Page 1 of Doctor's Surprise Twins

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ALLY

“One twenty-seven,” Val says, looking up at me.

I nod and write the number on the line before clutching the clipboard to my chest.

“I hate doing inventory checks, but the hospital really buckled down this year when our supplies kept coming back off count. Now it’s a monthly thing,” she says, rolling her green eyes.

“Do they think supplies are being wasted?”

“No, I think they know that the stuff is being used the way it’s intended. It’s just that people get swept up in emergencies and forget to log what’s been used. That or they just forget from being tired and overworked. They’re trying to bring in more staff so we don’t have to work so many hours, but it’s been tough lately. Every batch of new nurses we get ends up quitting.”

“Why do you think that is?” I ask, curious. One of the perks of working in healthcare is that you can get a job anywhere in the world, but one of its biggest downfalls is that the field is oversaturated, and everyone is expendable.

She shrugs, causing her blonde braid to fall to the center of her back. “Who knows. They probably realize that being a nurseis hard work, and for the most part, it’s not something you choose. It chooses you.”

I smile at her explanation because that’s how I’ve always thought of it, too.

I was born to be a nurse. It’s something I’ve known I would do since I was a little kid. While most kids ran around playing doctor, I was always the nurse. Taking care of people is in my blood.

She returns to counting the next row of supplies so neither of us talks for a bit. When she’s finished with the row, she says, “One-fifty-six.”

I nod and jot down the number on the next line.

“This is one of those jobs where every day is the same, but it’s also different. Does that make sense?” She looks up at me. “It’s like you come in every day, and even though the patients are different, and the ailments are different, you’re still always doing basically the same things.”

“I get that,” I agree. “So, why did you want to work in pediatrics?”

She looks up at me with a smile that lights up her face. “I love kids. Why else?”

I giggle.

“What about you?”

“Same,” I reply. “Kids are just better than adults. They haven’t had time to become negative, bitter, or jaded. Kids are so pure and innocent that even when the universe hands them a difficult life, they still smile and make the best of it. If adults could keep that positivity and hopefulness, the world would be a much better place.”

“You can say that again.” She moves to the next row, counting the boxes of facial masks. “Forty-three.”

I write down the number. “We’re off on that one. This says there should be sixty-four.”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh boy. Pretty soon, they’re going to have us doing this at the end of every shift.”

My eyes widen. “Can you imagine?”

She snorts. “No way. They’d have to hire someone to do nothing but inventory.”

“It would probably be cheaper than hiring another nurse,” I joke, and she laughs.

“I like you. We don’t have many people in the healthcare industry with a sense of humor. Where’d you grow up?”

“Here in Chicago,” I tell her. “Born and raised.”

“And why the medical field?”

I use the nail on my middle finger to pick at the skin around my thumbnail. “I don’t know. I’ve always just felt like it’s what I was born to do.”

“That’s a good answer. I once asked that question to an extern like you. You’ll never believe what she said.”

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