It's 8 p.m. on a Saturday evening in a bustling level 1 trauma hospital. My shift began as it usually did. Being a hospital police office, my partner and I made rounds in our assigned area. Tonight, we toured the Emergency Room. A familiar excitement fills me, washing me over with nostalgic feelings of when I was a young man.
The ER was filled with the usual crowd of faces. Stretchers lined the hallways as patients waited to be placed in their designated areas. Visitors and family members stand among the patients, eyeing every staff in uniform to get some sort of clarity as to the disposition of their family members. The doctors sit behind the stations frantically writing their orders as to catch up with the multiplying patients waiting to be seen. The head nurse is making announcements to clear the ER of visitors so the incoming nurses can make their rounds.
"Harry, please clear the room of family members until 9:30 p.m.," Cathy says to me. She has been head nurse here for almost 15 years. I've been working with her the last 25 years. Feisty as ever, but this nurse couldn't hurt a fly. 25 years of the same job was enough to experience what lay people would never believe. From inebriated frequent flyers to drug seeking fellows who I've seen grow up in these very ER. 25 years and I've finally earned my detective shield.
As my partner and I cleared the ER, the nurses came to view. They exchange reports amid usual conversations and humor that only these nurses understood. In my 55 years of life, I don't think I have ever, or will ever, fully comprehend their language. Don't get me wrong they're speaking English, but their stories are but a league of their own.
There was one nurse that always caught my eye. Sandra Hayes. 26 years my junior. she's fairly new to the place compared to her co-workers, but she's made her mark. She's known to be quite a firecracker. Standing at about 5'2" at approximately 120lbs, I can only imagine what lies behind the shapeless navy blue scrubs. I tower over her standing at 6'5" and over 200lbs. She is sweet and kind, but has a liking for tying down belligerent patients with a sass that is rare nowadays.
"Hi, Harry! How are you? Another overnight shift for us, huh. I've got my restraints ready for anyone who misbehaves tonight," Sandra says with a mischievous little laugh and a wink.
"Hayes, you are crazy," I tell her, "what are we gonna do with you?" We exchange a few words all the while wild thoughts flood my head with the restraints she had already prepared. Thoughts of using them to bind her hands while I explore her clouded my mind. The way she speaks and laughs leaves me intoxicated. Inebriated without the least bit of alcohol. I needed to excuse myself as my manhood began to swell. Hiding all 8.5" of it in my uniform pants may be difficult.
"I'll catch up with you later, Hayes. Gotta get back to my station. Now you behave yourself," I say jokingly with a hint of seriousness. She laughs as she continues with her work.
The night passes along with minor incidences. Drunks being drunks and out of place being restrained so that they don't fall out of the bed and hurt themselves. Then a few times we were called to the ER to remove discharged patients who do not want to leave. Every chance I get, I wander around Sandra's assignment hoping to get a glimpse of her. I see her busily working a patient. 5 hours into her shift and she's looking tired. Only about 7 more hours to go. I wonder what time she will be going on break.
It's now 3 am. My assigned break time. I find myself on a recliner in the hospitality room. This room is rarely used, and no staff usually takes a break here. There are about 5 recliner chairs in this room, along with an office, a bathroom, and a shower. The great thing about working nights is that majority of the administration is not in the hospital. Foot traffic is not as much, so the staff can get some pretty good break time. As I began to settle, the door opens. It's Sandra. My heart races as she takes comfort in another recliner a few seats from mine.
