“Twenty-three-year-old male hit by a truck. His right arm and legs are fractured. He also suffered trauma to the head and possible brain injury,” one of the paramedics listed.
“Okay. We’ll take it from here,” Justin informed the two men. The men nodded and returned to the ambulance.
“Okay. We have to get moving now, guys, or this man is going to die. The discoloration of his chest and abdomen means he has internal bleeding and possible damage to organs,” Justin spoke with urgency. “Let’s get him to an OR.”
The two residents who had reported began wheeling the stretcher inside, and Tessa walked behind them, heading for the nurses’ station. “Nurse Luis, you’re with me,” Justin called out, surprising her. She nodded and followed.
After donning the surgical garb like the others, she entered the operating room.
“Scalpel,” Justin instructed, which another nurse readily placed in his palm.
Tessa watched as he used the instrument to pierce the patient’s abdomen before making a large incision. She marveled at his dexterity as he moved to cauterize the man’s wound, stopping the bleeding. When she wasn’t passing instruments or stitching, she intently watched him work to save the man’s life. She had to admit he was really good at this.
Her mind went to Diane, and disappointment replaced her awe. She still could not reconcile the fact that her daughter had given up on medical school and a promising career as a doctor only to replace it with owning a small bistro that could go out of business at any time, especially with the development that had been taking place in Oak Harbor. Pretty soon, small businesses would compete with the conglomerates if they weren't already. Kerry had almost lost her business last year to a company that wanted to build a parking lot on the grounds.
These things made her fear for her daughter's well-being. She could lose everything she had worked so hard to accomplish at any moment.
“Are you okay, Nurse Luis?”
Tessa blinked a couple of times and lifted her head to find Justin's gray eyes trained on her, their expression unreadable.
“Um, yes. I'm okay,” she replied with a small nod.
“Good. I thought I lost you for a moment there, but I need you to be present for this.”
Tessa’s head bobbed. “I'm here. I promise.”
Justin gave a slight nod, then his eyes returned to the patient on the table as he continued removing the patient's ruptured spleen.
Feeling eyes on her, she switched her gaze to Janet. Her friend gave her a knowing smirk. She quickly averted her eyes. What was up with everyone assuming anything was happening between her and Dr. Myers?
* * *
Tessa lifted her face, enjoying the warmth of the sun's rays permeating her pores. It had been a while since she'd been able to enjoy the weather like this, and at the beach, no less. The sky was blue and cloudless, and the view of Admiralty Inlet and the Olympic Mountains in the distance formed the perfect backdrop for the cloudless blue sky. Some of her relatives were splashing about and enjoying the coolness of the ocean water while others played beach volleyball or sat around the picnic benches.
Her father was turning chicken and ribs on a skewer over the charcoal fire. That was her classic dad. No matter where they found themselves, he would always be the one around the barbecue.
“Hey.”
She turned her head to see Kerry standing above her with a root beer in each hand.
“Hey,” she returned, her lips turning up in a smile.
Kerry plopped down in the sand beside her and handed her one of the tin drinks before pulling hers and turning it to her head.
Tessa did the same, enjoying the coolness of the liquid running down her throat.
“Thanks for this.” She raised the tin in her sister's direction.
Kerry bumped her shoulder with hers. “This is nice. The whole family out together and having fun like this. Don't you think so?”
Tessa nodded her agreement. “It is nice.” She looked around the beach at the smiling faces of her family. “After the past year we've had, we deserve all the happy moments we can get.” It was Kerry's turn to nod her agreement. The two women turned their attention to the ocean, watching the waves crash against the shore before receding and taking granules of the brown sand back with them.
“Are you okay?”
Tessa looked over at her sister. “I am. Why do you ask?”
Kerry shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention to the ocean. “It's just that you haven't spoken about what really happened with Don the day he died, and I know it affected you a lot...”
