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I stepped into the room of my most difficult patient. Though he was a sweetheart when he wanted to be, he hated hospital stays. They filled him with uncertainty and he was hardly able to get any rest. The sounds of the busy building upset him something awful most days.
“I behave myself. Don’t tell a lie like I don’t. If you had a diaper on your ass and sat in your piss at least twice a day, then you’d have an attitude every now and again, too.”
Sighing, I handed him the cup that held three of his oral medications.
“Get these down and show me your mouth after you’re done. I have some water for you right here.”
“Show me your mouth,” he mimicked, taking the cup. “And you want me to behave. Hell, stop treating me like a damn kid and I will.”
“We’re just trying to make sure you’re doing everything the correct way so that you can get out of here as soon as possible.”
“I’m sho is ready. Shit. Somebody knocking on that doe every five minutes. Might as well take the fucker off the hinges. Even if I say no, they coming in, anyway.”
Chuckling, I grabbed the empty cup from his hand. He knocked the pills down without water, a task I’d never understand the science behind.
“Here, have some water. Let’s make sure everything is all the way in there.”
“Goddamnit. Leave me alone, will you? I took the pills. Go bother somebody else.”
“There you go with that attitude, handsome. Calm down. You don’t have to drink the water if you don’t want to.”
“Good, ’cause I wasn’t planning on it any damn way.”
“Fine. Is there anything I can get you before I head out of here?”
“Yeah, the hell up out of here. I’m ready to go home.”
“You will, Mr. Hodge. We’re just waiting for the doctor to approve your discharge. You’re not completely well. Your procedure went well, but we’re monitoring you for infections, complications, or any signs of regression. We’re not trying to keep you here any longer than necessary but we have to make sure you’re taken care of.”
“Yeah. Whatever.”
He fanned me off, turning his back toward me as he pulled the cover up toward his chin.
“Cut off the light on your way out. Take the bulb out if you can. I’m so sick of y’all flipping that moth—”
“Mr. Hodge!”
“Well, hell, I am.”
“Goodnight, sir. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Umm hmm. Unfortunately.”
He could go on this way for a while. If I didn’t get out of his room, I’d be there all night, going back and forth with him to convince him he was in the right place.
“I’m taking my first fifteen,” I announced as I approached the station.
A yawn ripped right through my face. My eyes became prickly before glossing over. My exhaustion was baffling but somehow justified. After dinner with Makai last night, we didn’t leave the lounge area of Rouge until the wee hours. Conversation flowed freely throughout the course of the night after business had concluded. By the time we stumbled into the house, the sun was mere hours from rising.
Exploring one another’s bodies began and didn’t end until the largest star appeared behind the skyscrapers of Berkeley. The Peaks was a beautiful place. The elevation from the remainder of the city was just the beginning of its beauty. There were so many other aspects. The list was ongoing. Each day, I found a new reason to fall in love with the area.
“Okay,” Shelly responded. “Which rooms are yours tonight?”
“Mr. Hodge’s clique.”
“Oh, right.”
“Same patients, different night,” I sniggered.
