43
Dr. Howe took a job at another hospital, officially becoming someone else’s problem. I might have picked up a cake from Eddie’s store to celebrate the occasion. But Gloria provided the confetti.
And even Dr. Harper had a small piece of cake. “No hard feelings?” he asked me.
I hesitated briefly. There were some hard feelings.
But my year of working for him combined with the genuine compassion he showed me when Harry died were enough to tell a white lie.
He would never fully understand the reign of terror that Dr. Howe had held the nurses under because he had never experienced anything of the sort.
And in the end, he did the right thing—even if Beverly Diamond had forced his hand.
Besides, I would get over it. Eventually.
If I could make peace with Ruth, there were few grudges that I would hold.
“Let’s put it behind us,” I said, extending a hand.
He set his piece of cake down on the counter in the nurses’ lounge and took it.
“Barbara?” Donna asked, scanning the room for me.
“Duty calls,” I told him, then went to Donna. “What’s happening?”
“Um—your mother-in-law brought a . . . friend . . . to volunteer today.”
Did Ruth have friends? Then it dawned on me. “You don’t mean—?”
Donna nodded. “I’m at a loss here.”
“Better than having her as a patient?” I asked uncertainly.
“She showed up for you last week,” Donna said. “Maybe you can handle this one.”
“What’s she doing?”
“Bossing the nurses around like when she was a patient. Can you talk some sense into her?”
I grinned tightly and rolled my eyes. “I’m never going to get rid of her either now, am I?”
“It’s looking that way.”
“What floor is she on?”
“Two.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I said. “Go have some cake. It’s from Greene’s.”
Donna smiled. “Don’t mind if I do.” She started to walk away and then spotted Dr. Harper. “Dr. Harper, this is the nurses’ lounge. You have your own space for doctors.”
He looked at the floor. “Right. I’m sorry. I—”
“I’m teasing,” Donna said as I walked away.
I hummed to myself as I took the stairs down a floor, feeling better than I had in a long time.
I found Mrs. Kline at the nurses’ station, wearing a red-and-white striped pinafore.
“—absolutely needs an electrocardiogram. Now you put that in his chart and go get Dr. Lefkowitz and tell him he’s performing one.”
“Mrs. Kline,” I said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
She jumped at my touch and turned around, looking relieved when she saw me. “Good. Barbara will agree with me. Tell them that Mr. Bellflower needs an electrocardiogram.”
“Let’s take a little walk,” I said.
“A walk? A man is going to die if we don’t help him.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But his care isn’t up to us. Come on. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”
“I don’t need coffee,” she said shrilly, and I realized that was likely true. She was practically vibrating as it was.
“Well, I do,” I said. Especially if I had to deal with Mrs. Kline on a weekly basis. “And we need to have a little talk. So come with me. Please.”
She leveled a glare at the nurse on duty. “I expect to see Dr. Lefkowitz in there when I get back,” she said, then turned to walk with me. “Let’s keep this quick. The standard of care is abysmal if I don’t stay on them.”
“My dear Mrs. Kline—it is Mrs., isn’t it? You didn’t go to medical school?”
A bony finger appeared in my face. “Don’t you get smart with me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. But did you ever notice that every time I came to talk to you, it was to agree with what the doctors and nurses said?”
She made a sour face. “I did.”
“That’s because I’m neither a doctor nor a nurse. I started off as a volunteer, doing what the candy stripers do. If I noticed something amiss, I would bring it to a doctor’s or nurse’s attention, but it was never my job to diagnose or order tests.”
“Well, after so much time here, I have a greater understanding—”
“Mrs. Kline,” I interrupted gently. “We all have a role to play. And everyone appreciates that you want to help, especially after how ... contentiously ... you sometimes behaved as a patient. But to do so, you’re going to need to trust the doctors and nurses to do their jobs.”
“But they’re not—”
“Did they miss a diagnosis on you?”
“No, but—”
“Like I said, if you have a concern, feel free to ask about it. But you cannot boss the doctors or nurses around if you want to volunteer here.”
She looked at me for a long time, then opened her mouth to reply when the hospital’s public address system cut her off. “Dr. Lefkowitz, you’re needed on two immediately. Dr. Lefkowitz report to two immediately.”
“See?” Mrs. Kline crowed. “I told you the patient needed an electro—”
The PA went off again. “Mrs. Barbara Feldman, report to the nurses’ station on two immediately.”
I swore softly. “We’ll finish this later,” I said, walking off as quickly as I could.
I had only been paged three times—twice to deal with Mrs. Kline having a meltdown, and once when the school called to tell me that Bobby had fallen off the monkey bars and was bleeding from the head.
With Mrs. Kline not currently hurling insults at the staff, the likelihood of it being the school calling went up dramatically.
Donna was standing at the nurses’ station when I reached it. “Which kid?” I asked.
“I’m sorry?”
“The school. Which kid is hurt?” She looked confused. “Oh, just give me the phone.”
“Sit,” Donna said, pulling out a chair behind the desk.
I looked around and saw the phone still in the cradle, no lights blinking to indicate a hold. “Are they on their way in an ambulance?” I asked, fear locking my throat in a vise grip.
“It’s not the kids,” Donna said gently, pushing me down into the chair. She took a deep breath. “Ruth collapsed in a patient’s room. Dr. Lefkowitz is with her right now. We think she’s having a heart attack.”
I looked at her, the tension draining from my shoulders. “What is she trying to trick me into doing now? Did she put you up to this? Or is it a Gloria prank?”
“Barbara—”
“I’m not falling for it a third time,” I said, standing up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I want to finish my talk with Mrs. Kline and make sure she understood me loud and clear.”
“Barbara!” Donna said, taking both of my arms at the elbow. “Ruth actually collapsed.”
For a few seconds, her words didn’t connect. And then I found myself back in the chair, the room spinning.