Page 69 of Hidden Desire

“You can’t fight politics,” he said. “People will do what they want to do. If the staff want to make fools of themselves by marching, hoping it will make a difference, then let them. Eventually, they’ll come crawling back because they’ll need to. The money will only last so long.” He chuckled, and she winced at how nonchalant he was.

“You don’t know how dedicated these employees are. They will fight for what they believe is right, and they won’t give up until some changes are made. But in the meantime, the hospital is going to crumble. I just can’t believe that’s what you would want.”

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I’m not being dramatic.” Her voice was raised a few notches. “I’m being realistic. These people deserve better than what they’re getting.”

“I just can’t believe how much you’ve changed.”

Stassi sighed and stood up from the couch. “You may not get this, but I’m glad I’ve changed. That means that I’m not this egotistical bitch that only cares about money. I care about people, too. And I’m telling you that watching them suffer has about killed me inside, and I don’t want to watch them in silence anymore.”

“What do you mean by that?” he asked.

“I know what I have to do. Goodbye, Dad.” She hung up the call and stood up. There wasn’t any doubt that she had to take the step. She wanted things to get back to normal and losing sleep was not going to be a part of her new routine. She dialed up Ariel, but it went straight to voicemail. “I need your help. I’m headed to the hospital, and I’m going to do what I should have done long ago. Join the fight. I know you don’t work there, but the more bodies the louder the voice. Will you join me in front of the hospital? I’ll bring the signs.”

Stassi hung up the line and hurried to get ready. She had a lot to do, but she had to take her stand. Once and for all.

Sage

Sage had to force herself to go to the hospital. After seeing Stassi and not getting a chance to really tell her what she was feeling, the wind had been kicked from her. Lena, however, kept telling her she had to do it. It was what they were working hard to fix and without her, the team would want to give up. Sage didn’t think that was true, but she had to do it because she would feel like she had let the team down if she didn’t.

Sage held up the blowhorn. “Listen up, everyone. Let’s rally up the chant. What do we want?”

“Changes.”

“When do we want them?” Sage yelled.

“Now!”

“How long will we wait?”

“Forever!” The crowd hollered back. Then they started chanting: LA County Hospital cares about themselves. That’s all. Themselves.” No one stopped chanting, even as the momentum drained from Sage. She wanted to be more enthusiastic, but her heart was slowly losing the oomph that it needed. But then she spotted Stassi staring at her, and she took in a deep breath and began to chant even louder. Stassi couldn’t know that Sage felt like she was drowning in a pool that was slowly gaining water.

She looked away, the chant still powering through the megaphone, even though she was feeling the words less and less. As she turned, Stassi moved in closer, closing the gap. Sage dropped the megaphone from her lips and waited.

“It was good seeing you last night,” Stassi began.

Sage nodded, and then glanced at the bright pink sign that Stassi held in her hand. “What’s that?” Sage asked.

Stassi shrugged. “I was hoping you could use some more help? I have a couple others that will be here shortly.” Sage frowned. Stassi met her eyes, “I should have been here a long time ago.”

Sage opened her mouth when Lena popped up behind her. “Nice use of swear words to show the imagery,” Lena said. “Welcome aboard! Always room for one more.”

Sage’s jaw dropped. Lena was the one to act like Sage needed to move on but was now welcoming Stassi back into the group as if nothing had even happened. Stassi jumped into line and continued to chant just as loud as the rest of them. Sage shrugged and moved to the head of the line, starting the chant up with the volume increasing. She was still confused as to why Stassi was there, but there was time to figure that out. They still had a job to do.

As Stassi settled in, she carried the sign around like she owned the place. Then, when they did the chants, it seemed like Stassi was hollering the loudest. An hour after she arrived, Ariel and Natalia showed up.

“We’re here to work. Put us to use.”

Sage opened her mouth and turned to see Stassi grinning. This was something Sage hadn’t expected. Stassi had put this all together? That was beyond a surprise. What was even better was that Ariel didn’t seem to be the judgmental person who didn’t think Sage was good enough. Both Ariel and Natalia each made a sign, and it was nice to see the support coming from outside of the hospital, especially from those who had no stake in what happened.

“I’m gonna run out and get sandwiches,” Sage hollered, when it reached lunchtime. Typically, she would have gotten someone else to do the grunt work, but she needed a few minutes to catch her breath, where she wouldn’t be forced to see Stassi and wonder exactly what Stassi anticipated this would solve.

“Do you need help?” Stassi asked, almost hopeful.

Sage gave her a smile but shook her head. “I think the troops are needed, just in case HR happens to make an appearance. We want to show that we’re continuing this fight.” No matter how hard.

“Alright!” Stassi’s voice sounded resilient, but her face fell in disappointment. She turned back to the group and there was a pause. Sage nearly changed her mind in an instant. She reluctantly turned and headed to her car. At the car, she glanced over her shoulder and watched as Stassi led the picket line, yelling so loud that it echoed through the parking lot. She shook her head. What could Stassi have planned?

---