8. Leo
“They gave you a computer? That was nice of them!”my mother says on the other end of the phone.
“Everything that they have given me was nice of them.” I sit back in my office chair, scoping out the area. “Between the room and my office, I may try to make this place permanent.”
“You would want to continue working there?” There is a hint of something in my mother’s voice, but it is hard to decipher the tone.
“If all goes well, I wouldn”t mind staying here.” I realize why she has asked me in that tone. “I know it’s farther away, but I’ll still come see you guys.”
“Sweetheart,” her voice holds a hint of sadness, “you don’t visit much as it is, and I’m not trying to make you feel bad, but with you being further away now, how will you be able to visit us more?”
“I only meet with my patient two days a week. The other days are to go through my notes from our sessions. I can do that from anywhere, I suppose. And my weekends are free.”
“You know your father, and I would be thrilled for you to come visit.”
“How is Dad?” When I speak to my parents, my mother is always the only one on the phone.
She sighs. “He is good at keeping himself busy. I swear that man never stops working. If it’s not his job, then it’s something at home he is working on.”
The memories of my father pop into my mind. When the man wasn’t working, he started a new project around the house. He once took it upon himself to surprise my mother with a full bathroom makeover.
I offered to help many times, but he told me to play outside because I was still too young. Being outside and playing with our imagination was what children should be doing.
So, I went outside to play with my neighborhood friends but soon grew bored because they didn’t have the same imagination as me. I went back into the house and bugged my dad until he agreed to let me help.
He is the man who taught me where hard and honest work can get you. I looked up to him not only for his work ethic but also for his love for my mother.
He would do grand things for her on anniversaries and little things here and there to make her smile.It was when he did the little things that my mother smiled the most.
These two gave me hope that one day, I will find someone to love the way my father loves my mother. I can love and care for someone as they deserve to be treated.
One day it will happen.
“What is he working on now?” My thoughts fizzle out as I come back to the present.
“The backyard. He has been taking advantage of this beautiful weather.” Another sigh leaves her before a laugh. “He was talking about getting a pool installed.”
“In a city where it rains all the time?” A smile forms on my lips.
“Seattle has its trials.”
I chuckle. “Oh, tell him to put a dome over the pool! That way, he can use it all year round!”
“Leo Oliver, don’t you dare give him that idea!” The motherly scold is prominent in her tone. “He already has too much on his plate, plus we don’t need a pool.”
A booming laugh finally escapes me, and I cannot hold it in any longer. “And what is filling up his plate?”
“You will find out for yourself when you visit.”
Shaking my head with a smile, a notification appears on the computer screen. I click the email address to find Dr. Bennett inviting me to meet with the other staff members—a way to get to know everyone later that evening after all the patients sleep.
“That sounds like a plan, Mom,” I say. “Look, I have to go into a meeting.”
“My son. So professional.” She gushes to herself. “Alright, sweetie, you have a good meeting. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mom. More than all the stars in the universe.I’ll call you soon.” It’s a promise I intend to keep.
I find myself in the common room faster than I expected. The room is full of nurses and doctors. Seems that everyone invited tonight is here already.
The only two faces I recognize are Edith and Dr. Bennett. All the other employees are mingling, and a white styrofoam cup in each of their hands is full of who knows what. Surely, we can’t have alcohol in this place.
“Leo!” Edith”s voice booms over the chatter of the nurses and fellow doctors. She sweeps across the room, a drink in hand, and finds her way to me. “I’m glad you can make it to meet everyone!”
“Please tell me Dr. Bennett didn’t plan this for me?”
“Of course he did! Henry wants all the staff to feel welcome. He does this for every new employee.” She leads me to a table where there is a bowl of punch. Taking the spoon out, she pours the pink liquid into a cup for me. “This way, you can get to know everyone else that works here.”
I take the cup from her, my lips meeting the edge of the styrofoam. Taking a generous sip, my eyes scan the room at the people congregating here.
Most are women, except for a few older men. All are in casual wear, not work attire. I guess I didn’t get that memo.
Once the liquid slides down my throat, I pull the cup away and eye it curiously.
“Were you expecting the punch to have a punch?”
I glance down at the old woman. “Would it be bad if I said yes?”
“Would it be bad to say I have a flask hidden away? You only need to ask if you want an extra kick to your drink.” She smirks.
“Oh, Edith, I think you and I will get along well.” I laugh, pulling the same sound from her.
“Leo, there you are!” Dr. Bennett claps me on the back, thankfully after Edith mentioned the booze. I smile at Henry before staring at the woman holding her finger to her mouth.
Her secret is safe with me.
“Dr. Bennett... Henry, you didn’t have to put everything together for me.”
“Nonsense.” He dismisses my words with a wave. “It’s tradition when we get a new staff member. Although, not everyone is here. We have a few guards missing, but they must watch the patients while they are in their rooms.”
That would make sense with the lack of men in this room.
“Anyway, go mingle! Introduce yourself to the others,” he suggests with a grin, then pushes me on my way.
I politely smile, nodding my head in greeting while passing people. I should stop and talk with them; normally, I’m not shy, but with colleagues in a new place, I can’t help but be nervous to meet them.
“They won’t bite.” A calming voice sounds from my left. I pause the movement of the cup right before it meets my lips.
Finding the source of the female voice, I am met with a woman around my age.
Her golden copper hair glows vibrantly against the contrast of her pale skin. It has a wave to it, and the ends meet her collarbone.
She is wearing a green sundress with tiny white flowers printed all over, which pairs well with the shade of her locks. The slightly puffed sleeves cover her shoulders, while the neckline sits above her breasts.
Jesus, Leo, stop checking her out! She’s your coworker!
Gathering myself, I finally let myself laugh at her comment.“I get it, though. Henry threw me the same welcoming party when I started working here. It was totally awkward.” She hides her smile behind her cup.
“I think I’d rather get to know everyone on my terms, you know?” I bring my cup down, letting it rest before my stomach. “Everyone in the same room can be a little...”
“Intimidating?” she finishes my sentence. “Trust me, I’ve been there. You don’t want to make a fool of yourself when you want to earn your colleague”s respect.”
“Exactly,” I agree. “That, and I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
“The only way you do that is if you fall or choose to participate in karaoke.”
“Karaoke? You’re kidding.”
“Sadly, I’m not.” Her head shakes with a laugh. “It’s Henry’s idea of keeping things interesting. As if we don’t already have enough of that around here.”
“Normalcy,” I state the word, then take a long sip of the punch. Edith’s booze would do wonders for me right now. “I assume we can’t get out of here much with our jobs. He wants to add a bit of normalcy for us.”
She looks at me, bright green eyes meeting mine, trying to fight her smile. “Wise words, Doctor. Does this mean you’ll be singing for us tonight?”
“Oh, God, no!” I toss my head back with a laugh. “If I get up there, I won’t recover from the embarrassment. How about you?”
“You can count me out.” Her face twists in disgust at the thought of having to sing in front of everyone. “My name is Scarlet, by the way.”
“Leo.” I introduce myself, then point at her hair. “Your name is fitting.”
“What can I say?” She sighs playfully, picking at a strand of hair. “My parents are pretty original. My mother has a deeper shade of red, but they knew the odds of me having any red hair were in their favor.”
“I like it.” The corner of my lip pulls up. Keep it professional, buddy. “Are you a doctor or a nurse?”
“A nurse,” she answers, sipping on her punch. “One of the head nurses in a different ward than yours.”
“Are you on a higher ward?” My curiosity has peaked.
“Yes.” She nods. “I’m in Ward R.”
My eyes widen as I breathe. “Damn.”
Scarlet’s lips roll together as her head slowly moves. “It was a lot at first. I didn’t think I could handle it, but they believed in me. Dr. Bennett told me he put me in that ward because of my calming presence. He thought it would help those patients, and it has. I’ve been here for four years now and wouldn’t change a thing.”
“That’s amazing, though. You are making a difference for those patients.”
“I am, aren’t I?” A smile makes its way on her face, and I wish she would grant me more of those. Scarlet speaks again but gets cut off by a microphone screeching.
Most of the others hold their hands up to their ears, but those of us with cups don’t have that luxury. Our eyes squint at the sound, bodies flinching. It finally goes away, and Dr. Bennett apologizes.
“He won’t force me up there since this is all for me, right?” I lean over, quiet enough for Scarlet to hear.
“Henry won’t force you to do something you don’t want. He is all about comfort,” she states matter-of-factly.
“Does that mean he wouldn’t get mad if I bailed?”
Her head whips in my direction. “Take me with you! Please! I can’t sit through Barbra singing My Heart Will Go On again. I refuse to.”
I laugh even though I’m not sure who Barbra is, but Scarlet”s tone is pure seriousness. It also makes me not want to stick around to hear that. “Okay. You can come with me.”
“What are we going to do?”
“I have an idea.” I smirk before turning on my heels, searching for the woman with the alcohol.
She is standing in the back, resting against a wall, half listening to Henry up front. Her eyes meet mine with an apologetic smile, sorry that I must witness what will happen. She doesn’t want to be here either.
“Remember when you said all I had to do was ask?”
A look of relief floods her face. “Oh, sweet Jesus, I thought you would never ask! Come on.”
“Where are we going?” Scarlet asks quietly from behind me.
I let Scarlet follow Edith out of the common room, not answering her question as we enter the front lobby. Edith hurries behind the desk; a small safe sits below the computer”s shelf—one I hadn’t noticed before.
She inputs the code, and a clicking sound echoes out. Then she reaches her hand in; A silver flask is in her grasp.
“Now I’m happy we bailed.” Scarlet chuckles to herself while Edith pours a shot into our cups.
“These parties are rare occasions, but not rare enough.” Edith raises her Styrofoam cup as if she were making a toast.
“Amen.” Scarlett lightly hits her cup against Edith”s. They both take a huge swig of the drink, and I’m left shaking my head, thankful we don’t have to listen to karaoke all night. “Edith, your secret is safe with me.”
She dismisses her with a wave. “I wasn’t worried about you telling on me. You either, Leo. I’m happy to share, but I must go back. Henry will most likely notice if I am missing. As for you two, wander around. Scarlet, maybe you can give him a proper tour of the place.”
Edith leaves and goes to leave us but presses the flask against my chest.
“Don’t go drinking all of it.” She warns us, and when we both agree not to empty the metal can, the woman finally heads back to the party.
“Would you like a tour?” Scarlet’s eyes find mine now that we are alone.
“Why not? I’ve only seen the room we just came from, the cafeteria, my office, and my bedroom,” I state before dramatically gesturing to the room we are in. “Oh, and of course, the grand lobby.”
She giggles, and it’s so fucking cute. “How about I show you the grounds first? It’s too late to take you to the other wards since the patients are asleep, but I’m sure I can show you other places in the building.”
“I could use some fresh air.”
“Right this way, then.” She leaves the small space behind the counter, sliding past me, and I get a whiff of honey. Whatever shampoo she uses is intoxicating. I follow the scent, walking behind her, only stopping as she inputs the code.
As I step outside, the cool breeze relieves me. The building isn’t stuffy, but being inside it for a long time makes you miss the outdoors.Scarlet veers left once our feet meet the pavement of the driveway.
The moon shines bright in the sky, casting light on the grass. Thankfully, the small amount of snow has melted, and I hope that was the last. The clouds littering the sky are generous, allowing us the light from the moon.
We continue to walk silently, finishing our drinks as she leads us to God knows where. When our cups are empty, I untwist the cap and pour more for each of us. “Do the patients get time outside?”
She hums while she swallows the liquid, nodding. “They do. There is a designated place for them to go—a courtyard out back that has fencing, of course, on the off chance someone were to try to escape.”
“Right.”
“Since the building is on a huge piece of land, the courtyard is a decent size. It even has a nice view of the lake, but that is as close as they can get to the water.”
“That makes sense.” I sip on my drink, the liquor warming my body, making me realize it is early January and cold out. Scarlet is only wearing her dress. She must be freezing. “If I had a jacket, I would offer it to you.”
“Don’t worry about me, Leo.” She smiles, the tip of her finger coming up to play with the rim of her cup. “I’m used to colder weather.”
“You aren’t from Washington?”
“Nope,” she answers with a shake of her head. “I’m from Alaska. This weather feels like Summer to me.”
“The summers here for you must suck.”
She tosses her head back, laughing with me. “The summers here make me feel like I could melt away to nothing, but it’s nice to experience the heat.”
Scarlet keeps her eyes forward, giving me the perfect opportunity to get another look at her. The slope of her nose. The plump of her lips. The dark green of her eyes. She might be perfect.
Knowing she might sense my eyes on her, I force them away to realize we have come up to the lake. A bench sits along the edge, pine trees lining the perimeter of the large body of water.
Glancing over my shoulder, I spot my office window. The place where I see the view of the lake every day, but being out here, standing before it, it’s not the same from inside.
From my window, the frame paints the lake as a picture—a piece of art that I’m only allowed to look at with my eyes, but out here . . . it’s different. The moon cascades down on the still water, making the scene look surreal.
I underestimated how big the lake was because I assumed it was smaller that you could easily walk around, but . . . this lake was massive. From the window in my office, it appeared big, but now, standing next to it, it looks like it never ends.
“Wow.” The word slips past my lips in a whisper full of wonder.
“I know,” she agrees. “I love coming out here whenever I can.”
“After dealing with the chaos all day, it’s gotta be peaceful out here.”
“It is. This is a safe space for me, somewhere that I can clear my head. If I have a rough day with one patient or multiple, I like to come out here and forget my day,” she tells me, sipping more of her drink.
“Are you liking it here so far?” Scarlet asks, taking the flask from my hands with a smile.
“I am,” I respond with a grin. “I’ll be honest; I was nervous as hell to work here. It’s way different from the office I was at in the city, but I knew this would be good for me—a change in scenery.”
A long sigh leaves the woman beside me. “The city life has to be chaotic. I could never live there.”
“It’s not all that bad.” I shrug, adding a little more to my cup. “Yeah, it can get loud and overwhelming with all the people, but all the great food places are within walking distance.”
“That is a plus.” She smirks. “Were you living with someone?” My head turns toward her, and she expresses fears that she may have overstepped. “I’m sorry. That was probably too personal of me to ask. I was just wondering because if so, it must have been hard leaving them to come here.”
“I had a roommate. His name is Myles, and he’s my best friend,” I tell her. “It was hard to leave him since we haven’t been separated since we found each other in college, but I still talk with him daily.”
“That’s cute,” she states with a playful smile.
“Are you making fun of me, Scarlet?” I twist my body to face hers.
“No! I would never!” She fights the smile, tugging at her lips. “How you talk about him sounds like he is your partner, not just a friend.” Her head whips in my direction. “I’m not saying that would be a bad thing! If you were gay... I mean... oh my God, I need to stop talking.”
“It’s cute when you ramble.” I chuckle. Great. The liquor is making me brave enough to flirt with her.
“You might be the only one to think that.” She bites at her cheek. “Sorry. When I drink any alcohol, the words won’t stop from spilling out of me.” Scarlet takes her phone from her small purse to look at the time. “It’s getting late. We should probably head back. Hide Edith’s flask before someone sees it.”
“You’re right. I’d hate for it to get confiscated.”
With that, we head back inside. The coast is clear in the lobby; luckily, Edith left the safe open the tiniest bit. I slide the flask back inside, shut the door, and hit the lock button.
“Thank you for the tour,” I tell her when I turn to face her.
Her hand comes up and smacks her forehead. “I didn’t even give you the proper tour. I’m sorry, Leo. Whenever I go outside, I immediately head for the lake. I wasn’t even thinking.”
Laughing, I bring my hand up, fingers wrapping around her wrist to remove it from her head. “It’s okay, Scarlet. This just means you owe me an official tour.”
“Right… yeah, okay.” Her cheeks flush, turning a beautiful shade of pink from the physical contact. “An official tour where I don’t get sidetracked.”
“I can’t wait.” I smirk, dropping her wrist from my grasp. “Goodnight, Scar.”
“Goodnight, Leo.” She smiles, backing into the door for the hallway, where her hand blindly searches for the door handle. She stumbles back when she opens the door, pulling a laugh from me.
When it shuts, and I’m alone in the lobby, I shake my head in disbelief that she works here. Someone my age and so fucking beautiful.
I think I’ll be just fine here.