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CHARIS
“What was that all about, Care?” I swirl around in my chair to see the suspicious smile of one of the other nurses. A person who’s become my confidante in the past two years of hell I’ve lived at the hands of a monster.
“What?” My eyes avert to the chart on the screen, half listening to my dear friend, and the other reading Mr. Bell’s chart to make sure I’ve not missed anything.
“Um, I’m talking about Dr. O’Leary or as all the nurses call him, Dr. Sex on a Stick—not that I call him that because…”
Sex on a Stick has me no longer reading Mr. Bell’s chart. “Yeah, Bridge, you don’t need to call him that because you have your own Dr. Sex on a Stick.”
That elicits laughter from the two of us, and the main ER down below probably can hear. Bridget has snatched herself up a good one in Simon Hogue, one of the fellow doctors at the hospital.
“Well, I guess you’re right.” The confident air in which she says this is refreshing. She has no qualms stating claim onto what is hers, and by the way Simon looks at her, he does the exact same thing. “Anyway, what were you and Stone talking about?”
I sometimes forget doctors have first names. Except for Bridget’s husband, I rarely know them or need to know what they’re called outside the hospital.
“Ah, yes, Dr. O’Leary. I’d forgotten for a second that’s what we were talking about.” I pause, thinking of the conversation of a man’s anatomy. “He was telling me, or voicing his annoyance at the school making a big deal of his son mentioning what his…um…hell, I have a girl, but I know it’s natural for all males to wake up, you know, with an…”
“It’s called an erection. We’re nurses. Why is it so hard…” she stops at her words. “See what I did there?”
“Um, yeah.” I won’t give her the satisfaction of telling her how funny the pun really was. “Anyway, the teachers didn’t appreciate the son explaining in detail what it looked like.”
Another snicker leaves her mouth. “Yeah, knowing Jett, who is the spitting image of his father in many ways, that doesn’t surprise me.” She pulls for a cup of coffee from the station behind me, only to reappear next to me again. “Oh, that reminds me, we’re having a barbeque this weekend, sort of a last hurrah to summer. You and Meadow should come. Each twin would love to have someone other than their other sister to play with. And they love her.”
“Oh, this weekend. I can’t. Jimmy has Meadow on Saturday.” Only Bridget knows my routine. It’s probably why she’s not pressuring me about the barbeque.
Bridget lets a strangled breath leave her mouth. “How in the world did that fucker get joint custody?” Her pitch lowers, but I can’t mistake the disgust and anger. It resonates with me. I feel it every time that asshole picks up my daughter.
“Yeah, if I could understand how the man can cause ten stitches to the side of my head, then not only petition the court for visitation, then have it granted, I’d be a Harvard scholar.”
Bridget’s hand reaches for my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “I’m so sorry, Care. It’s sometimes hard to reconcile that the man you married wasn’t the same man in the very end.” Bridget has a little knowledge of this, with her late husband. Not that he ever put his hands on her. But the betrayal had been a nightmare for her, too.
“Yeah, it’s safe to say Jimmy isn’t the same man I grew up with. I wish I could understand how and where we went wrong.”
My chair spins around and I hold on for dear life. “Charis Andropolis, don’t you ever let me hear you say that again. You’ve poured so much of yourself into your marriage, you’ve lost a piece of you. And it’s about time to start dating again.”
“Don’t tell me that I need to get on out there and start dating. I think Jimmy Andropolis has ruined me. I don’t have it in me. Between work and Meadow, I have so much going on.”
“Hey, girl, you don’t have to tell me how hard it is to be a single mom, but with Simon, he showed me everything I was missing. And”—her voice lowers when another nurse passes by us—“I think Dr. O’Leary is just the man.”
I simply reply with a huff. The woman and her matchmaking never ceases.
“What are you ladies chatting about?” We both whip our heads around to the doctor of the hour.
“Um, nothing.” Bridget grabs her coffee, leaving me alone, but not before she pushes my shoulder, silently giving me a nod. “Bye, guys, I better run.” And the troublemaker leaves me on my own with the flirtatious doctor.
“So, what was that all about? You two were giggling worse than little girls.”
I turn my attention back to the computer, waiting on the discharge papers of a couple patients.
“Ah, Bridget was just being silly, you know. Nothing major,” I admit and what can I say. Would I really tell him that my matchmaking friend has her eyes set on us becoming a couple?
“If you insist.” He moves his hand to mine in front of the computer screen.
“So,” I begin, as the discharge papers for Mr. Bell come through, “I see I’m able to get Mr. Bell out of here, so I better get that going.” I stand, catching his eyes focused on me.
“Hey, Charis, listen—I’m not a shy man. I live in the moment, and I go after what I want. So, with that being said, this weekend is the large barbeque Simon and Bridget host every year.”
Yeah, there’s nothing I’m looking forward to about this weekend, not with Jimmy having Meadow. He only has her every other Saturday night, as the judge has ordered. But with his penchant for drinking, and drugs, I normally park outside of his house to watch for signs of drunkenness, making sure he’s not driving with our daughter. It makes for a long night, but it’s what a mother does. I can’t answer Stone because I don’t want to go into the logistics about how I all but stalk my ex-husband when my daughter is in her father’s care. I have yet another meeting with the judge, but since I never went to the doctor’s when he slapped me, it’s my word against his.
