Page 25 of When You Had Me Adapting

“Okay.” I grit my teeth and try not to come completely unglued at her statement. “What’s up?”

“I spoke with Janet and you’re all set to leave for the conference tomorrow. Unfortunately, she said we can cover your hotel and the conference fees, but they can’t reimburse you for the plane ticket or food.”

“But I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. I emailed her about it weeks ago and she just got back to me. I’m honestly surprised she approved the hotel. You know how corporate can be,” she laughs off her statement like it’s no big deal.

I nod and try to reign myself in. “Thanks for trying.” I offer her a forced smile. Not only did I not get paid for our little chat, but this trip will cost me more than I had hoped. I take a deep breath and walk towards a computer to start my day.

After I clock in, I make my way through the building to my favorite patient.

“Hi, Ms. Clara, it’s Lacey,” I say as I knock and open the door.

“Good morning, hun.” Her voice is a little groggy. “Can we do this later? I’m not quite ready to do physical therapy this morning.”

I take a deep breath and force a smile. “Good news. I’m the occupational therapist, so no PT will be happening now.”

She grumbles something under her breath I can’t make out.

I walk over to where she lays in her bed. A pink, knitted blanket is pulled up to her chin.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Oh, yes. I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep and need to rest a little longer.”

“Ms. Clara, you know we need to do therapy today. How about we get it over with? I’m tired, too, so I’ll make it an easy day.”

A knock on the door echoes through the small space.

“Come in,” she calls.

Gray walks through the door with a huge smile on her face.

“Not another one of you,” Ms. Clara huffs out.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t realize you were in here. My seven thirty canceled. I thought I’d stop by and see if Ms. Clara wanted to do PT a little early.”

Ms. Clara lets out a groan. “I was just telling your friend here I’m not in the mood for PT.”

“That’s a bummer. I had a fun session planned,” Gray chimes.

“Girls, when you’re as old as I am, you need your beauty rest. Now, please let me sleep. We can do this nonsense later.” She tries to dismiss us with a wave.

Gray clears her throat, trying to stifle a laugh, and throws me a look. “I’ll let you finish OT and I’ll see you later?”

“If you must,” Ms. Clara groans. Gray turns and walks out the door.

I move around the room, grabbing Ms. Clara’s brush and her favorite pink bedazzled shoes from the closet. “Do you want to change?” I ask, eyeing her hot pink mumu covered with embroidered cats.

“There is not a soul in this building I care to impress.”

I giggle. I hand her the brush and watch as she slowly brushes through her white curls. I place her shoes on the floor next to her feet. “Here you go. Let’s get these on and then we’ll be on our way.”

She rolls her eyes and reluctantly slips both of her feet inside. I grab her walker and help her stand.

The two of us begin to move toward the door. “So, why do you think you didn’t get a good night’s sleep, any pain?”

“Oh no, honey, I’m fine. My book was just too good. I couldn’t put it down.”

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