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Mera watched me with sadness in her sapphire-colored eyes as she tucked her curls behind her ears. “I’m so jealous of you right now. I still have one grandmother, but she can barely move around anymore. Seeing her now breaks my heart; she was always so active when I was growing up.”
My heart ached for Mera, and I couldn’t imagine what life would be like without my grandmother. I reached into my locker and pulled out my purse before turning back to her.
“I’m sorry, Mera. I didn’t know.”
She shrugged. “No worries. She still has a sharp mind. The woman can beat anyone in a poker game,” she said with a wry smile. “Don’t know how she does it.”
At that moment, the sound of my cell phone ringing pierced the air, and I knew who it was going to be; Dr. Nyla Clark, a close friend of mine and one of our hospital’s best ER doctors. I grabbed my phone from my purse, and sure enough, saw Nyla’s name on the screen.
“It’s Nyla. She wants to meet me for lunch.”
Mera snorted and hugged me warmly. “Lunch? It’s almost six o’clock.”
I gently pulled away from her embrace and nodded solemnly. “Exactly. I was in surgery all morning and afternoon. There was no time to eat.”
A sympathetic expression crossed Mera’s face. “Don’t know how you do it. But, one thing’s for sure—you’re dedicated to the job,” she said with admiration.
I smiled at her words, but there wasn’t any hint of boasting in my reply. “Someone has to be,” I insisted simply before making my way toward the door. “See you in two months! Don't get into too much trouble while I’m gone.” Mera’s laughter echoed in the hallway as I walked away, juggling the phone to my ear.
“Hey,” I said into the phone.
Nurses moved silently through the hallway, their strides full of purpose as they went about their work. Time never stopped here; there was always something going on.
“Ready for lunch?” Nyla asked, her voice slightly breathless.
I turned the corner and pressed the button for the elevators. “I am. Where are you?” A faint ding came through the phone; the ER was on the floor just below me.
“Waiting for the slowest elevator in the world to open. That’s my luck.”
Memories of the first time we met flooded my mind and I smiled. We were both racing to get our food from the cafeteria before our break ended, and Nyla had slipped on a pile of peach cobbler someone had dropped on the already slick floor. She went sliding across the cafeteria, covered in salad dressing and cobbler. I rushed over and helped her up, both of us laughing so hard that tears sprung from our eyes. Ever since then, we’ve become great friends.
I chuckled as I hung up the phone and stepped into the elevator. Its doors groaned open a few seconds later, and there she was. Her auburn hair was pulled back in a wild ponytail, her freckles standing out against her pale complexion. The hunter-green scrubs clung to her curves under a white lab coat that billowed out behind her as she rushed toward me.
“Can you believe it?” she said, her voice laced with exasperation. “The whole city seems to be here today!”
I smiled, shaking my head. “They just want to see you.”
We stepped further into the elevator to let more people in and headed down to the next floor. As we descended, Nyla turned to me with a mischievous glint in her eye. “If only there was one hot guy in the hospital I could fix up . . .”
Smiling, I rolled my eyes playfully. “You’re too much.”
As soon as the elevator doors slid open, we stepped out and walked briskly down the hall. A few nurses nodded in acknowledgment as we passed by, but I barely had time to return their greeting before focusing back on Nyla.
“How long has it been since you went on a date?” I asked, racking my brain for any potential suitors she may have gone out with since her divorce, yet coming up empty-handed.
Nyla let out a heavy sigh. “It’s been so long I don’t even remember. You’ve probably been on twice as many.”
I couldn’t help but snort at that response. When it came to dates, I was well aware of my failure record.
“I went out with three guys,” I informed her. “And none of them led to second dates.”
The first guy was a lawyer I met while picking up a latte at my favorite coffee shop. Conversation between us quickly dwindled to him talking about himself, so I excused myself as soon as my fresh-baked blueberry muffin arrived without batting an eye. The other two men I met were doctors rotating through my hospital, but all they wanted was a good time while they were in town. I wasn’t interested in that. I wanted something that would last.
Maybe I didn’t deserve love after what I did to Jensen all those years ago. Even though it was just one fantastic night, I knew what we had was real, and I let it slip through my fingers. Jensen told me to call when I was ready to talk, but I never did.
He called and left messages for a while, but I never got the courage to return them. The days turned into months, then the months into years. Eventually, I gave up the thought of ever calling him back, especially after hearing a couple of years ago that he was engaged to Michelle Short—a girl we went to high school with. I haven’t been back to Oak Island since hearing that news. The last thing I wanted was to see him around town with her. They were probably married already with two kids and a dog. I wouldn’t know because I’ve intentionally avoided discussing him with my family; it was best not to know. But sadly, I’ve tried to find someone who could make me feel a fraction of the desire I had with Jensen. No one else could compare with him, but part of me hoped I’d find it one day.
“Still,” Nyla said sadly, drawing me back to the conversation, “it’s better than nothing.”
