Gentry and I were currently working opposite shifts so that one of us could be home with Neo in case something happened.
If he was here…
“He’s fine. I fed him before I left to grab lunch,” he said as he placed a plastic sack of food down on the desk in front of me. “While I was there, there was a woman who told me about how bad the hospital sucked to work at, and how their food was nothing better than school cafeteria food. She kind of implied that I should bring you lunch.”
I wilted slightly.
I wouldn’t admit to myself that I had wanted him to want to bring me lunch.
Then I berated myself because why would he? He wasn’t anything to me.
Hell, I wouldn’t even call him a friend at this point.
More like acquaintances, no matter what our previous marriage license said.
“Oh, hello, Officer.”
I gritted my teeth when I looked to the side to see one of my least favorite nurses, Camille Rhodes, standing there looking way too done up to be a nurse at a county hospital in the middle of nowhere.
I mean, she was wearing diamonds, for Christ’s sake.
No sane nurse would wear her entire diamond collection to work as a nurse.
But apparently, Camille hadn’t gotten that memo.
Gentry made my entire day by nodding his head at her but not speaking.
Camille looked taken aback.
“Are you here to give me a lunch?” I asked sweetly.
I’d asked for a bathroom break over an hour and a half ago.
I was informed that they were ‘short-staffed’ and that I could ‘go on my lunch break.’
I knew that Camille wasn’t there to offer me that break. She was there because she’d seen Gentry.
“Oh, um…” Camille started.
Using her appearance as the excuse I needed, I snatched my food and signed out of the charting system.
I gave Camille a little wave, then went to announce to the charge nurse that I was taking lunch.
All the while, Gentry stuck close.
I held out the food to him when we reached the end of the hallway that would lead to the break room. “I have to pee something fierce. Hold this. Then we can go outside and I can tell you what I’ve discovered so far.”
Before he could say yes or no I shoved the food at him and dove into the bathroom.
I was groaning with relief moments later.
I took so long using the restroom that when I got out, I was slightly embarrassed.
“Feel better?” he asked, amusement lighting his eyes.
“I had to pee when I got here today,” I admitted. “They’re supposed to give me a break every hour and a half, just for five minutes, in case I need to do anything. But when I get shoved into the triage room, mostly everyone forgets I’m there. When I call back for a cover, they’re always ‘busy.’”
“Hmm,” Gentry said as he kept my food in his hands and started walking out of the hospital. “How long do you have?”