Page 8 of Doctor Frost

“Alright, guys, out you go,”I said, pulling up in front of the school, waiting while the kids gathered their things before getting out of the car.

“Tommy, you have your lunch, right?” I questioned, looking in the rear-view mirror at my son.

“He better. I put it in his bag this morning,” Claire said, grabbing her schoolbag and throwing it over her shoulder, then looking over at her younger brother as he grinned up at her. “I swear, if you took it out of there, you’re on your own,” Claire said.

“Tommy, stop bugging your sister and check your bag, please. Last thing I need is a phone call from the school saying I didn’t send a lunch.”

“I got it,” Tommy shouted as he looked inside his bag and zipped it back up.

“What about you?” I questioned, glancing at my watch to see I still had lots of time before I needed to be at the office.

“Lunch money,” Claire said, holding up the twenty dollars I’d given her this morning.

“Spend it wisely.” I winked. “Not on fries and junk.”

“Dad, can’t you just let me enjoy junk for once with my friends instead of shoving healthy food down my throat?” Claire said, rolling her eyes.

“Fine, but only today.” I chuckled as she shut the door and then turned and smiled my way. Watching until I knew they were both safe inside, I pulled away from the sidewalk and toward work.

I stopped on my way at The Cooling Rack for a coffee and just as I pulled into the hospital parking lot, rain started coming down. I looked up at the sky, hoping that snow was in the forecast for the Christmas market, or I knew Claire and Tommy would be disappointed.

With hot coffee in my hand, I made my way toward the hospital. I was just about to the employee entrance when Amelia came rushing around the corner, almost banging the coffee from my hand.

“Whoa,” I said, pulling my coffee into the air, “slow down there.”

“Sorry about that,” she muttered as she looked up from her phone. Those pretty cinnamon eyes of hers met mine.

When she wasn’t opening her mouth and giving me a snarky attitude all day, she reminded me of Kenzie. I held the door open for her and waited for her to step inside.

She looked up at me with shock, then stepped through the door, shifting her purse to the other hand as she turned and smiled up at me.

“Thank you, Dalton.”

Even the way she said my name reminded me of my late wife. There was nothing I could do. I had to walk away. So, ignoring her, I pulled open the next door and once again waited until shewalked through, then turned to make my way down a different hallway. I didn’t believe in following my nurses to the office, anyway; I preferred to make my way into my office on my own.

“That would be when you’re supposed to say you are welcome!” Sshe yelled in my direction.

I held my hand up and waved without looking back. As I continued down the hall, I finally heard her stomp her foot on the floor and let out a huff. That was when I turned to see her march on down the hall the way she’d been going, and I smiled to myself.

There were times I loved seeing her get all riled up. Somehow, it added enjoyment to my day. Like I said, she was a pretty woman, and for whatever reason, getting under her skin was something I looked forward to. I wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she even acted like my precious Kenzie when she’d get upset with me or if it was because there was no one in this entire hospital in the past three years that had ever thought to stand up to me. I was hoping it was the latter, and not the fact that I was certain I was crushing on my nurse.

Amelia

My head poundedas I made my way to the cafeteria. The lights flickered as another crack of thunder and flash of lightning boomed across the sky.

“Ugh, isn’t it supposed to be snowing?” I whined, coming up beside Charlotte, who had come in today to do some volunteer work for the staff Christmas party.

“You are in luck. It’s in the forecast. Supposed to drop a couple inches by Friday, then it will finally look like Christmas.” She smiled, looking at me. “Another headache?”

“Yeah, I already took some headache medicine, but I’m thinking this one just might be the beginnings of a migraine setting in.”

“Hopefully not. How’s Dalton today?”

I rolled my eyes. “God, he’s impossible. Maybe worse than he was yesterday in the emergency room. Honestly, I don’t know how much more of him I can take. He’s just so…toxic. Did you know he is the only doctor in the entire hospital who hasn’t decorated his office for Christmas? I noticed that this morning when I came in. I feel bad for our patients. Honestly, I’m tempted to bring in some decorations for the desk. You should do the same.”

She smiled. “I worked for someone like that at the last hospital I was at. It’s draining, that is for sure, especially at this time of the year.”

“He’s just so doom and gloom all the time. Doesn’t he know this is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year? He should be singing ‘Jingle Bells’ and smiling all the time. If not for his own peace of mind and mental health, then for the health and wellbeing of our patients. Thank God I have you to laugh with.”

---