AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So sexy suit guy owns a nightclub, huh?” she says, looking at me intrigued.
“Really, gran, that is all you took from the past ten minutes of me telling you about Jasmine?”
“Well, really, Molly, I have never heard you talk so much about a man before, and I do wonder why fate brought you together again.”
I roll my eyes at her statement. “You are such an old romantic, gran, but I am sure with what happened last night I am the last person he ever wants to see again.”
Gran gives me a sneaky grin before her coughing takes over and gets too much for her, so we sit silently for the next ten minutes. After waiting close to an hour, a doctor is finally ready to see us. Following the nurse, we step into the consulting room, and I am surprised to see Byron. Even though he only volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club, I hadn’t thought about where his paying job would be, and I had no idea he worked here at the hospital clinic.
Dr. Byron Shaw is an extremely good-looking man, who often sees some of the kids in his private time to ensure their medical needs are taken care of. He is what the women at work call a trifecta. Good looks, good head, and good heart. To translate, that means that he is sexy, smart, and caring. We often wonder why he is still single, but none of us are confident enough to ask him out or ask any personal questions.
He stands tall and proud and his messy, sandy blonde hair cascades down his face in subtle waves, giving him a nice beachy appearance. If you saw him down the street, you would assume he is a surfer not a doctor. His piercing blue eyes complement his chiseled jaw and for a few moments I stand there totally captivated by him - even though I have seen him numerous times before.
“Molly, what a pleasant surprise. Nice to see you, although I hope you are not unwell?” He looks at me, concerned.
“Hi, Byron,” I say as we shake hands, and his linger a little, giving me a vibe I'm not sure I am prepared for.
“This is my gran, Shirley, and she isn’t doing too well.”
He greets gran before asking us both to take a seat. I look around his consulting room. The room is stark except for a few medical books on the shelves. Most doctors display their medical certificate, but Byron’s walls are bare, like he literally just started yesterday. I perch myself onto a chair in the corner of the room; it is cold on my skin, and made of tough plastic, not at all comfortable. As I sit to the side, Byron talks to gran and I chip in with information as needed. He takes her blood pressure, listens to her chest, and feels her glands in her neck before announcing his concerns.
“Shirley, that cough doesn’t sound too good, and I think you might have fluid on your lungs, which if left untreated can be a big issue. I would like to admit you to the hospital, so we can run a few more tests and monitor you for a few days just to ensure we get you fixed up and ready to go again.”
Gran tries to huff, her stubbornness coming out, but the huff is overtaken by a coughing fit just further proving the point she needs medical care and attention.
“Molly, take the paperwork and your gran over to emergency and they will admit you quickly through their system. I will come over in a few hours once you get settled to check on things and have the nurses run the tests I need.”
Saying our thanks, I take the mountain of paperwork and gran through an internal door to the emergency department administration desk. The nurses on duty are super helpful and we go through the process quickly. It appears that Byron had us on a fast track which meant we didn’t have to wait, and gran got straight into a room within the hour - unheard of, usually. I make a mental note to thank him for that when we see him later.
The room is a standard hospital room. It is dark and miserable. I pull the privacy curtain around the bed to cocoon us in, and as I pull it, I can tell that it is old and nearly falling off its rails. The sheets are scratchy, and the smell of bleach is strong. How does anyone get better in depressing rooms like this, I wonder. There is not even any natural light since the room is windowless. I really don’t want to leave gran here overnight, so I make the decision to stay and sleep in the armchair next to her. She is sharing the room with another older lady who is currently resting, so we start to whisper to each other.
“That doctor likes you, Molly,” gran mentions, as she gets tucked into her bed and I settle in on a small armchair nearby. “He is very handsome, and a doctor, no less!” she says with glee.
“For the first time, you have two men in your life. Both sexy, both successful. Oh, to be young again! Which one will you choose, the kind-hearted doctor or the sexy nightclub owner?” Her eyes glisten; she is teasing me but I don’t mind, it lifts her spirits and that is a good thing since she has just been admitted to hospital.
I roll my eyes and smile, then I encourage her to rest. I hold her hand as she slowly calms down and her eyes close to sleep. While it is only midday, we have had a big morning and I know that she will be poked and prodded this afternoon for the tests Byron needs to do, so I let her sleep.
It is funny how the tables turn. Not that long ago, she was looking after me, putting me to bed and making sure that I had everything I needed. Not only did gran do everything for me when I was younger, but throughout school, I worked hard to get top grades to keep the scholarship assistance we needed for my tuition. To earn extra money, I tutored students at night and on the weekends and that is how I ended up working with The Boys and Girls Club of Boston after I received my degree. Gran was there for me through all of it, ensuring I ate good meals, slept enough, and took breaks when I needed them. Now, it is my turn to repay her.
I knew I would be in for a long day here at the hospital with gran, and I am glad that I brought my computer with me. I decide to start on the report I need to complete about Jasmine from her activities last night. I sit back in the hospital armchair and get to work, knowing that the more I can do now, the less stress there will be on me as I will need to file this with my boss Kelly tomorrow.
I don't yet have all the details. I am not sure who the old guy was or how he had her there, and I still need to talk with Jasmine’s foster parents because they were worried sick about her. I lose track of the time. I am so engrossed in my work and the afternoon flies by; my report is nearly done when Byron walks into the room. He is wearing his white doctor's coat and is followed by two nurses, each standing close to his orbit, clearly sucked into his atmosphere of good looks and brains.
“Hey, Molly, how has she been this afternoon?” he asks sympathetically as he steps over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder, the move feeling a little intimate, like we are more familiar with each other than we actually are, and it makes me slightly uncomfortable. I notice the two nurses glance at each other; I hate to know what they are thinking.
With a sigh of fatigue, I reply, “She has been sleeping most of the day but her breathing still doesn’t sound too good.”
“Well, we are going to take her now and do some tests, we will bring her back in an hour or two. You look like you have things to do, but there is some extra paperwork back at the administration desk in the emergency center that I need you to fill out. After that, feel free to come and wait back here in her room and we will bring her back as soon as we can.”
I take a deep breath, this is all starting to feel very real. Gran is not well and while I have been caring for her as best I can, I know that this is where she needs to be. I watch as the two nurses gently wake her up and Byron comes closer to me, our arms now touching as he bends down to whisper.
“Don’t worry, Molly, I will take good care of her. I’m here now, I can help you.”
I look up and our eyes meet, his full of care and sympathy, mine full of concern and stress. He grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze before they wheel gran out in a wheelchair, and I am left standing in the room alone.
My head is a mix of concern for gran and feelings of what the hell was that from Byron. He doesn’t come across as the touchy feely type at work when I see him there, but here with me now, he is certainly making his feelings known, and I am not sure how I feel about it. I cough and clear my throat, shaking off the feeling, not wanting it to consume me. Clearly, I have been reading too many romance novels and experiencing a deep lack of sleep.
I walk down the long, wide corridors of the hospital to the administration desk located at the emergency department, my belly grumbling the whole way because it is nearly dinner time and I haven’t even had lunch yet. I fill in the remaining paperwork I missed from earlier. I didn’t miss too much so it is an easy process and just requires a few signatures. The area has become quiet as most of this morning's patients have now been seen and either admitted or sent on their way. It is weird to be here when it is so quiet. I have had a few emergency visits over the past few years due to needing to bring or visit some of the kids I work with, so I make a mental note of the quiet period.
