Page 2 of Family Bonds- Garrett & Justine

Joyce smiled and it caused the release button holding her stiff shoulders in place to let go. Phew.

“I like you,” Joyce said. “A lot. You’ve got a great work ethic. You come in, put your head down, do your work. You’re great with any of the patients if they have questions, you’re friendly and well liked, but you keep your nose clean.”

“I’m paid to do a job,” she said, nodding. “That is what it’s about.”

Joyce kept her grin in place. “If only everyone thought that way. And it pains me to do this when you’re one of my best and fastest in the department.”

Oh shit. Here it came. She was looking for tissues to wipe up the crap that was going to drop. She just hoped her tears didn’t go with it.

“How painful is this going to be?” she asked, trying not to cringe.

Hopefully the worst case was she was only changing shifts. That she could handle. Not a big deal. It came with the job.

“Not horrible. At least I hope not. You’re the lowest person on the ranking chart. I could ask if anyone wanted to volunteer for this, but I know no one will. The rest have families here and have turned their noses quickly in the past.”

She frowned. “Here? Am I being transferred to another site?” She was only a few months into her twelve-month lease. Good lord.

“Yes,” Joyce said. “Not far.”

“Oh,” she said. “Okay. It happens. Where?”

“Amore Island,” Joyce said.

“Huh?” She knew about the island off the coast of Boston. There wasn’t even a bridge for her to drive over. “I’d have to take a ferry to get there?”

“That’s the thing,” Joyce said. “It’s not feasible for you to do that daily. They need someone on the island and we are going to try this for six months. We have housing for you. We’ll cover the costs. It will not cost you anything to live for the six months and you’ll have your place here when you return. I know this might not be what you wanted to hear, but it happens. It’s hard for them to fill positions there and we are always sending staff over to cover for a week or more. It was decided to put someone there for six months and see how it goes. Maybe you’ll like it and want to stay.”

It was the laugh that came at the end of the sentence that made her think that was a joke.

Justine took a deep breath in and out.

There could be worse things in life than getting to live on an island for six months.

She could come home on her days off if she needed to.

The biggest complaint she had right now was packing again. That hadn’t been fun.

“When do you need me to start?” she asked.

“April seventh,” Joyce said.

She looked at her watch. It was March nineteenth.

“That’s not even three weeks,” she said, wincing. Though, she could have been told she had to start next week, so she should be looking at the bright side of it. Too bad the sun wasn’t shining so well in her life.

“No,” Joyce said. “I’m sorry. I’m buying as much time as I can. I’m sure this is the last thing you wanted to hear.”

“I’ve heard worse in the past few months,” she said sadly. “This should be easy enough.”

“Again, I’m sorry,” Joyce said when she stood up.

“It’s fine. I’ll get back to work now.”

She left Joyce’s office and returned to the pharmacy.

“Well?” Tim asked. “That was fast. How bad was it?”

She forced a smile on her face. Might as well act happy about it so no one talked smack behind her back to her boss.

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