"Oh my god," he said, "I don't think tonight could go any slower."
His partner snickered.
"I know what you mean!" he answered. "I've had the feeling tonight that I'd be eligible for Social Security before I might finally have the chance to get out of here."
"At least there's only another 15 minutes to go. I think we're going to make it."
While he heard himself saying the words, he only half believed it. Working the evening shift in a hospital's pharmacy can be difficult, but tonight was just brutal. The phones kept ringing off the hook...missing medications, new drug protocols, unexpected emergencies. Even the glare coming off the computer screen seemed particularly harsh this evening and at times made him want to just close his eyes to stop the throbbing in his temples. And then there was the "code blue" in the ICU earlier.
"Oh my god," he said, "Did I tell you about the code?"
"No," his partner replied, "What happened?"
"I get to the code, right? And people are buzzing all around. The on-call doctor is running the show, and he obviously hasn't done too many situations like this. So who should be there from the unit tonight but the head nurse from the day shift, Tina is her name I think. Do you know her?"
His partner rolled his eyes.
"Do I know her??!! Isn't she the one they call 'The Man-Eater?'"
"Yup. That's her. And apparently, it's a well-earned title. As she's doing CPR on the guy, she's shouting at this doctor, telling him what to give, asking him why he's not doing this thing or that. I thought the doc was going to reach over and throttle her!"
"Jeez!" his partner commented, "Just because her husband is a doctor, she thinks she can just tell everyone what to do? I hate people like that!"
"Yeah. Well, say what you want about her attitude. You have to admit, that girl has one hell of a body. She may nag her doctor hubby to death, but at the end of the day it's gotta be worth it. I'll tell you, as I'm standing there handing out the medications tonight, I just couldn't help watching her."
He looked across the room and winked.
"I had to button up my lab jacket just so people wouldn't notice!"
His partner laughed.
"Well Casanova, are you joining us down at the bar for a drink after work?"
"I don't know," he answered. "I'm a little beat tonight."
"Aw, come on John!" his partner persuaded. "You know what they say? 'All work and no play...?'"
"...Makes Johnny a dull boy!!!" they finished in tandem.
"Besides, I think that other ICU nurse you've been eyeing is going to be there tonight. What's her name? Catherine?"
"Yes indeed!" John answered with a grin. "Catherine is correct! All right, you talked me into it. Now let's close up and get out of here before something else happens! I'll meet you at the bar in a little while."
"You got it," his partner replied. And shutting off the lights, they headed out to see if the end of the night would prove to be better than the beginning.
An hour and a couple of beers later, the stress of the evening seemed much farther away. He loved going out with the gang after work, telling "war stories" from the units and otherwise just blowing off steam. And Catherine's presence there tonight was just adding to the experience. The two of them had hit it off nicely, and things were looking fairly promising. As the group laughed over the stories of tonight's goings on, John cut through the crowd to the bar to get the next round of drinks.
"Bartender!" he shouted. "Another couple of pitchers please!!"
"Do you guys always come here after work?" said a voice from next to him.
He turned around to find Tina sitting at the bar, half a beer left in her hand. He gave her a slightly surprised smile before fumbling with his answer.
"Yeah...well...you know. It's always good to relax after a long night on the job."
She smiled wryly.
"You know, we never do stuff like this after the day shift. There's always something to do in the afternoon. It's kind of nice to see you guys hanging out like this."
The bartender came over and handed him his order.
"You know," she continued, "I want to thank you for the good job you did on the code tonight. At least somebody there knew what he was doing!"
John snickered.
"Well, thanks," he said. "I couldn't help but notice you weren't too crazy about the doctor who was running things. You really gave him the business!"
She took a long, slow sip from her glass before returning her focus to him.
"You know why?" she asked. "Because it's all about trust. I just didn't trust what that guy was doing. I've got to do what's best for my patient, and if that means telling somebody what to do, then I'm damn well going to do that."
By now, the group was yelling to him to bring over the beer. He looked over and held up his finger, telling them he'd be there in a moment. She drained what was left in her glass.
"John?" Tina said, recapturing his attention.
He looked at her. She looked more serious this time, downright sultry. He couldn't help but feel her gorgeous, dark brown eyes shoot right through him.
"John, would you like to get out of here?"
He was shocked! Of all the things she could have said, this was probably the most unexpected.
"Uh...Tina," he stammered, "I don't know! There's the gang over there, and I've been kind of hanging out with Catherine tonight, and...uh...aren't you a little bit MARRIED??!!"
"Oh, don't you worry about that," she told him. "My husband's at work more than he's at home, and he knows I don't like to be alone. He lets me have my 'friends' over to the house. We've got a very open relationship. And as for Catherine and the gang, just tell them that you're tired and want to go home. I don't think they've recognized me over here. This'll be our little secret. Tomorrow, your friends and your new lady-friend over there will still be there and they won't be any the wiser."
