Five years later…
Zandra
“Doctor Price wants an FBC before he can make a decision on your blood transfusion, Mrs. Doughty.” I placed the patient’s file back in the basket fixed to the back of her wheelchair. Pushing her forward, I made my way to the lab where she could get the test done.
“And what’s that, dear?” she asked as she craned her neck to look back at me.
“A full blood count.” I should’ve been used to her sporadic memory. The woman was eighty years old after all. “You have a blood clot behind your left knee, Mrs. Doughty. We found your blood levels to be low last week. You had two pints of blood transfused after that. And we may have to do that again if your levels continue to stay low.”
“Oh yes.” The old woman sighed. “Dear, I so need to get back home to Howard. He’s probably messed the whole house up by now. How long have I been in this hospital?”
Sadly, she really didn’t need to get back to anyone. Her husband had died ten years prior. But I hated to remind her of that fact. So, I reminded her of her current living situation, “Nothing to worry about, ma’am. The nursing home where you live will keep things nice and neat while you stay here. All you need to think about is letting this medication take care of that pesky blood clot, so you can get back to playing board games with your friends.”
One wrinkled, liver-spotted hand reached back to pat mine softly as I pushed her wheelchair down the long hallway to the lab department. “You’re such an angel, Nurse Price.”
Nurse Price.
Hearing it never got old. And the fact I’d only been one for the last couple of years never got old either.
Marrying Kane did a lot to change me. That and therapy. Lots and lots of therapy.
Kane helped me to find a calling. At first, nothing interested me. Then Fox had a Go to Work with Your Parent Day, and I went along with him. And that’s when I fell in love.
The active clinic my husband worked at had a good vibe about it. I asked Kane if there was anything I could do there. Sensing that I was finally interested in something, he asked one of the nurses if I could shadow her for a week.
Shadowing her sealed the deal for me. I loved it all. Even the things some considered to be gross. And that was saying a lot since I was six months pregnant at the time.
Kane and I had managed to put another bun in the oven soon after we were married. Another son was born only ten months after our wedding date. Fox got to name him. At first, I wasn’t too keen on the name he’d picked out, but then it grew on me. Kane loved it. I guess it was a guy thing.
So Wolf Randall Price became the newest member of our family. Fox made sure I added his baby brother’s birthdate right under his on the inside of my wrist. That marked my second tat.
After Wolf’s birth, I waited six months before starting nursing school. I discovered that I was a lot smarter than I’d ever given myself credit for. But then again, I not only had Kane to help me, but Fox, too. I soon found out that with my guys, I could rise to any occasion.
Nursing came easily to me. The program only lasted two years, and then I was ready and qualified to get to work. There weren’t any openings at the clinic Kane worked at, but the local hospital was hiring. They took me on there, and since Kane made occasional rounds on patients in other area hospitals, we still got to see a lot of each other.
The double doors to the lab were opened as we approached, and I hurried to make it through before they closed. “Here we are, Mrs. Doughty.”
“I hate this part.” I saw her hands twisting on her lap.
“I’ll stay with you—keep you company. It’ll be okay. You’ll see.” After checking her in, I took her to one of the treatment rooms and waited with her. She was still fretting and looking nervous. “So, tell me about Howard,” I asked her gently. I thought talking about her husband might help get her mind off the procedure.
Her pale blue eyes twinkled a little. “He’s my hero.” Pink stained her cheeks, and her hands went up to them. “My name was Kay White back when he found me. You see, I lived in a children’s home down in Texas. I was still in high school, and I had no idea what I would do after graduation. Howard worked for a company in Dallas who needed lots of secretaries. The oil business had boomed, and they were expanding.
“So Howard came to high schools to find seniors without any college prospects, and he offered them on-the-job training if they came to work at his company. Pretty good deal, right?”
“Yes.” I really did find her story interesting and wanted to hear more.
Her eyes went up to the ceiling for a moment then came back to look at me.
“Funny. I thought I heard him calling out my name. He’s not here in this hospital, is he?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I shook my head. “No, ma’am. I don’t think so.”
“Did you hear anything, Nurse Price?” she asked as she looked up again.
“No, ma’am.” I tried to listen for what she might be hearing, but I didn’t hear anything that would even come close to someone calling out the name Kay.
“Funny.” She looked at me again, and the phlebotomist came into the room. Kay cut her eyes at the lady. “Oh, no.”
Quickly, I tried to distract her. “Mrs. Doughty, please tell me more about your Howard. I suppose you took the job in Dallas.”
Her eyes moved to mine. “I did. I was scared to death, but I did it. I made that move with the help of some of the house parents from the children’s home. They wished me luck and bid me goodbye. Howard was waiting there to meet me the way he was for every person who came to join his company.”
“Did you know he was your true love right from the very start?” I asked as the needle was inserted into the vein on her inner elbow.
She didn’t even wince as she answered, “Oh, yes. From the moment I saw him, I knew he was the one. But he didn’t look at me the same way. Later, I found out that was because he would’ve gotten into trouble.” She smiled wistfully. “I wasn’t eighteen yet, and he was thirty-three. But during the three months that passed between his visit to my school and me going to Dallas, my birthday had come, and I was now of age.”
“You must’ve been so excited to see what would happen,” I said as the vial of blood was filled.
“Excited, yes. Scared, definitely.” She ducked her head, shyly. “I was still an innocent girl. And Howard was all man.”
I had to laugh a little. “That must’ve been intimidating.”
She looked up at me, a wry smile on her thin lips. “It was. Then when it finally happened—oh, my goodness!”
“I bet.” I nodded. “Looks like we’re all done here.”
“That’ll do it,” the phlebotomist told us then left the room.
The old woman looked at her arm and then back at me with surprise. “Wow, you really did help me, Nurse Price.”
“Anytime,” I said as I turned her wheelchair to guide her back out and up to her room.
As soon as we went through the double doors, she whispered, “Do you see that?”
I stopped to see what she was talking about. “Where?”
“By that tree over there.” Now I knew she wasn’t all there.
There wasn’t a tree anywhere around the place. “Hmm, I guess I don’t see it the way you do. Come on, let’s get you up to your room. It’s time for you to rest.”
“I could swear…” she trailed off. “Nurse Price, do you believe in heaven?”
“I sure do.” As a medical professional, you get asked that more times than most people do.
“Good. Doctor Price does too, right?” she asked, sounding hopeful.
“He does,” I let her know.
Relief ran through her voice, “Good.”
“You’re in excellent hands, Mrs. Doughty. No need to worry.” I turned her into her room, and the smell of cigar smoke hit me. “Oh, no. Who was smoking in here?”
“I like that smell.” She let me help her out of the chair and into the bed. “It reminds me of Howard. Please don’t tell anyone to come in and spray something to make it go away?”
Looking around the room, I found no evidence of any smoking. Shrugging, I walked to the door. “Okay. Have it your way. Have a nice nap, ma’am.”
“I think I will.” She closed her eyes as she folded her hands and lay them on her stomach.
Quietly closing the door to her room, I gasped, startled as a couple of arms closed around me from behind; large hands rubbed my belly. “How’s Sparrow?”