Ariel

Life is nothing but a series of mazes and tests…

 

 

 

Once Dillon left last night, I tried to get some sleep. Not only is this chair uncomfortable but with the duty nurse coming and going throughout the evening it was an impossible task. One nurse in particular kept giving me dirty looks, why I have no idea because I’ve done absolutely nothing to her…hell I don’t even know the chick, but if she keeps it up I’ll definitely give her a reason to not like me.

I get up out of my chair to stretch my stiff and sore muscles. I pull my phone out and look at the time, it’s coming on noon. I realize that I need to wake my sisters, because one of us needs to stay here with Mom and the other two need to head to the shop. The thought of leaving Mom has a lead feeling deep inside of my stomach, but we still have to keep the shop open and running. If Mom wakes up and finds out we neglected our responsibilities in anyway, she’ll flip out on us. That’s the one thing she’s ingrained into us since birth, you always take pride in your work and always show up when and where you are expected. You never-ever neglect your clientele, because without them, there is no business to keep afloat. I walk over to them and laugh at the drool I see leaking from the corner of Emory’s mouth.

“Rainey, Emory, wake up,” I call out as I give them each a slight shake.

“What’s happened, is Mom awake?” Rainey asks.

“No sorry, but I had to wake you up, we need to figure out who’s staying here with her and who’s going into work. We need at least two at the shop today, we are booked solid.”

“I can take first shift with Mom and come into work later to relieve one of you to come up here,” Emory tells us wiping her mouth.

“That sounds alright to me,” Rainey says. “What about you Ariel, are you good with leaving Mom and coming with me for a bit today? You can take second shift and then I can come up once we close and dismiss you for the night.”

“That sounds like a plan, why don’t you come up when you need a break later this afternoon and take over for me, Emory. I’ll stay here until two when Rainey gets here and be back up first thing in the morning, so you can have a day shift. Rainey don’t leave Emory there to lock up on her own though, it’s too dangerous at that time of night.” They roll their eyes at me, but I’m used to it, so I ignore them.

“That’ll work for me.”

“Alright, I’m going to head out then and go home and shower, let the girl out to do her thing and head in.”

“A shower does sound really good right about now,” Rainey says as she stands up ready to follow me out the door. “Give us a call, Emory, and let us know what the doctor says,” Rainey tells her over her shoulder, beating me to it.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you both updated throughout the day.” She knows me so well that I didn’t have to say a single word.

 

 

Opening up the shop, I don’t get that euphoric feeling that I normally do when I open up those doors. I usually enjoy getting everything sorted and ready for the day’s activity. My thoughts are stuck up at the hospital in Mom’s room. I have this deep-rooted fear that if I’m not there watching over her, something bad will happen. Don’t ask me why I feel this way, it’s a concern I can’t seem to shake. I have this frame of thinking that if I’m there, nothing bad could possibly happen to her. Deep down I know that if it’s going to, it will regardless if I’m there or not. Which is doing not a damn thing at resolving my anxiety level, I’m a worrier and control freak, always have been and most likely always will be.

Changing that would be like trying to change my DNA—impossible. Trying to occupy my mind I open up the register and get it logged in for the day. I pull out the daily schedule and look to see how many clients are scheduled for Emory. I’m happy when I see she only has three on today’s sheet and with the times they are slotted for, I should be able to slip them in between what I have for the day. Rainey can handle the walk-ins between her times. It should work out if everything goes according to plan. I go ahead and get our supplies ready and fill our stations, usually everyone does their own, but I need to keep myself busy. So I decide to make myself useful and help out where I can. Once everything is set up…and ready to go, Rainey walks in the doors—finally deciding to join me. As she strolls through the doors I notice she looks as if she’s encountering a real-life episode of the walking dead.

“You going to make it today Rainey?”

“Yeah, I just need to get some coffee in me and I’ll be ready to go.”

“I turned the Keurig on this morning and filled it with clean water and I restocked the tray with pods. Sugar and creamer are on the counter already and our mugs are washed, so all you have to do is put the cup under and let the machine take care of the rest.”

“Thank the coffee gods above!”

“You and your coffee, you act as if you can’t function without at least a cup a day.”

“Make that three or four pots a day, sister dearest.”

“No wonder you’re always so hyped up. That’s a lot of caffeine throughout the day, not to mention all the soft drinks you scoff down on top of it.”

“Must function—can’t do that without some assistance, at least I’m not pouring red bulls down my throat like you do. You get a lot more sugar intake in one day than I do in an entire week.”

“That’s debatable,” I respond to her.

“Seriously, Ariel, have you not read the back of those cans? The energy drinks you consume could give me enough sugar for ten cups of coffee compared to one of yours.”

“You’re so full of shit,” I tell her.

“Go get a can, read it…come on, do it now.”

“Go make your damn coffee, you’re getting on my fucking nerves now. Besides, I have a client due in shortly and I need to make sure his design is ready.”

“You’re not checking because you know I’m right,” she says as she turns and walks down the hallway towards the breakroom. I’m surprised that neither of my sisters have caused me any gray hairs since we went into business together. They’re both free spirits, I am to an extent, but nowhere near what they are. I like consistency, organization and keeping to a schedule. They take things one moment at a time, and I’m always looking days ahead.

I hear the bell over the door go off and look up from the counter and see my first client of the day has arrived. “Hey Marcus, you ready to do this?”

“I’m ready, where’s Rainey and Emory?” Marcus is a loyal customer, he’s been coming to us since he moved to town three years ago, he already had some impressive work done, but we’ve added to it and he’s a marvelous work of art to look upon.

“Rainey’s in the back and Emory is at the hospital with our mother.”

“Why is Mrs. Masters in the hospital?” he inquires.

“A fire broke out at her house last night and she was at home in bed when it happened. She’s in the ICU and we wanted to make sure at least one of us was there with her at all times.”

“Was it faulty wiring?” Marcus is a firefighter, so leave it to him to ask the unknown questions.

“Not sure, it’s still under investigation.”

“I was off duty last night, so I wasn’t aware. If you need any help let me know and I can talk to my chief about where they are at in the investigation and what they’ve been able to find out so far.”

“Thank you, Marcus, if we have any issues you will be my first call.”

“Not a problem, I have the inside sources you three may need.” Wanting to get away from talks of last night’s events I change the subject.

“Let’s get this piece started shall we, where exactly are you wanting this?”

With him being a firefighter, he wants a design to memorialize his job but wanted something more personalized and independent of what anyone else could possibly have. So we came up with an eagle holding a firehose in one claw and a fire extinguisher in the other. I show him the piece I designed for him, and thankfully he loves it. He rips off his shirt and I can’t help but admire all that he is, definitely something to fantasize about on those lonely nights.

“Where exactly are we putting this?” I ask once again as I practically drool at the sight of him. He has a six pack and a perfectly defined V leading to the promise land.

“Right here,” he says pointing at a blank spot on his left pec. “I’ve left this spot blank for the perfect piece, and what you’ve drawn is perfection. It will go well with the Marine Corps emblem I have. Don’t you think?”

“I think it will complement it perfectly.”

The next four-hours consist of me outlining the perfect image and coloring it in. I’ve been doing this for several years now, and although I’m quick, I’m very efficient and don’t allow a customer to leave here with half-ass work. Before I know it, I’m done and wrapping it up and handing him his instruction care pamphlet…not that he needs it, but it’s the law that I can’t let him leave without it. Next thing I know, Emory is here and it’s time for me to get to Mom. I don’t want her left alone for extended periods of time. First things first, I need to go let my girl out, and get some food in my stomach. All those energy drinks and no food do not equal for a happy Ariel.

 

 

When I get home, I realize I don’t have anything quick to eat other than cereal, so I decide that I’ll visit the drive thru of the local deli and grab a quick six-inch sub and some chips. I don’t care for fast food, so this is the next best thing, I wonder if I should grab Dillon some lunch—whoa, back the fuck up Ariel, where did that thought come from? One, I don’t even know if he’s on shift and two, why would I grab him something to eat? Sometimes I astonish myself at where my thoughts lead me.

“You’re just feeling grateful to him,” I tell myself—yeah that has to be it. As I finish my running around, I grab my food and head up to the hospital. As I enter the ICU floor I walk in on a standoff between Dillon and that bitchy nurse.

“She’s not your patient any longer, Doctor.” I hear her sneer at him.

“She was my patient in the ER and I would like to be able to come up and check on her if I want to, without having to deal with your attitude, Jackie.”

“This is my floor, you stay on yours and I’ll stay on mine.” As she said ‘my’ she pointed to her chest as if he wasn’t aware of who she was speaking about.

“Real mature, Jackie, we both work here. Why can’t you be professional about this?” he asks her, and I can clearly hear the frustration in his voice. This bitch really gets to him.

 “You broke up with me, not the other way around. You shouldn’t be here and should give me the space I need and not have to see your damn face every time I turn around.” Huh, so that’s what her issue is, he dumped her bitch ass. Go figure, a woman scorned and all of that.

“Ummm…. excuse me,” I say after clearing my throat, “I’m pretty sure the patients and their families on this floor don’t want, or need, to hear your bickering. We have people we love who are trying to recover, and the stress of hearing your break up issues aren’t theirs or ours, could you please be professionals and discuss this say…I don’t know, on your own personal times and do your fucking jobs?” I really mean this towards her, he can stay, at least he’s pleasant to be around.

“This,” she says pointing between herself and Dillon. “Is none of your business….”

“Exactly,” I cut her off. “So don’t make it everybody’s by spewing your hatefulness.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re excused,” I say walking towards my mother’s room, “and by the way, Dillon is welcome to check on my mom anytime he feels like it. Please do not tell him he can’t be here, or I will talk to your supervisor.” With that being said, I leave them to it.