“Ha ha! You know I work the two PM to two AM shift. Miss you too. ”
“How’s the new job? Everyone treating you all right? Do I need to kick any asses?”
I shake my head, glancing around to make sure no one heard her. “No. Everyone’s been really nice. These past two weeks have been great. I don’t know why I thought starting at a new hospital would be difficult.”
“Awesome! So, are you in the ER or another unit?”
“Right now I’m assigned to the ICU, specifically the burn unit.” I step into the stairwell and travel up two flights of stairs. Arriving on the fourth floor, I follow the signs to the locker room. This hospital is much larger than the last one I worked at and I still get lost. The directional signs have become my new best friend.
“Geez, burn unit? You don’t get, I don’t know, disturbed by it?”
I shrug. “Not really. There hasn’t been a severe patient admitted yet, so I just stick to ICU for now. Gia, this hospital is so different. The staff is great, the managerial department is strict but fair, and the rotations—god, no more thirty-six hour shifts. It’s only twelve-hour shifts here. I’m so happy I decided to apply for the job. Everything is working out wonderfully.”
Her voice shouts through the phone, “Twelve hour shifts! I’m jealous. Any job openings?”
I smile at her enthusiasm. “Ha! Not sure, you can check out the hospital website I think.”
“Nah, I’ll just stay here. I don’t feel like traveling every day on the subway. I’d much rather walk to work.”
“Taking the subway everyday isn’t so bad. Yeah, it’s dirty, and smells like rotten eggs, but it’s not so bad.”
Her snarky attitude chimes through. “Don’t forget you get groped by old sweaty men and have to endure the stench of people’s smelly armpits. Nope, I’m good.”
My mind flashes a memory. “You know what, that’s a good point. Earlier today, I couldn’t get a seat so I had to stand and god, I felt like I was in the slums. The stench coming from the man behind me was terrible. It was so bad I had to get off the train and wait for another one.”
“Holy shit that’s disgusting. I would have sprayed him with my perfume.”
“Wait a minute. Every time we go out, we always take the subway. You don’t complain then.”
“Eh that’s different. It’s not during rush hour. Besides, I’m so hyped on hanging out that the subway stench doesn’t faze me.”
I bust out laughing as she continues with her repulsive comments regarding the subway. Entering the locker room, I place the phone on speaker and head over to my locker, ready to grab my things and head home for the day. As Gia gives me the 411 about the new nurse who was hired to replace me, loud sirens from ambulances and fire trucks blare in the background. I pull my scrub shirt over my head and replace it with an “I Love NY” t-shirt. More sirens wail from outside, distracting me from Gia’s comments.
I speak up, interrupting Gia. “Hey, hold on a second. Something’s happening outside.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, but fire trucks have been driving by like crazy. I’m gonna check it out.”
“Okay. Call me back.”
“No wait, let me check first.”
Grabbing the phone, I step out of the locker room and walk toward the end of the hall, following the sounds of the sirens. As I pass a nurses station, the nurse on duty is oblivious to her surroundings as she watches a movie on her computer.
I motion to her. “Hey, do you hear those sirens?”
She startles at the sound of my voice. “Oh sorry. What was it?”
“The sirens. Did you hear them?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “What sirens?”
Rolling my eyes, I ignore her ignorance and keep walking toward the window at the end of the hall. “Never mind.”
Approaching the window, I look out toward the street but don’t see anything in parti
cular that would require an emergency vehicle. Pressing my face harder against the glass and turning my head to the left, my eyes fix on two apartment buildings engulfed in flames.