***
When my shift ended, I was ready to leave. The day had been long and tiring, and one of my patients had nearly fallen and taken me out with him. He was a three hundred and twenty-five-pound man, but I had managed to brace him with my hip. I was sore all over now.
I entered my sister’s favorite restaurant, Guru’s, at a quarter past eight. Renee was sitting at a booth near the back, reading the menu. When she spotted me, she sprang to her feet and threw her arms around me in a hug.
“It’s so good to see you!” she said as she dropped back down into her seat.
I unbuttoned my windbreaker and placed it on the seat beside me. “You too,” I said, before catching her expression of distaste. “What?” I asked, wondering if there was something in my teeth.
“Scrubs? Really?”
“My replacement was late, and I didn’t want to waste time changing,” I said.
“Liar,” Renee said, rolling her shoulders and looking back at the menu.
She was right. I never brought a change of clothes to the hospital with me. I did everything in my scrubs. “What are you ordering?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject.
“Probably the curry chicken. Maybe butter chicken. I’ll decide when the waiter gets here.”
Renee always liked last minute decisions. She was my opposite in that regard. Actually, she was my opposite in nearly everything. People were always shocked to discover that we were related, let alone sisters.
Renee had a short pixie cut that she kept bleached blonde. I, like her, had naturally black hair. Mine was long, like a sweeping curtain down my back, but it was usually tied up in a bun because of my job. I had my father’s bright green eyes, and she had our mother’s brown ones that were so dark they nearly looked black. She was startlingly beautiful in an edgy sort of way. Renee dressed in sharp, structured clothes that enhanced her curves, and always wore shoes with a heel.
Today, she was wearing a royal blue blazer over a black pantsuit that hugged her body like a second layer of skin. Her shoes were at least five inches high. Silver hooped earrings in her ears grazed the tops of her shoulders, and her winged eyeliner was so dramatic it looked like it was sharp enough to stab someone. Her skin, now hidden under the long sleeves of the blazer, was also covered in tattoos. She and I shared a matching one on our thigh of a dreamcatcher in water color, for our parents.
After we ordered our food, Renee clasped her hands in front of her and leaned forward. “So, what’s new with you?”
“Um, not much, really. Things at work are good. Keeping busy. I like most of my patients right now, except today I was nearly flattened by one of them. As it is, I think I nearly dislocated my hip trying to keep him upright.”
Renee blinked at me. “Is there anything new besides work stuff?”
Anything besides work stuff? No. There never was. I racked my brain, trying to think of something to say that might throw her off the scent. The only thing that had happened to me in the past week that was worthy of saying aloud was that a cute guy had spilled some of his coffee on my shoe in line at the hospital cafe. I knew if I spoke those words, though, Renee would harass me for not getting his number.
“No,” I said. “Nothing.”
“I was hoping you would say that,” Renee said, now giving me a smile that made me suspicious.
“Really?” I asked, turning my face to look at her out of the corner of my eye. “Why am I suddenly nervous?”
Renee shook her head and giggled. “Don’t be nervous. It’s a good thing. I wanted to talk to you about something I’ve been thinking about for a while. Something I’ve been working to make happen.”
“Okay.”
“I want to take you on vacation, Sky. Please don’t say no yet.” She held up her hands to silence the protest that was about to come out of my mouth. “You work so hard and have been for so long. I really admire that about you, and I think you deserve a nice, warm destination vacation. Just a week, so you won’t have to be away from the job and your patients for too long. I want to do this for you. You helped me when things were pretty bad, and now, I can finally pay you back.”
Renee had been in a long-term relationship with her high school boyfriend, Marcus, and three years ago, he proposed. The wedding was planned for six months from his proposal date, and two weeks prior to the ceremony, Renee had discovered that he had a girlfriend on the side. He had been sleeping with her for the last two years. Things had been pretty bad for my sister, and I had dropped everything I could to help her. She up and quit her job in accounting and moved in with me to save up to go to design school. Now, she was in a design career and happy, and she had been living in her own apartment that she owned for the last eight months. I missed having her around my place, but I was happy for her.
“A warm destination, hey?” I asked.
Renee nodded eagerly. “Yes, it would be so much fun. Drinks by the pool, shopping, dancing. Good-looking men.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
I giggled and covered my mouth. “It could be fun,” I said. “I just don’t know about getting the time off. The ward is pretty full right now, and they’re short staffed.”
“The hospital is always short staffed,” Renee said. “Despite what you think, the place won’t fall apart without you. Believe me. You can step away and enjoy your life for a week without feeling guilty about it.”
I wasn’t so sure the guilt was something I could control. My job was my life. It was how I defined myself. Skylar Lindell, nurse. That was all anyone ever needed to know about me.
“Can I at least have some time to think about it?” I asked as the server arrived with our steaming bowls of butter chicken. My mouth started to water. I hadn’t eaten in eight hours, and the last thing I did eat was hummus and carrots. My stomach growled.
“No,” Renee said as she stirred her rice, chicken, and sauce together until it looked less than appetizing.” I’ve done all the thinking for us. I’ll call you in a few days and let you know the plan. And don’t even think about saying no to me. I’m serious about this.”
I took a bite before smiling at her. I didn’t need many relationships in my life. Not talking to my coworkers was tolerable. It let me focus on my work. A boyfriend would only be a distraction. My parents were gone. I didn’t need anyone, but I was thankful to have my sister in my life to keep me sane.