“Then let’s go see Thelma,” she says. When she spots my engagement ring, her eyes widen. “Holy smokes, that’s a huge ring.”
I hold up my left hand and smile as the sun hits the diamonds, making them sparkle. “He asked me before we left. And he got me a necklace to wear it on, so I don’t tear up my gloves.”
“Are you happy?” she asks, looping her arm in mine as we walk toward what I already know is the primary tent.
“So, so happy,” I admit. “We’re compromising on the wedding. I was okay with having another courthouse wedding, which he vetoed because he kind of wants the whole shebang, so when we get back home, we’ll have it at the clubhouse. You’re gonna come, right? I want you to be my maid of honor.”
“Wild horses couldn’t keep me away,” she replies as we make it to where Thelma is standing.
“Cortez!” she exclaims, drawing me in for a hug. “I hope you’re ready.”
“For?” I ask. “To work? Yes. To get married again? Still kind of scared about that but Eli’s the love of my life and I couldn’t ask for a better man.”
“To learn what you need to know to pass your test, of course,” she replies.
“That too, Thelma. Now, fill me in on what we’re going to be doing.”
“I was thinking,” Eli says as we sit at our small kitchenette and eat dinner. Cami’s in her highchair, making a mess which is nothing unusual or new.
“About what?” I ask.
“How do you feel about getting a ring tattoo once we’re married? You’d still have a wedding band, of course, but I know with what you do that wearing a ring while you’re working might be hard. Or I could get you one of those silicone ones?”
“I like the tattoo idea but wouldn’t mind having one of the rubber ones I’ve seen other nurses I work with at the hospital wear as well. Would you design the tattoo?”
“Yeah, sweetheart,” he says.
Tears spring to my eyes and when I see his widen in alarm, I wave my hand in front of my face and say, “Pregnancy hormones. Pretty much everything has me near tears these days. Or horny.”
“Well, I can help with one of those things,” he teases. “Let me get Little Miss Messy Bessie cleaned up and put down for the night, then we can see what we can do to tame the hormonal beast living inside of you.”
I start giggling as I begin cleaning up our dinner. Thankfully, today wasn’t a long one, mostly paperwork on my end, as well as meeting some of the other people on the crew that I’ll beworking with. Thelma also gave me a book of practice tests to start working on, but that’s not happening tonight, not with the promise in Eli’s eyes, anyhow.
“How does it just keep getting better?” I gasp out, trying to fill my lungs with oxygen.
“Because it’s us and we love each other,” he replies, his hands running up and down my back as the aftershocks of my orgasm slowly ebb.
“I… I can’t really disagree with that,” I murmur, nuzzling my head against his shoulder. Exhaustion rolls over me and I yawn, causing him to chuckle.
“Let’s get some sleep, sweetheart,” he suggests. “Tomorrow promises to be a busy day.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” I mumble as sleep starts to pull me under. “Love you, Eli.”
“Love you more, Phoebe,” he says, kissing my temple.
“Looking good, Cortez,” Thelma says as she walks by the gurney where I’m currently assessing a new patient. I’ve already had her provide a urine sample and am now doing a blood draw, although I suspect based on her reported symptoms she’s got a urinary tract infection.
Still, based on her age, it’s not a bad idea to rule out any underlying issues, such as diabetes, which is what I’m doing now. A complete blood panel workup, including her A1C, will give me a better picture.
“Okay, Emily, is there anything else you need to tell me?” I ask once I’ve finished drawing her blood. Amber, a certified nursing assistant, comes by and grabs the labeled tubes so we can get them to the lab.
“I don’t think so,” she says. “What next?”
“Well, while we wait for the lab results, I’m going to treat the symptoms. One of the meds I prescribe will help you urinate with minimal pain, and the other is the antibiotic that will clear out any infection. Make sure you drink plenty of water to help flush it out, and if you’re still experiencing some discomfort, you can use a heating pad until the medication kicks in. Once we have your test results back, I’ll give you a call if there’s anything we need to change. Let me get Thelma over here so she can get the prescriptions written for you.”
I manage to locate Thelma and quickly go over the symptoms that Emily presented with, ending with my diagnosis and prescribed treatment plan. It’s one of the things I have to do for my NP certification, and I keep my eyes on the tablet I’m using that pretty much walks me through everything step by step.
“I agree with what you’ve found so far,” she says once I’m finished explaining the diagnosis. She pulls out her prescription pad and fills it out before she hands it to me. “How are you liking this so far?”
