He chuckles then states, “I hear ya. Hopefully, you won’t have any issues, but if anything crops up, just reach out and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Appreciate it.”
While I wish I had another beer or two, I make do with the water I brought instead as I unwind watching some apocalyptic movie. It’s so bland, I completely miss the title, which is okay as it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever willingly watch it again.
One last trip to take a piss and I’m finally ready to get some sleep. Before I drift off, I open up the text thread between me and Phoebe and send her a message.
Me: Missing you.
I’m asleep before her response comes through.
CHAPTER
TWO
Phoebe
When my phone chimes,I automatically grab it even though I don’t know why.
Yes, you do,my brain whispers.You’re hoping that Eli texted you.
If it wouldn’t have Ella questioning my sanity, I’d yell at myself right now. He’s been sending pictures of Cami and an occasional text, but it’s not often enough to be considered a pattern. I feel like he probably read the letter I left, the one I wasn’t sure I’d ever give him and that has my thoughts spiraling. Thank goodness the sheer number of patients we see every day keeps me from diving into a deep hole.
However, it’s times like right now, when I’m curled up in the bunk I’m using while I wait for sleep to claim me that I peek into the abyss. The bottom line, at least as far as I’m concerned, is I don’t want to destroy the relationship we’ve built that will allow me to stay in Cami’s life. But if he feels the same way, which I can’t let myself consider, we could have a beautiful life.
Eli: Missing you.
“Well, that’s different,” I muse as I think about how to respond. I mean, I miss him as well, but should I say that? What’s the worst thing that could happen?
Me: Miss you too. Hope you and Cami are both well.
I fall asleep waiting for his response and despite my exhaustion, I find myself waking up to start the day. Hearing Ella moving around in the RV, I roll out and quickly dress in a uniform I’ve come to hate wearing. Not the company, of course, but the horrible colors that we’re having to use so that we can be seen.
“You ready for today?” Ella asks as I finally come out of the room I’m sleeping in.
“Not really sure, to be honest,” I admit. “My bones still feel like they’re moving after going all over yesterday in the ATVs. Maybe I’m getting too old to do this shit.”
She giggles while nudging my shoulder. “It’s the terrain, not our age, my friend. Let’s go grab something to eat so we can head out.”
“Will there be wine at the end of the day?” I ask as I follow her out the door, our travel tumblers in hand.
“I’ll see if Thelma can make it happen for us. We deserve some after the other day, don’t you think?” she questions.
“Do you know how the mom and babies are doing?” I query as we get to the tent that’s set up where we both make plates of food and find a place to sit.
“I called to check on them last night,” Thelma says as she sits down beside us. “All three are doing well. Y’all did a great job, ladies.”
“And we ended up on the news too!” Ella squeals. I roll my eyes because the last thing I expected was to be interviewed by a local reporter about what we were doing. Still, I hope that it’ll get this area some much-needed help because these people have been holding on by a thread ever since the hurricanes came through.
“Looking like hot messes,” I tease. “We might have made sure we were hygienic when it came to delivering the babies, but you had a smudge of dirt on your cheek, and the bottom of my pants had something best left unmentioned.”
Thelma bursts out laughing at the look on Ella’s face. “Y’all will be heading out on the ATVs again. There’s an old man about a mile further out than where y’all were at who fell and needs to be transported down to us so we can take him to the hospital.”
“Then let’s get going.”
“Well, ain’t you two pretty ladies a sight for sore eyes,” Elmer says after we introduce ourselves to him.
He’s about sixty-five years old or so and has ‘lived on this mountain’ his entire life. A recent widower, he was trying to clean up some of the brush in his yard and he fell, one of the limbs deeply gouging his leg.
