AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Julian and ‘the board’ thought it would be best that I step down from my regular duties at the hospital until I’ve had some counseling. So they’ve shipped me off to a nursing home, pending review. He’s such a weasel—he’s trying to get rid of me! Always saying that I shouldn’t work so many double-shifts and that I should take leave when I don’t need to take leave.”
Ben hesitated before responding. “Sounds to me like he’s looking out for someone who isn’t looking out for herself right now,” he said gently.
“You always see the best in people,” she said with a roll of her eyes, pouring hot water into her mug.
Ben didn’t skip a beat. “You always see the worst.”
She pressed her lips together. “I’d rather be prepared than caught off guard.”
There was silence down the line as she stirred her tea.
“I’m sorry about the hospital.” He did sound sorry. She was sure he actually was. But of all the things going on right now, suddenly her new role seemed like the least of her worries. “But I have to say, I’m not sorry you’re being forced to slow down a little and deal with everything. Ignoring it won’t make it any easier.”
“Slow down?” she scoffed, focusing on the non-emotional part of his statement and sweeping the rest conveniently under the conversational rug. She swept through the tiny kitchen and into her bedroom, settling her tea next to the bed. “Last night was my first shift, and I was run off my feet. Those patients never sleep—it’s insane.” It was time for a change of topic. “How’s Dad?” she asked, switching on her bedside lamp.
“How you’d expect him to be,” Ben said. She could imagine his casual shrug, but the familiar lines on his forehead would tell her a different story. “He’s taking daily walks down to the river, and I think it’s done wonders for him to get out of the house. The fact that he’s retired doesn’t help. He can’t hide behind work the way some people do.”
“I resent that.”
“You resemble that.” There was a hint of a smile in her brother’s tone that acted like a Band-Aid to her heart. They had always been close, but more so since she had left town. The irony didn’t escape her. Ben had flourished without his trouble-making sister around to overshadow him.
“Maybe a little,” she conceded with a smirk, drawing her bedroom curtains closed so that it was dark in the room. Then she asked the question she had been dreading. “How are you?”
Touchy-feely emotional things had always been her brother’s forte, not hers. She dealt with the physical—with broken bones and lacerations and head trauma. The affairs of the heart and its many maladies really only made sense to her when she could fix it with medication or by assisting in surgery.
“I’m okay. Rosie and Declan have started Board Game Sunday at their house on Sunday afternoons, though last Sunday was the first one—and coincidentally was the first Sunday after the funeral. Thanks to Tammy, I won’t have to cook a meal for months.”
Her own heart felt more at ease as she settled into bed. Suddenly the intensity of her first shift and everything it had entailed caught up with her. She was bone tired in a matter of seconds. Touching base with Ben had given her mind permission to let her body relax. As much as she was capable of relaxing, anyway. “I’m glad they’re looking out for you. They’re the best.”
“They really are…” Ben petered off.
Bunny frowned, reaching for her tea. “What?”
“I just wish you had someone to look out for you, too.”
She took a sip, regretted not letting the tea cool first, and then pursed her lips before swallowing. “I’ve got you.”
“You know what I mean.”
She did know what he meant. And it was another one of the topics she usually rounded up off a cliff whenever it was brought up.
“Why don’t you come and stay the weekend sometime?” she suggested, resorting to another diversionary tactic. “I’ll find out when I’ve got a weekend off. It’ll be fun.”
“Sounds great,” Ben agreed, sounding pleased. “I love you, but I’m gonna go back to sleep now. I’m on afternoon shift all week. Just… do me a favor? If you see that guy again, call the damn cops.”
She smiled, lifting her cup in preparation of another sip. “Okay. Love you too.”
“Bye, Bun.”
