“Great job, guys,” their father congratulated them before turning the camera to himself. “Merry Christmas, Mama Bear. Can’t wait till you get home.”
Tessa paused the video on his smiling face as tears streamed down hers. A few minutes after sitting in silence, the grandfather clock in the corner chimed, indicating it was three o’clock and officially Jake’s birthday.
Reaching for the home phone, she dialed his number. The phone rang without an answer until the automated voicemail chipped in. She felt disappointed that he hadn’t answered, but she still left a message.
“Hi, sweetie. It’s Mom. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday. Remember that time when you turned four, and we got a clown for your party? You were so terrified and wouldn’t come out of the bouncy house until he left, but then your dad had the bright idea to dress like a clown, and somehow you knew he was safe, and for the rest of your birthday, you stuck by him. From that time on, he was the only clown that could be at your birthday parties until you became a teenager and thought that clowns weren’t cool, of course.” She chuckled as she reminisced. “Anyway, enjoy your day, Jake, and know that I love you very much.”
Once the call clicked off, she broke down in tears.
ChapterEight
Tessa
Tessa slowly made her way to the office space she had been granted as the head nurse after greeting a number of her staff members and peers with a bright smile. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it and sighed while her smile dropped.
She was miserable. After her girls’ night out, the rest of the weekend had been a miserable one. Not one peep from Jake, even though she had called to wish him a happy birthday. It felt like she didn’t matter to him, and he was trying to erase her from his life— it had hurt. She’d spent more time watching the family videos Don had made, and more often than not, she had not been in them. It made her yearn for a chance to share new memories with her children, but they weren’t interested.
She wished Jake would have at least called to let her know that he was great instead of the text he’d sent to thank her for the well wishes and to let her know he was okay.
Tessa eased herself behind her desk and went through the performance charts for the new intern nurses before getting up to head to the trauma floor. She came to a screeching halt as her heart slammed against her chest at the sight of Justin. His back was to her, and his head bent as he listened intently to whatever one of the residents was saying to him.
“Please don’t turn around,” she said with urgency from under her breath as she eased herself against the wall. She watched him for a few seconds as she contemplated hightailing it back to her office. She decided that was a cowardly move and instead pushed herself off the wall and walked by the two men, albeit passing as wide as she could. When she had made it a few feet ahead of the conversing physicians without acknowledgment, she breathed a sigh of relief and continued to the trauma floor. Their encounter at The Anchor was still fresh in her mind, and she didn’t know how to handle it.
“Hello, Nurse Luis. How are you?”
Tessa’s head shot up from the chart she was perusing, and her eyes widened at his presence. She schooled her expression before responding. “Hello, Dr. Myers. I am well, thank you. How are you?” Her lips turned up in a polite smile.
“I am well,” he replied as equally politely as her.
An awkward silence settled over them.
“Did you need something, Dr. Myers?” she finally spoke, noting the glances from members of their unit.
“Uh, no, actually,” he replied, scratching the back of his head. “I was just on my way to do a consultation but thought I’d say hi.”
“Oh,” Tessa replied, caught off guard. “Hi.”
He smiled with a slight nod before walking off. Her eyes followed his retreating back.
“That was an interesting couple of minutes.”
Tessa blinked and turned her focus to the person who had spoken. “What do you mean?” she asked.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say your interaction with the good doctor appeared to be more than professional. You both looked like people in the awkward start-up phase of a relationship, afraid to do or say the wrong thing,” Janet, her friend and colleague, surmised.
“That is absurd.” Tessa chuckled and waved off the woman’s comments. “We are coworkers and nothing more. I’m simply trying to be polite after our debacle,” she further explained.
“Okay. If you say so,” Janet spoke with skepticism.
“It’s the truth. Besides, I am not interested in starting a relationship with anyone, especially at the hospital,” she stressed.
Janet nodded, but Tessa could see the burning need to say something in her brown eyes. “Well, I’m gonna go check on my patient.” She walked off in the direction of the patients’ ward.
Tessa turned her attention to inputting the nurses’ schedule and hours worked in the system to be displayed on the overhead monitor.
A few minutes later, the ER’s code red alarm went off, and she could hear the approaching sirens. Tessa hurried to the general area to await the arrival of their new patient.
Just as the ambulance pulled up to the entrance, Justin appeared. “What do we have?” he asked as the EMTs flung open the ambulance doors, revealing a man strapped to a stretcher.
