AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hayes gives me a sympathetic look that I hate. I don’t need anyone’s pity. I’m the one who chose to follow my dad to this hospital.
“And Dr. Wallace Senior is joining us this morning. I’m sure you’ve all already met him. Especially Dr. Wallace.” The group laughs at Dr. Murphy’s lame joke.
Dr. Mendez isn’t here today, so it’s Dr. Lim who Dr. Murphy is relieving today, so he runs through the physician handover and gives us the status of each of the patients. There were some shootings last night, and we have two injured teens who have been sent up to surgery. I’m semi-relieved I wasn’t here, but I’m thankful they’re recovering upstairs instead of being sent downstairs to the morgue.
After that, my dad says he’s going to head back to his office for the day.
I’m thankful because I could see him staying here all day just to keep an eye on me like I’m a child.
I go in to see my first patient for the day after being prepped by Dr. Lim. It’s a little boy who broke his arm and is waiting for the orthopedic surgeon to take him into surgery.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Wallace, I’m just checking in since we had a shift change.”
The mom sits on the bed with the son, and the dad is on the chair.
“Hi,” they all say in unison.
“Do we know how much longer?” the dad asks, clearly nervous.
I scan my ID on the computer. “It should be soon. How long have you guys been waiting?”
“Feels like forever,” the mom says.
I give them a sympathetic smile because it can be rough here at times.
“Let me call his office,” I say. “I can’t feed you because of the surgery. Do you want some ice chips?”
“Sure,” he says, looking at his mom. “I’m starving.”
“Soon. This will all be done soon.” She runs her hand through his hair, her eyes looking a little misty.
“I’ll step out and see if I can get some answers.”
I walk out into the hallway and come to a stop when I see Cooper standing there, holding up my lunch that I forgot in my mad dash out the door. Today is not the day for my dad to see him.
“Thank you,” I say, going to the phone and dialing up the orthopedic surgeon’s office. “Give me a second.”
Then it dawns on me that Cooper can do something while he’s here, and it might just make this kid’s day. He stands at the counter, his eyes on me, as if he’s ready for another round after this morning. I really do have to put my foot down about there being no more sleepovers when I have the early shift.
The surgeon is supposed to be on his way, so I hang up and tell Cooper to wait a second while I peek my head into the room. “Mason, are you a Grizzlies fan?”
His mom lights up, and the color in her cheeks deepens. “Honestly, we did recognize you from last night. You’re Cooper Rice’s girlfriend, right?” the mom asks, and she’s being respectful, but those three words still grate on me.
“I am.”
“Well lucky for you, Mason, I forgot my lunch this morning.” I step to the door and wave Cooper in. I’ve done this enough over the years that he has an idea of what he’s walking into.
Cooper comes into the room, and all three of their mouths drop open, blinking like they’re not really seeing him. I wonder what that feeling is like for Cooper.
“Hey.” He shakes the dad’s hand. “Cooper Rice,” he introduces himself.
“Todd.”
The mom says, “I’m Jessica.”
“And this is Mason.” I gesture to the little boy. “I’ll leave you guys to it. I have to check in on another patient. Good news, the surgeon is on his way.”
Cooper nods, sitting on the stool beside the bed. “So, tell me, Mason, do you play football?”
