she knew it was more. Just not sure how much more.
“I’m going to be fine because I’m sucking up,” he said, getting off the floor.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I remembered you said that your mother liked cinnamon buns and I picked up a box of them at the bakery last night.”
“That’s super sweet of you, and might be just a tad bit dangerous.”
“Why is that?”
“Because they might jump from us not being friends to being in a relationship.” She slapped her hands to her cheeks.
Hamming it up, but maybe that was the only way she could broach this and see his reaction.
“That’s a skip over dating, right? I need help with the lingo and status now.”
She bumped her shoulder into his. He wasn’t giving her much but didn’t look panicked either.
“Seems you’re catching up pretty fast.”
He put one arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “For a second I worried I was falling behind.”
“I don’t think that’s possible. Let’s go face the firing squad. It’s not just you getting grilled, trust me.”
“Good. It’s nice not to be alone.”
And she was positive there was a deeper meaning there for him, because there sure the hell was for her.