Love On Call

Glenn settled a hip on the edge of the table. “It’s absolutely not required, but whenever you happen to think of it, you will have my eternal gratitude.”

“You’re welcome, and let’s call it done.”

“Done. How did you sleep?” Glenn asked.

“Just about the best night I’ve had in forever.” Mari paused a second. If she thought Glenn looked like she’d had less than three hours’ sleep, she didn’t say so. “You weren’t on call, right?”

“No, I wasn’t, and I decided to leave Dr. Jaspers on his own last night. I saw Baker in the cafeteria, so she survived her first night too.”

Mari laughed. “Was it difficult for you, not checking up on them?”

“Actually, yeah,” Glenn confessed. “A good friend of mine, you’ll meet her before long, Carrie Longmire, suggested I’m too controlling.”

A good friend. Girlfriend? Mari assumed Glenn’s interest was in women, although she hadn’t actually come out in so many words. The tone of the whole conversation the night before had left little doubt, but she hadn’t considered that Glenn might have a girlfriend. But then, why would she think about it? It wasn’t like they were out on a date. Still, she felt a moment’s discomfort. “Does Carrie work here?”

Glenn nodded. “Yeah, she’s the CEO’s admin.”

“She obviously knows you a lot better than me,” Mari said lightly, “but I think you’re just doing what needs to be done, especially this time of year with so many newbies aboard.” She pointed to her chest. “Including staff.”

“You’re practically a vet after yesterday’s initiation.” Glenn drained her cup and fervently wished for more. She’d gone home but she’d had a hard time falling asleep. Her body had been as keyed up as it used to be waiting for a call out in the field, only last night there’d been an undercurrent of excitement in the unrest that buzzed in her veins still.

“And really,” Mari continued, her tone unexpectedly urgent, “do you know anyone in medicine who would want someone taking care of them who wasn’t a control freak? I wouldn’t. I’d want someone in charge who was going to be looking at every single little detail and double-checking every single person who had anything to do with taking care of me. Believe me, when I was—” Mari broke off, embarrassed to discover she was trembling. Why was it so easy to open up to Glenn, to reveal everything she’d kept from everyone else?

Glenn glanced at the door, saw the shadow of a student pass by. They only had a few more minutes. Gently she said, “When you were what?”

“Sorry. I…” Mari shook her head. “Not exactly the right time or place.”

Glenn nodded. “You’re right. Your call, anytime.”

“Thanks.”

Glenn wanted to know more. Whatever darkness haunted Mari’s past, every time Mari touched upon it, her eyes filled with sadness. Glenn ached to stanch the pain as much as she ever had a battle wound. Not the place, and not the time. The students filed in and Glenn grabbed the remote for the projector and moved to the head of the table. As she launched into her abbreviated intro at precisely 0700, she watched Mari out of the corner of her eye. When she brought up an aerial shot of the hospital to orient the students to the critical locations, Mari’s attention swung back and forth from the screen to Glenn. She’d given plenty of briefings before, but she’d never enjoyed having an audience. Mari’s attention wasn’t really on her, but she enjoyed the fleeting imagining. Quickly, she pointed out the east administrative wing, the central building with reception, the library and cafeteria, and the six-story west wing with the ER, OR, ICUs, outpatient clinics, and the patient floors.

“And here”—Glenn tapped a spot at the west wing—“will be an open colonnade leading to the building”—she made a circle with her laser pointer a few inches away—“housing the new MRI suite.”

“Nice,” Antonelli said. “When do you think that will be up and running?”

“We hope to break ground before the end of the summer and have the facility opened by late spring.”

“No shi—kidding.” Antonelli whistled. “That’s pushing things. You’ll be lucky if you have your bids in by three months.”

“Got some experience there,” Glenn remarked.

“My old man used to be a general contractor. The company put up a lot of buildings in this area, and there’s pretty stiff competition for something like this.”