It was hard to believe I had a day off. Working in an Emergency Room in the only trauma center within a fifty mile radius makes you appreciate a real day off. Sometimes you just get a day off where you spend the entire day sleeping. This was different. The hospitals policy of using your vacation time or losing it meant that I had to get some time in before the end of the year. I had spent Monday sleeping off the effects of a very busy weekend. Seven patients died while I was working on them which really pissed me off. I like the weekends that we sew up cuts and bring down fevers and them send them home. The paperwork for admissions and DOA's really brings me down. OK, it's not the paperwork, I take pride in my job and I take it personally when I loose a patient.
Sure the Doctor saves the patient but I am the one that keeps the patient alive until he gets around to it. I am a trauma nurse - a male trauma nurse. I am 28 years old and I have worked in about a dozen ER's up and down the east coast. I work for an agency that places nurses in facilities that are in dire need of nursing help. They pay a premium to the agency so I make a lot of money. You wouldn't know it to look at me. I live alone and my apartment is a mess. I don't spend too much money on clothes because I never really settle into a city before I am transferred to another facility. My social life is mostly nonexistent. I work way too much and don't really have time for dating or socializing outside of work. My closet is full of scrubs and a few casual outfits. I like to travel light because it is easy to move to the next job. I always say this is the city that I am going to settle down in.
I spent Tuesday doing laundry and trying to clean up my apartment. Wednesday was my day to do nothing. I slept in to about 9, which seemed like an eternity to me as my shift usually starts at 7. I jumped in the shower with a little pep in my step. A long hot shower really is a luxury. I spent the time to shave my face and the back of my neck. I had really let my grooming get away from me but today I had plenty of time to trim the toenails and fingernails. I even shaved my scrotum and trimmed the pubic hair. When I was finally done the bathroom was totally fogged up and I felt really refreshed. As I left the bathroom into the dressing area, I checked myself in the mirror.
"Damn, I look pretty good."
Standing naked in front of the mirror is not something I often do but this time I had just cleaned myself up pretty good. I had to admire my six foot frame. I had kept in pretty good shape. It seems like every hospital has a work out room and I spent a lot of time there because there was nothing to do at home. I was a soccer player in college until nursing school became too demanding. I had always been a jock and I was impressed with how my body has held up.
I was planning on going to the mall and try to expand my wardrobe a bit as I was embarrassed if I ever had to go someplace nice that my clothes were too trashy. I did have one decent outfit so I put on my best jeans and a fairly stylish polo. I decided to forego my usual tennis shoes and wear a pair of dress moccasins.
A quick bagel for the road and I was out of the house by 11:15. The drive to the mall was only 5 minutes but when I arrived I was amazed how few cars there were in the parking lot. I was used to quick weekend visits or crazy Christmas shopping at the last minute.
I was treated to mall walkers when I came in the door. They all seemed to be over 60 and really into it. I was amazed to see them taking the exercise so serious. I about got run over several times so I quickly learned to stay away from the walking area so I moved to the center of the concourse and slowed way down. Besides, I was on vacation, no need to hurry. I just took in the sights of the mall. It was such a different place during the day.
UPS drivers delivering packages to the store personnel, people up in the windows dressing manequins and no children - ah what a blessing. I wandered into several stores. The Sharper Image is great to browse in and play with the electronics and I spent about 15 minutes doing that. But I came here looking for clothes and I better get shopping. The large department stores seemed like there was nobody shopping in the whole store. Managers would be scattered throughout the store but really no one worried about me. After several large stores of finding nothing I wandered into a casual clothes store.
Again, there were no customers but this time there was a friendly staff to great me. As I walked in there was a "ding" that sounded that alerted the staff that there was a customer. Mostly, I had encountered middle aged women in the other stores but this store was staffed by two young ladies. Within thirty seconds of my arrival a young auburn haired girl had approached me with a smile.
" Good morning, how are you today?" I gave the usual answer to this question. " Good, how are you?"
" My name is Lisa and I am glad you have come in today. We are running a special today on our newest fragrance - Tundra. Would you like to try some?"
I usually run for the hills with this sort of advance but Lisa was a looker. She looked to be about 20 years old and she was about 5 inches shorter than me with beautiful auburn hair and a bright smile. Perfect white teeth, the kind you knew she had just had laser cleaned. Her hair color was obviously out of a bottle but it was one of my favorites. She was a little busty with a conservative black tube top showing ample cleavage and a white half jacket with the buttons unbuttoned. She wore tight black slacks that seemed about one size too small. I loved the way she walked. She seemed to sashay from side to side the way that only a true girly girl can.
" Sure, I was looking for some new cologne" lying through my teeth.
She came right up to me and sprayed some on my wrist as she lightly bumped into my shoulder.
"What do you think?"
" I really like it" What I really liked was the attention from this beautiful girl but I wasn't about to say that. I noticed her brown eyes - they were huge. The kind you get lost in and can't get out.
