Unexpected Love Story (Love 2)

“Okay, I have to go.” I pick up my bag, looking at her. “You have bail money saved up in case, right?” Grabbing the keys to the car, I walk out and make my way over to the practice.

I get there, and the parking lot looks almost full. I grab my stuff, take a deep breath, and pull open the door. The lady greets me with a huge smile. “Good morning,” she gets up, coming to me. “You must be Crystal.” She holds out her hand. “I’m Debra.”

I shake her hand. “I’m excited to be here.” I smile at her as she opens the door to the back.

“You can go on into the back, someone will show you around.”

“Thank you,” I tell her, smiling at her. I turn and walk back to the center of the nurses’ station where I find four nurses standing around talking about their weekend. The blonde one looks over at me. “Hey.”

“Hi there, I thought I would be the only early one.” I smile at them.

“Are you kidding?” the blonde answers. “Mia is here a good hour before we start. She makes us look like we are always late. I’m Ava.”

I nod. “I’m Crystal. Is there a staff room or employee fridge or anything?” I ask them, and the one who I think is Mia comes forward.

“I will take you.” She turns, and one of the other nurses follows us. “Emma,” she asks the nurse who followed us, “is the locker near you taken, or is it still free?”

“It’s free,” she says. “Come on, I’ll show you.” I follow her into a small room filled with light brown lockers against the wall. “This is the changing room; showers and the bathroom are through that door.” She points at the side door on my right. “That door”—she points to my left—“leads to the kitchen.”

“That’s easy enough,” I tell her. “Which one should I put my things in?” I ask her, looking at the lockers.

“The one at the end isn’t taken; it was Laura’s.” She raises her eyebrows, and I know there is more to the story. But I don’t ask her. I place my bag in the locker, then take out my stethoscope, and put it around my neck.

Turning with my lunch in my hand, I walk to the kitchen. I’m surprised by its brightness; back at the hospital, we had a corner, and you were lucky if you found your lunch when it was your turn to eat.

Windows line one wall, causing the green tiles to pop from the natural light. A table sits in the middle of the room with a huge bowl of fruit on it. “Dr. Margaret Walker, the Mrs., brings in fresh fruit every Sunday. She usually only comes in on Fridays to take care of some of the older patients,” she informs me as I look around.

There is a Keurig on the counter and a huge stainless steel fridge. I open the fridge and find it almost empty. “The fridge is cleaned out every Saturday, so if you leave something in it, too bad. It’s tossed out.” I nod, taking in all the rules. “The coffee pods are all stored in that cabinet, help yourself whenever you like.” I smile at her.

“Thank you so much, Emma, for taking the time to show me around.”

“I’m going to go use the bathroom before the shift starts,” she says, going into the room. I turn to grab a water bottle out of my lunch when I hear voices coming into the room.

“If he would give me the time of day, I would make sure he forgot all about being left at the altar,” Ava says, pushing open the door. “Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here.” She smiles, and there is something about her that I just don’t like. You know what they say … smile and wave. I also see that I have landed in grand central gossip. As a former nurse in an ER, there was only one thing we loved more than doughnuts, and that was knowing the latest gossip, and oh was there ever gossip.

“I was just getting my water bottle,” I tell them with a smile. “So have you guys worked here long?” I try to be friendly.

“I’ve worked here three years, and Corrine just started six months ago.” She points at the other brunette.

“I’m excited,” I tell them.

“You should be. You get first dibs with Gabe today,” Ava says, and my eyebrows pinch together. “He always works with the new nurse for about a month before we go into rotation again. He needs to get a feel for how you work.”

“Really?” I say, taking a sip of water. She is about to say something else when we hear a beep on the intercom. “Let’s rock and roll, girls.” I follow them out to the nurses’ station. The six of us stand around while Mia talks.