What was that incessant ringing? My eyes fluttered open as my mind tried to process the annoying sound echoing in my room. I turned to the bedside table and saw my phone lighting up. Someone was calling.

“H-hello?” I greeted as I answered the call. It was six in the morning on my day-off. There better be a damn good reason for waking me up like this. I just hoped it wasn’t the credit collectors; I still owed like over two grand in credit debt and I still owed my landlady two months of rent.

“Hello Lyla, it’s Robert,” his familiar deep voice echoed on the other line. It sounded like he was at work in the hospital.

Almost immediately, I sat up. Anytime my boss called me during my day-off, it either meant someone screwed up and I had to go to work or because someone was absent and I had to go to work. In the end, it just meant I had to give up my day off and work. I could already feel a groan growing inside me.

“Oh, good morning sir,” I tried to sound as calm as possible. “How can I help you?”

“I need you to come in later,” he told me. That one line hit me like an egg slamming against a speeding truck.

“What time sir?” I asked. I needed some time to get my uniform cleaned.

Then he hit me with a surprise. “Anytime during the day but it has to be today. I just need to talk to you and sign some papers.”

“Oh,” was all I could reply. “Uhh, sure sir, I’ll be there by eight.”

“Okay, thanks,” and he then ended the call, leaving me in silence and confusion.

What the heck was that about? That question pervaded my mind all throughout the morning. As I had my breakfast, showered and prepared to leave, all I could think about was Robert’s intentions. Was I getting promoted? Was he changing my shift? Was I getting demoted or something?

I didn’t want to waste time any further and drove my way to work, stopping only at a gas station to fill up my rackety old car and get a cup of coffee. When I did get to the hospital, I noticed some of the other nurses were looking at me strangely.

Was there something wrong with my face? Did they know something I didn’t?

I knocked at Robert’s house and he immediately opened it for me and welcomed me to sit by his desk.

“Good morning sir,” I greeted.

“Morning, Ms. Bishop,” he replied and took out a few sheets of paper from his desk drawer. He then handed them to me and continued on, “This hospital is going through some changes. I assume you’ve seen us start bringing in new equipment and altering the Southeast Wing to be a brand new recuperation center for patients undergoing chemotherapy.”

“Y-yes sir,” I answered blankly as I began to go through these papers. There were a lot of legal terms in here, but there was one line that really shot me in the head: severance pay and final bonuses.

“That being said, we cannot afford to upgrade the hospital and keep everyone around,” he said with a heavy tone. Despite that I didn’t see an inch of melancholy on his face. “We basically have to let go of some of our employees and sadly, that includes you. You’ve done your best and you’re honestly one of our leading nurses but the fact is, we cannot afford you.”

Tears burned in my eyes but I grit my teeth and refused to cry in front of him. “W-what happens next, sir?”

“You’ll get your final salary as well as severance bonuses. This should give you enough until you’re able to find a new job.” Robert looked at me and forced a smile. “You’re what, twenty-four? You’re still really young, you’re smart and you’re a certified nurse. Any hospital, especially the bigger ones, will quickly pick you up. I’m sure about that.”

At least they were paying me for letting me go.

I shook his hand, thanked him for the opportunity and the three years of work. I departed and just sat in my car, stuck in the parking lot as I tried to process everything that just took place.

“This has got to be some kind of sick joke,” I whispered to myself, finally allowing the streams of tears to flow down my face. I had debts to pay, my rent was piling up on me and now I had no job to stay afloat a while longer. What the fuck was I going to do?

Dad might have a way to rescue me. He always had a backup plan.

Not wanting to waste time, I started the car and drove over to my dad’s house, located just in the outskirts of town. He was a retired veteran who spent most of his days at home so I didn’t even bother calling him to let him know I was coming.

When I got there, I found him on the porch, resting in his rocking chair playing video games on an iPad. That put a big smile on my face. At least my dad always had a sense of adventure and fun even in his old age.

“Hey,” I greeted as soon as I got out of the car and up the porch. I gave him a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek and sat down on a nearby stool.

“Oh, hey,” he greeted with a big smile. “Don’t you have work today, sweetie?”

“I don’t have a job anymore, dad,” I told him straight. “They called me in today to tell me I’ve been laid off. They’re cutting costs and they can’t afford me.”

He looked at me with those big, sad puppy eyes but even then he managed to smile and melt me inside. He reached forward and gave me a nice warm hug. “Don’t worry, baby. I can help you out if you need some money. You can always stay here if you can’t keep up with your apartment rent.”

I shook my head and pointed to his house, “Dad, I don’t want to be a burden on you.”

“You’re not,” he answered, even though we both knew he was financially struggling too. He never had to admit it, but one glance at his house and I knew he was cutting costs, too. It looked even emptier than before; he had been living all alone since my mom died ten years ago. He did hire a helper to clean and attend to his needs. Now he couldn’t even afford to keep her. Both our lives were going down the drain.

I decided to let him have this one, “Okay, daddy. I promise to go straight to you if things get over my head… but you got to let me try and handle this by myself. I can go out there and find a new job. There are a lot of medical centers and hospitals. I’m sure I can land a spot somewhere.”

That seemed satisfactory enough for him. We both weren’t really convinced though, knowing how hard the economy had fallen in recent years, but I was a nurse after all. It shouldn’t be that impossible to get a job.

Content with the plan in mind, we headed inside for some snacks and to catch up with each other.