Chapter 4 Work

An hour later my alarm went off and I was up to get ready for work. Gwyn had an appointment this afternoon to get her birth control refilled by her General Practitioner. Being a conservative Christian girl, it simply would not do for her to become pregnant unexpectedly. Both Gwyn and Charlie were seniors, so they were old enough if they chose to start a family, but had talked about waiting until after they graduated, and could be married in Gwyn’s church. As Gwyn had said in a whisper, “Its bad enough we are having sex out of wedlock. My parents would consider a child born out of wedlock ‘a bastard child.’ That just cannot happen.” My mom may not understand everything I do or how I feel, but at least she didn’t try to control my every move and wasn’t telling me I was “going to hell,” anytime I stepped out of line. I am a spiritual person and struggled with my own demons, but I could completely see how much better off I was with unconditional love than love given only if you live within the confines of the church. My God loved all his children, not just the ones that lived without sin. So I jumped in my truck and headed to work. I’d been at my position long enough that I had a very solid routine down from the minute my shift started. There were nights when things didn’t go well, but most nights our crew ran like clockwork. The night had been going fairly well, so about 6:00PM I took my meal break. Our phones stay in our lockers during our shifts so we are not distracted while working. I make a habit of stopping in the locker room, picking up my cell phone and snack, before entering the lunch room. I powered my phone on as I walked. By the time I sat down with a cup of coffee, a water bottle, a container of yogurt, and a fruit cup, my missed calls and messages had loaded. The first thing I noticed was a message from Mom, so I read that as I ate. Mom: Yes, Evie would love to come stay with you. We will talk soon, love you! Short, sweet, and to the point. Typical Mom. Rarely did she mince words when she was talking, but she said what she meant, so you better listen. I then noticed a couple of calls from “unknown numbers,” and dismissed them. I notice ‘1 missed voicemail,’ though so thought I’d better listen. “Elise, hi. It’s Kameron from the hospital. Sorry I missed you. If you are still game, I’d love to take you out for a drink or a meal to apologize, again… for spilling my coffee on you. Now you have my number, so I hope to hear from you soon. Umm I’m off this weekend. Hope to hear from you soon, really soon.” Kamron could be heard laughing before saying, “okay, bye.” I couldn’t help but smile. What a sweet message. I’m a bit relieved to know Kamron wanted to see me again. Being a student, and her being a nurse already, it could fall into a grey area. I tap on the icon next to the phone number, click save to contacts, and enter the phone number as “Nurse Kameron.” There, now I had her number in my phone. The fact she called me tonight had to be a good thing, right? That tattoo in my experience is to signify that someone is gay, and specifically lesbians wear it to signify their sexuality as a badge of honor. I’ve never really come out to anyone but my mom. Could I do this? Maybe she really does ‘just feel bad,’ for spilling her coffee on me. No harm in accepting her invite, and see where it goes right? Certainly would be good to know someone at the hospital. Before I can second guess myself, I send Kamron a text in response to her voicemail.

Elise: Thank you for calling. I’m working tonight so can’t call. I’d love to see you this weekend! I work Friday evening but I’m off Saturday and Sunday. If you tell me when and where, I can meet you there. Thanks again for the invite. Have a great night, I work until 11...break is about done, have to go. I pressed “send,” then quickly finished my food and drink, placed my phone and water bottle in my locker, and headed back to work. I stopped briefly at the “employee restroom,” just outside the unit, washed my hands, and hurried back so I wasn’t late. The next five hours do not go so smoothly, and before I know it, it’s 10:30PM and time to do final rounds and finish my charting. 10:55PM we are waiting for night shift to come out of report and relieve us. Just as we finish picking up the dining area, straightening and wiping down the counters, and shutting off all excess lights, our relief joins us at 11:01PM. I pass on a couple quick tidbits of information to the night CNAs, only two instead of our four on evenings, and we are relieved of our duty. As we turn to leave, the younger of the two aides comments, “It was nice to actually see you working tonight when we arrived! Too often, the whole lot of you are just sitting on your a$$e$ doing nothing. Then, as soon as we exit report, you run out of here so fast, you’d think your tails were on fire!” I just shook my head and we all walked away. I refuse to let some newbie bait me into arguing! I reach my locker and power my cell phone back on. I change my shoes and grab my scrub jacket since it’s evening and much cooler than when we came in this afternoon. September weather in Minnesota is unpredictable. Summer is almost over but fall is just beginning. I hear a beep as I head for the door and look down to find a message from ‘Nurse Kameron’. A huge smile comes over my face as I head for the parking lot and my little Toyota truck. In the blink of an eye, I went from slightly sullen about the expected death we had on the unit tonight to smiling about the text I was about to read. The CNA who filled in for Gwyn tonight must have noticed, cuz he remarked, “Why you so happy all of a sudden? Hot date tonight or what?” I’m not usually one to share personal information at work, and I don’t know MIke well at all, so I give him a rather vague answer, “Something like that.” I cannot help but laugh quietly as I open my door and climb onto the driver’s seat. I slide my key into the ignition and start my truck. Unable to wait to read the text, I tap my phone and pull it up. Nurse Kameron: Thanks for getting back to me. Saturday would be great! I’d like to take you to supper and then to a concert in the park. Can you meet me at Roscoe’s at 5pm and then we can walk to the park from there? I’m off tomorrow if you’d like to text me back tonight. Elise: yes, that sounds good. Nurse Kameron: Hope you had a good night. (Smiley face emoji) If you park on the street, we won’t have to move our vehicles until after the concert. See you at 1700 on Saturday. Elise: Roscoe’s 5pm Saturday, it’s a date! Nurse Kameron: Sleep well Eli (Eli was the name Elise wrote above her cell phone # on Kamron’s forearm) Elise: You too Kam (heart emoji) What am I thinking? A heart emoji? How corny. I set my phone on my lap and cover my eyes with my hands. My phone beeps, prompting her to pick it up again. Nurse Kameron: (blushing emoji) Okay, maybe it wasn’t so corny. Elise smiles, sets her phone down and heads for home.