Kathleen Pickering - A Man to Believe In

“Who are you, mister?”

“How’d you know she was choking?”

“Did you get it all? Is she okay?”

“Oh, man. That was disgusting!”

Jenny’s mother stared at Peter in disbelief. “I can’t believe you got her to stay so still. She usually panics and screams when she’s afraid.”

Peter stood. “Well, her survival instincts must be pretty good.” He frowned when he realized what the woman said. “Let me point out that she couldn’t have screamed. I saw her try, which is how I knew she was in trouble. That’s the problem when someone is choking. They can’t talk, so if you’re not aware, they can choke to death without making a sound.”

The woman went pale. “Oh, Lord. I had no idea.” She grabbed his hand. “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would have done if you weren’t here. You knew just what to do.”

“I’m a nurse. But this is really important, ma’am. If you wouldn’t have known what to do, can I suggest you take a CPR course? You never know when something like this can happen. I’m sure Mercy Hospital or the kids’ pediatrician can point you in the right direction.”

The mothers nodded in agreement. “That’s a great idea. We’ll do that.”

One of the other girls pointed to Peter’s forehead. “What happened to your eye?”

He’d forgotten about his wound. He must look awful. “Car accident. It looks worse than it feels.”

The girl grimaced. “It looks bad.”

He smiled. Kids were so damned honest. “It’ll get better soon.” He gestured to the counter. “I’m going to grab my lunch. Have a good day.”

The woman reached for her purse. “Please, let me at least buy your pizza.”

He waved away the woman’s offer. “I already paid. Please, no thanks.”

He patted the girl’s shoulder, noting she still sat with her head against her mother’s chest. She’d had a brush with a little terror and would probably be staying away from pizza for a while. He stooped down to the girl’s level. “You’re fine now, honey. I know that was scary. Just chew your food really well next time. Okay?”

Jenny nodded, complete trust in her eyes. Her expression pulled at Peter’s heart. Yeah. He loved being a nurse, especially for kids. Someone had to help them feel safe.

Back on the sidewalk again, his direction led to Mercy Hospital. Four days until his first day at work, but he was curious to see how the E.R. operated. Doc had told him there was a staff of fifteen in emergency, including five nurses. He made six. He’d like to get familiar with the flow of the department before starting his first day. He didn’t want to admit a small part of him hoped to run into Cassie.

The glass doors swished apart as he walked into the hospital. The waiting room was a decent size, painted a soft hue of yellow with lots of natural light through the windows. Large potted plants framed the windows, giving the effect of the outdoors inside. He’d exited through the staff entrance on Tuesday with Cassie so he’d missed the reception area. The modern comfortable seating, a widescreen television, a play area to distract kids and a sign offering free Wi-Fi and laptop borrowing made the place seem more like a family room than a hospital waiting room. Nice.

He approached the reception desk, where a woman sat behind an open window. “I’m Peter Chapman. New nurse. I start next week. I was hoping I could come in and look around a bit.”

She returned his smile. “I remember you. Your eye looks better.” She held out a hand. “I’m Carmen.”

“A pleasure. So, is Dr. Bailey around?”

She hit the buzzer on a door. “Come in. He’s here somewhere.”

The charge nurse with the shiny black hair caught back in a bun and a fun smile was the first person he saw.

She waved from the nurse’s station. “How’s the eye?”

“Looks worse than it feels. You’re Rachel, right?”

“Yes, indeed. What brings you here?”

“My truck is in for repair.” He gestured to his feet. “Since I’m limited in range, I thought I’d see if I can get some orientation around the E.R. before I start work. Maybe fill out my papers and get all the red tape out of the way.”

As he spoke, Cassie emerged from a nearby examination room. His heart almost stopped in his chest. So much for thinking his initial reaction to her had been a fluke.

Her long locks were pulled back in an elastic band, her eyes bright and smiling. She wore a white long-sleeved crewneck shirt beneath a pair of charcoal V-neck scrubs. Gray sneakers with pink laces adorned her feet. A stethoscope around her neck, a chart in her hand, she looked at home and thriving in her profession. Everything about her screamed she was his version of the ideal woman. An angel and a caregiver wrapped in one. Amazing.

He blew out a breath just to make sure he was still breathing. He didn’t know if he liked her better in scrubs or biking clothes. He’d like the chance to see a few more choices to round out his decision.

A look of surprise crossed her face when she saw him.

He waved. “Hi.”

She came over. Her momentary frown disappeared. “You’re not due until Monday.”

“Slept most of the day away yesterday. Wanted to do something useful today.”

Rachel chimed in. “Now, Cassie, don’t be discouraging our newest employee from showing some enthusiasm for his job.”

Cassie held up a hand. “Oh, I’d never want to do that.”

Something in her body language set Peter’s antenna pinging. Cassie was uncomfortable, as if she were wrestling with thoughts about him. Had his flirting turned her off?

He pressed on. “I don’t want to put anyone out. I know you’re busy. I just thought if someone could set me up I could nose around the computer to learn your charting system, the department layout. Things like that.”

“Getting your paperwork done is a great idea,” Rachel said. “I’ll take you to human resources, if you’d like. I can make sure you have passwords for the computer and for access to the supplies and meds on Monday.”

“That would be great. Thank you.” He glanced around. “Is there anything I can do to help today?”

Rachel shrugged. “I’m just about to get off shift. I can take you to HR to process you. Afterward...?” She looked at Cassie.

Cassie looked apologetic. “I’m sure all of us can show you around as we free up. Given that you’re not in scrubs and your eye still looks pretty raw, I’m not sure you want to meet patients today.”

Rachel sighed. “There you go again, discouraging the new help.”

“No. No. I’m simply saying that I can’t take the time right now to show him around.” She gave Peter a soulful glance. “Come find me when you get back from HR. I’ll take you to the back nursing station, and you can get a feel for the area, check out the computer. Is that okay?”

There were other nurses walking around, glancing over as if they knew Peter was the new hire. “That’ll be fine, Cassie. I don’t want to intrude.”

“Doc is here, as well. He’ll be glad to see you.”

Rachel tapped his arm. “Come on. I’ll take you to HR.”

An hour later, Peter returned to find Cassie exactly where he left her at the nursing station.

She smiled when he walked up. “All set?”

He nodded. “You’ve been standing here since I left?”

She waved a hand. “Hardly. Come with me. I’ll introduce you to Brenda and Anna.”

Her perfume wafted around him as they walked side by side down the hall. He inhaled another long breath. He’d just spent an hour around three other women going through his orientation and he tried to catalogue Cassie as just another woman. Yet, why did she seem to shimmer and shine, her voice like music to his ears? He shook hands by way of introduction with the two other nurses, registered their smiles, welcoming words and willingness to help him acclimate to the department, but all he could hear, see, smell and concentrate on was Cassie.