Page 34 of Come Back to Me

Bean and I are thirty minutes into our run and the colors of the sunrise are peeking over the horizon. Today, the sun is treating us to a palette of lavenders and pale pinks. Between the runner’s high and this treat, it’s shaping up to be a glorious morning.

Life’s looking pretty great right now. Love life: finally have a good one. Work life: just got notified of my promotion to Assistant Manager. Yep, things are looking up and the move to Elladine is proving to be an outstanding life choice.

Bean and I round the corner and have one block left to go on our run. This is his favorite part of our runs—when we sprint at the end. His ears perk up as I give him the words he loves to hear. “Come on, boy! Let’s… go… fast!”

We’re both energized by the time we climb the stairs to our house, and I feed him before jumping in the shower to get ready for my workday.

It’s beena good day in the ER so far. I met my trainee, Sadie, yesterday, but today’s the first day she’s with me all day.

We actually have a few minutes to sit and talk about things today, so we’re back in the break room where we can have a little privacy.

“So, Sadie, tell me about your nursing experience and what made you decide to transfer to the ER.”

“Well, I graduated last June from nursing school, and I’ve spent the last year working on the medical-surgical floor. Mostly because I had to get the experience to apply for ER.” She smiles coyly and it makes the heart shape of her pretty face even more pronounced.

“Don’t worry, almost everyone does that.” I smile.

“So, I’ve always wanted to be an ER nurse. I like the energy, the fast pace, and never knowing what’s going to come through the door. Getting to see all the cute firefighters doesn’t hurt either.” She chuckles. “But if you meet my boyfriend, don’t tell him that part,” she adds quickly, twirling her long blond ponytail around her index finger.

Janie walks in just then to take our planned break together, and Sadie stands to go have lunch with one of her friends from her old unit. Anytime we have a trainee, we always make sure they get lunch since it’s not guaranteed once they’re counted in staffing numbers. Honestly, most days we’re lucky if we get enough time to pee, let alone a meal break, so this alone makes it a good day.

As Sadie steps through the door, I notice how tall she is. I’m guessing she’s at least five-foot-eight or-nine inches and she’s got a figure to die for.

Janie’s eyes are trained on her as well.

“Ugh,” Janie says. She puts her head down dramatically on the table after Sadie walks out.

I look at her, surprised. It’s not like Janie to be judgy.

“What’s that about? She’s nice.”

“I know she’s nice. I don’t care about that,” she says. “I care that she’s so gorgeous and young and she’s got a bangin’ body. When did we become the old frumpy ones in the ER?”

Now I can’t help but laugh out loud at her. “Janie, we’re hardly old. She’s twenty-three and we’re only twenty-seven. I’ll give you she’s beautiful, but we aren’t hags and you, my friend, are gorgeous,” I chuckle.

“That’s why you’re my best friend.” She beams. “You always know when to tell me I’m beautiful.”

She’s just telling me about her latest fling when a trauma alert is called overhead, signaling our short-lived break is over.

“Well, it was good while it lasted,” I say. We both get up and make our way to the trauma bay.

JACK

Fitz and I roll into the trauma bay with our patient—a forty-year-old male who fell twelve feet off a ladder. He clearly has a lower-leg fracture, but we’re most worried about the potential for neck injuries in these kinds of cases, so we have him on a backboard and in a neck collar.

I smile as I walk into the room and see Annie is among the ER staff waiting for us. It’s my first time seeing her today, and it brightens my day. She always says that she looks like a hot mess at work, but she doesn’t realize how damn beautiful she is.

Some of the young nurses wear their work scrubs so tight, I guess it’s the new trend.

Annie wears normal scrubs that fit her but aren’t too tight, not too loose. It’s still obvious she has an impressivebody, but I love that her scrubs leave a little to the imagination and I’m the only one in here who knows what she looks like underneath them. She wears minimal makeup to work and has those curls up in a messy bun.

I swear she couldn’t look better to me.

Teddy is working here today, too, so it’s good to see him. I feel bad because we haven’t been spending much time together this summer. When we were both on A shift, before I had to switch stations and shifts for the possible promotion to captain, we used to do something at least once a week. I catch myself feeling nostalgic for that “bro time,” as Teddy always called it.

I remind myself I need to be more intentional about making sure we talk regularly. Hell, we’ve been best friends since eighth grade. I need to make sure I keep up my end of the friendship.

Fitz and I help the ER staff get the patient settled, then head to the desk to finish our run report. When we’re almost done, I stop back at the trauma room so I can talk to Annie about tomorrow night. I pull the curtain aside slightly, and she looks up, says something to the nurse with her, then comes to talk to me outside the room.

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