Until Autumn

I stare at him blankly as we make our way down the hall toward November’s room. “There was no BOOM.”

He nods as we step through the door, keeping his voice low. “We’ll be sure to add an extra place beside you at the Christmas table this year.”

I don’t respond as there are far too many of my colleagues in this room, but when Asher walks right over to his doting wife and whispers in her ear, I know it’s all over for me. Her eyes light up with joy and she looks at me with such pride it’s ridiculous. “I’m so happy for you,” she murmurs, placing her hand on her chest as though this is some kind of done deal.

Fuck me, this is going to be a long day.

I shake my head and walk over to the happy couple. “Alright, let’s finish this up because I have a feeling that the waiting room downstairs is looking more and more like the Mayson family reunion and they’re all dying to meet this little girl.”

CHAPTER 3

AUTUMN

I yank my drenched scrubs off and toss them into the hamper. It’s not the first time I’ve been drenched like this, and it won’t be the last. It’s also not the first time I’ve had to get naked like this in the hospital, but luckily for me, there is only one other girl in here, and she’s busy doing the exact same thing.

I grab my phone from my bag and find a towel stashed in a cupboard. I have to make this quick. Dr. Mayson is expecting me in twenty-four minutes now. It took me long enough to find where I needed to go and even longer to get here. My time is ticking and I refuse to let him down. I refuse to let him down. I’m going to be his star student.

I race into the bathroom and jump straight into a shower. I don’t have time to wait for the water to warm, so I throw myself straight under the freezing stream and pump the cheap body wash that’s stuck to the shower wall into my hand.

My phone rests on the small seat at the end of the stall and I speak at it. “Siri, call KC.”

Siri knows me well and instantly starts calling my best friend, not wasting a single second as I start scrubbing the bodily fluids off my skin.

“Hey, why are you calling me? I thought you were starting your first shift today.” She sucks in a sharp breath. “Aw, fuck, babe. You slept in, didn’t you? I swear, I told you to set an alarm. You’re going to have to run, especially in this storm, but be careful. The roads are a mess today.”

“KC,” I laugh. “Calm down, I made it to the hospital in plenty of time. I didn’t sleep in. I was so excited that I hardly slept at all.”

“Oh, so why are you calling? Shouldn't you be sucking up to some dick bag doctor right now? Getting in his good graces?"

“Already did,” I say with a smirk. “You wouldn’t believe it. I’ve had the most amazing morning.”

“Wait, are you in the shower?”

“Yeah, shut up. I only have a few minutes, and I have to tell you about this.”

“Okay, go.”

“Yeah, so get this. I walked through the doors of the ER after racing through the storm. I completely forgot my umbrella, by the way. You should have reminded me to do that. I looked like a drowned rat walking in for the first time. I’m just glad no one important saw me.”

“I’m not your mom,” she says, cutting me off and repeating the same comment that she’s made to me a million times before. “You should have remembered your damn umbrella. I mean, how hard is it to look out the window and be like ‘Crap, it’s raining, I’m going to need an umbrella today?’ It’s just common sense.”

I roll my eyes as I start rinsing off the body wash before going in for the shampoo. “Would you just let me tell my story? You can lecture me after.”

“Alright,” she laughs. “Hit me with it.”

“Okay, so, I walked into the ER and it was crazy busy, like ridiculously. There were people everywhere. It must be a full moon or something like that. Anyway, there was this pregnant woman who looked to be in labor and no one had seen her yet.” I suck in a deep breath, my excitement making my words fly out of my mouth, probably too fast for KC to even keep up with. “It was way too busy in the ER so I started leading her and her husband up to the maternity ward and the storm cut the power to the hospital while we were in the elevator. We were stuck, but the baby was coming, and Ifreakingdelivereditontheflooroftheelevator.”