Alicia and I spent both Christmas and New Year's working. She was on call, and I volunteered to work because of the extra money. Whereas New Year's Eve and Day were busy, Christmas Eve and Day were both quiet at the hospital. It was on Christmas Eve that Alicia and I had the only sexual encounter we ever had at the hospital.
I was working second shift, three-to-eleven p.m., and Alicia had been there all day when I arrived on duty. It had been busy during the first shift, but things had quieted down some in the afternoon. Outside, the weather was cold and cloudy; the forecasters were speaking of snow.
I was assigned to floor therapy on that day. Thus, I didn't see Alicia until later in the shift when I had to run a blood gas sample down to the lab in the ICU. She was across the unit from me, and I nodded at her. We were still keeping our relationship a secret from most of our coworkers. She turned and went into the employee lounge at the other end of the unit. I went back into the lab, ran the sample and reported the results, then wandered back into the lounge.
Early in the morning, before Alicia had gotten out of bed, we had been fooling around, gradually working up to making love. But we had run out of time, and Alicia had had to leave before we could do anything. I could tell she was disappointed; ever since the party with Kathy and Twyla, Alicia had been more loving than usual. She had been very sexual, and had wanted me all the time.
When I got back to the lounge, she was sitting at the table, writing in a chart. "Hi," I said, going over and getting a cup of coffee. "How was your morning?"
"Busy, but under control now," she said.
I sat down across from her. "Well," I said, "I've got floor therapy, but not too much. I shouldn't be too busy. Do you want me to run out and get you some dinner later? I should be able to get away."
Alicia looked out the window. The sky was gray, and, if you looked long enough, you could see an occasional tiny snowflake. "No," she said. "But I do want you to meet me somewhere after your shift."
"You mean here, in the hospital?"
"Yes."
"Okay, should I bring you something to eat, or drink?"
"No," she said, looking me in the eye with a conspiratorial smile. "I want us to finish what we started this morning."
I admit I was surprised. Alicia was usually straight-laced to the extreme while at work. "Are you serious?" I asked.
"Yes, Phillip. I want us to finish what we started this morning. I don't want to wait until tomorrow."
"Uh, okay, if you want to. I'll have to think about where we can get together, though."
She waved her hand, brushing my reservation aside. "I've already talked to Kathy about it. She's working 7P to 7A tonight on 14 West. She's got an empty room at the end of the hall. We can use it for as long as we need it. Just page me on my beeper when you are ready to leave. I'll call you back and let you know when I can get away, then meet you at the room."
"Okay, I just hope that we don't get caught."
"Oh Phillip, you're such a scaredy-cat! Besides, I don't really care if we do get caught. I just need you tonight, not tomorrow. And I want you there. Got it?"
"Yes, Mistress," I said.
* * *
It was an uneventful shift, except that we had a code late in the shift on 14 West. I responded to a stat call up there, and found the patient in respiratory difficulty. Alicia was there too, and we ended up having to transfer the patient down to the ICU. Alicia was all business. She directed the code, wrote transfer orders, and left. The other respiratory techs and I stabilized the patient, administered oxygen, and got ready for transport. I went up to the nursing station to get a tank of oxygen. Kathy was at the station, getting the paperwork ready.
"Hello, Phillip. Merry Christmas," she said, smiling at me.
I couldn't help but smile back at her. She was part of something romantic and somewhat devious, and she was loving it. "Hey, Kathy. Merry Christmas to you," I said.
She kept on smiling at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Oh nothing, just some pretty romantic goings-on around here tonight," she said.
"Yeah, those code-blues are pretty romantic."
"Oh, you know what I mean. You and Alicia."
"Oh," I said. "Well, I just hope that we don't get caught. It's pretty risky to do something like that in the hospital."
"Don't worry, hon, you won't get caught. I'll see to that."
"I don't know what's gotten into her lately. She's been very lovey-dovey lately. That's not my usual Alicia."
Kathy looked at me and said, "Don't you know, Phillip?"
"What do you mean?" I asked.