I hardly ever take the elevator, for several reasons... including my urge to molest any attractive woman who finds herself alone in the elevator with me. So I take the stairs. And it is faster, and better for me. The stairwell I usually use is not very well traveled, because of its location. It is cement, and smells like damp cement. It is rarely cleaned, although occasionally I will clean the railing and door handles myself, just to prove I am compulsive I guess. My job at the hospital involves frequent visits to the basement from my 3rd floor office, and I can make the 4 flights of stairs in less than a minute, if I hurry.
But my story is about a day I did not hurry. As I started down the stairs, I could tell someone else was in the stairwell... which was unusual. It didn't take long to realize it was someone coming up, and I recognized a beautiful nurse when I got closer. She was in her white uniform with white stockings and a fairly short skirt. She wasn't walking up very fast, and I wondered why she would take the stairs if she was doing it for exercise. She stopped on the landing between 1 and 2, and was leaning on the handrail where it was at right angles to the stairs themselves. For a moment I wondered if maybe she was contemplating suicide... but decided that was silly, there were much higher places to jump from in this hospital. I had pointed out several to the safety committee I served on; just as I pointed out numerous other "dangers"... which probably explained how my 1 year term on the committee became one month!
Her head was hung forward, so as I came down the stairs to the landing, I asked, "Are you OK?" But she didn't answer. Instead, she slumped against the railing, and sort of slid to the floor. I didn't reach her in time to keep her head from hitting the cement fairly hard as she slumped backward. I straightened her out a little, as her legs were twisted under her. Then I put my hand under her head and leaned forward to try to determine if she was breathing. She smelled SO good. And as I got closer to her face, which was beautiful, I could smell the booze on her breath!! She must have been drinking on the job, and passed out.. that would explain why she was in the stairwell? looking for some place to sleep it off?
