Unexpected Love Story (Love 2)

I walk out of the house and make my way right to Nanny’s house. It’s no surprise she already has the coffee ready.

“Come in,” Nanny yells when she hears me knock. I walk into the living room, ignoring all the pictures of the family, and find her in the kitchen. “Oh, you came?” She smirks at me.

“You think her leaving her family and her support system is a good idea?” I ask her, crossing my arms over my chest as I think about Hailey leaving here.

“She isn’t leaving all her support system; she is still going to have you.” She pours us coffee. “And the answer is yes, I think her leaving will help her because staying here sure isn’t fucking doing anything.” She hands me the cup of coffee.

“Who says I’m going with her?” I raise my eyebrows at her.

“You and her are glue … where one goes, the other goes. Even if Eric was alive and you left, she would follow you.”

“I have a job here,” I point out, and she just shoos me with her hand. “I’m not just going to sit by her side all day.”

She gets up and walks to the counter, picking up a business card. “This is the number to Dr. George Walker, Delores’s son. He runs a practice out there with his son.” Nanny tells me about her friend Delores, who she has known since she was in her twenties. I flip the card in my hand as she finishes. “Give him a call.”

I nod my head, thinking that if worse comes to worse, I can always see if anyone in the area is looking for an RN. When I leave Nanny’s, I make my way home, but the decision is already made for me regardless of what happens when I call Dr. Walker.

The next morning, I walk into the emergency room with a letter in my hand. It comes as a surprise to everyone, but when they hear my reasons, they understand. When the chief of surgery found out, he offered me more pay to work with him. I smiled at him and turned him down, and then asked him for a reference letter.

So now here I am about to do my final interview with Dr. Walker.

My palms are wet as I press the Skype button.

The Skype rings, and two seconds later, the screen says it’s connecting.

The man who comes on is an older gentleman. “Hello there.” His smile lights up the screen.

“Hello, Dr. Walker.” I smile and try not to stutter.

“I have about ten minutes until my next patient, but I don’t think this is going to last long,” he says, and my heart starts to beat uncontrollably. What does that mean? “I got your resume, but I have to say what impressed me most was the letters of recommendations.”

I try not to smile too much, but I think I fail.

“I love what I do.” I smile. “Not many people can say they wake up and smile when they go to work, but I’m one of those people.”

“You got recommendations from every single specialist in your hospital. And they were all outstanding. Your chief of surgery, Dr. Mawlings, offered to buy me a very expensive bottle of scotch if I picked someone else.”

I throw my head back and laugh. “Shepard has been trying to get me to join his team since I started there.” I shrug my shoulders. “But I couldn’t leave the emergency room.”

“At this point, I think I should be the one trying to woo you.” He laughs. “We would love to add you to the team. The job is yours if you want it.”

I cheer on the inside. “I would love it.”

“Perfect,” he says. “Why don’t we plan on you starting three weeks from now?”

“That is perfect. I already gave notice, so I could have even started in two weeks.”

“There is no rush,” he says as his phone buzzes. “I have to go, but I look forward to seeing you when you come to town.”

“I can’t wait to see what the Carolinas have in store for me.”

“We look forward to showing you the beauty of it.”

Once we say goodbye, I get up and head to my room to dress in my scrubs. When I walk into the emergency room, there is a spring in my step. “Seven days, peeps,” I say. “Four more days and it’s mic drop.” I smile at Dawn, laughing when she flips me the bird.

“We are going to throw you a going away party.” She leans back, yelling, “Don’t make any plans on Tuesday.” I nod as I head into the break room to put my lunch bag away. Dawn walks into the room. “What the hell are we going to do without you here?” she asks.

“Don’t you fucking cry.” I point at her, seeing the tears forming in her eyes. “I will cut you,” I tell her. “And I’m a nurse, so I know exactly where to cut you so you bleed out and feel lots of pain.” I blink away my own tears.