Chapter Four
Olivia
Monday
I was practically shaking as Drea walked into my apartment for the very first time. My eyes kept roving up and down her as I tried to work out how competent she would be looking after the most important person in my life. She was a few years older than me, with long blonde hair tied back into a knot and a kindly-looking face. I knew her résumé well. I knew that she’d done the job for a long time, but the nerves coursed through me regardless.
That was until she started up her very first conversation with Meghan. She knew just how to talk to her, more like an adult than a child, but with a very firm tone. I adored my daughter to bits, but I knew she was a handful, a wild child that needed taming from time to time. Judging by the way Meghan’s eyes lit up as Drea talked about what they were going to do together, I knew for certain that I’d made the right decision.
I was going to have to thank my new boss, Ms. Simms, for her recommendation.
“Are you excited about starting work?” Drea asked me as Meghan raced from the room to get a painting to show her new sitter. “Today is big day.”
“I am, but I’m nervous, as well.” I shifted from foot to foot. “This is my first job in a major practice, and I’m a little scared about screwing it up.”
I’d done the degree and the assistant jobs, I’d done the shadowing, but I hadn’t ever done the job for real. It was good of Ms. Simms to hire me, and I truly didn’t want to screw it up.
“Ms. Simms is a great lady,” Drea nodded knowingly. “You will do just fine; she will look after you.”
“Is there anything you need to know about Meghan?” I asked her, rapidly changing the subject before I fully succumbed to the panic entirely. “I’ve left a list of emergency numbers on the bulletin board, plus all the things that Meghan is allergic to…”
“Don’t you worry,” she grinned and reassured me. “You told me everything during the telephone interview. I’m sure we will be fine. I have been doing this for a while now, so I know what I’m doing – you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“Yeah okay.” I breathed out deeply. “I will keep my cell phone on all day with me anyway, so if you have any questions, please ask.”
“Of course, of course, now off you go. You have the subway to catch, am I right?”
“Yes.” I clapped my hands together and smiled through the terror. “Okay, I’m just going to say goodbye to Meghan.”
I found my daughter and tightly wrapped my arms around her, holding her close to my body before I left her for the first time in New York. I knew she’d be okay, it was obvious she’d be fine with Drea who appeared to be very competent, as able as I thought she’d be, but still the strings on my heart tugged painfully.
“I’ll see you later, okay, baby?” I said into her hair. “You be good for Drea.”
“I will, Mom. Love you,” she muttered distractedly into my ear. “I promise that I’ll be good.”
“Love you, too.”
I had to literally tear myself away, but eventually, I managed it and forced myself out the front door. I walked in a haze of sadness and fear into the elevator, and I wandered out the front door towards the nearest subway station. My last job had been within walking distance, so this commute was going to take some getting used to, but I hoped it’d be alright.
The station was crowded with people, but I nestled myself in between everyone and got swept along with the crowd onto the train as they all moved. I didn’t manage to find a seat, but I got a hook to hold onto, which would be fine since it was only a four stop journey.
All in all, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Once outside the building which housed the physical therapy office, I paused for just a moment to calm myself down. I couldn’t take too long, though, because the last thing I wanted was to be late on my very first day. I knew that Ms. Simms was taking a huge chance on me and wanted to prove myself worthy.
Surprisingly, Ms. Simms was outside the door of the office, all ready to greet me. It was nice actually, a touching personal gesture that helped me to relax. I recognized her crinkly eyes and his warm smile from our Skype interviews. She had more white hairs than I would’ve thought, though.
“Hello there, Olivia.” She smiled warmly and held out her hand for me to shake. “I’m so glad to finally meet you in person.”
“You, too. Thank you for this opportunity.”
She opened the door for me and let me inside. “Come on in, I’ll show you the room that you’ll be working in.”
I followed her, while trying to listen to her and drink everything in at the same time. It was strange to think that this building would soon be very familiar to me…if it all worked out, of course.
“So, as you know, this is shift work, so the schedule will be different every week. If there is any time that you need off, I will try my best to accommodate that, but I do try and keep patients with the same therapist. It just makes sense for their treatments because everyone knows where they stand better. I hope that’s okay with you.”
“That sounds perfect,” I beamed. “Thank you. So, what sort of injuries do you get here?”
“Mostly athletes,” she told me as she led me into my room. “Some military men, some with long-term conditions. It varies.”
“So this is my room?” I looked at everything and smiled to myself. I never thought I’d land a first real job at a place like this – it was so clean, so professional. It was awesome. “Looks great.”
“Yes. I mean, there may be times when you need to move rooms or share your room, but primarily, this will be your room. So, do you have any questions?”
So many questions flooded my mind, but I didn’t really need to ask any of them. I knew what I was doing, I could do this job – I just needed to have full confidence in myself. “No, I think I’m okay. Thank you.”
“Well, the phone is there. If you need me I am on extension six oh three. Please feel free to contact me about anything. I am happy to answer any questions you have.” She checked her watch smiled at me. “Now, your first client will be here soon so I better get going.”
I knew it wasn’t my office exactly, but as soon as Ms. Simms left I pulled out a photograph and rested it on my desk. I wanted the place to feel like mine for the time I was here. The picture was of Meghan and my parents, taken at our old home. It gave me a pang for everything that I’d left behind, but luckily, I didn’t have time to focus on it.
Ding!
Oh, it seemed my room had a bell. That was good to know!
“Come in!” I called out. As I waited for the door to swing open, I straightened down my clothing and stood up. I rearranged my expression into a serious, professional one while I waited…
Oh my God.
“You,” I gasped as the man entered my room. It was the one person I knew in this city, and I was completely shocked to see him. Zack.
“You,” he replied just as shocked. “Fancy seeing you here, Olivia.”
I glanced down at his knee, remembering his fall the previous day. I knew there was a weakness there, so I wasn’t sure why he’d overreacted so much about it. “Yeah, me.”
“So, it seems that you do have some medical knowledge,” he chuckled, acknowledging that day, too. “Fair enough.”
I didn’t want to rise to the bait, so I nodded to the chair in front of me. In my head, I was screaming at the horror, the unfairness of having to work with this asshat on my very first day on the job, but outwardly, I was cool, calm, and collected. “Please, take a seat. Erm, I’m here because Rebecca, your former therapist, is on maternity leave.”
“I know,” he laughed. “I kinda guessed from the swollen belly.”
“Right, of course.” I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, of course you know about that. Erm…” I glanced down at the notes in my hands. “Maybe we should go out into the exercise area where you can show me just what you’re capable of.”
“Doesn’t it say all of that in the plans left for you by Rebecca?” Zack furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “She told me she was going to leave all the details for whoever was covering her maternity leave.”
Ah, for some reason Rebecca hadn’t told her patients that she didn’t intend to come back. She could afford to be a stay-at-home mom since her husband worked in the financial industry. There had to be a reason for that, and I didn’t want to blow her cover already. I just wanted to get through this day.
“Well, I like to see for myself.” I stood up and gave him a look. “I’ll be doing this with all my patients. It’s all well and good reading what someone else has written, but I want to know for myself.”
“Fine.” He stood up and gave me a determined look. “Let’s do this.”
With a bit of resentment, Zack followed me, but as soon as we got into the exercise room, he actually started to listen to me. He did everything I asked of him, and I quickly came to terms with his current ability level. He was actually doing really well; he had all the ability there, a lot of it was mental blockage. He didn’t like that he wasn’t where he wanted to be, and without even realizing it, that was holding him back.
I could work with that. Especially if he continued doing what I asked of him. It had taken a while to get there, but at least he seemed to be listening to me now. I hoped that would last.
By the time the session was over, he was starting to look a little tired, which I understood. Trying to get your body to do something it didn’t want to was exhausting. I knew that.
“Okay, that’s great, Zack.” Saying his name aloud felt weird; it made me feel a little uncomfortable, actually, and I wasn’t sure why. “That’s it for today. I will get a plan organized for next time, okay?”
“Yeah, alright.” He could barely meet my eyes. I could tell he hated being seen as vulnerable, which was silly. That wasn’t how I saw any of my patients – they were stronger than most! “Thanks, see you later.”
Once he was gone, I took a few moments alone in my office to calm myself down. There was something about Zack that made my body react wildly, and I wasn’t totally sure why. I hated him. I thought he was a rude, horrible person…but there was something beneath the surface, too. I could sense that if someone was willing to take the time to peel the layers back, they could find something really unique there.
If they were willing to go through all that crap, of course.
Ding.
Okay, time to move on. My next patient was here.