Twenty years later
Janette located her favorite ink pen and name tag from the shelf in her grandmother's living room before grabbing her purse. "Grandma, I'm heading to work now. Do you need anything before I go?" She had been staying with her grandma the past three weeks, helping her recover from an injury she had obtained during a freak ice storm.
"No, dear, I will be just fine. You have a good day at work." She smiled up at her granddaughter, before returning her attention back to her crocheting project in her lap. The past few weeks have been hell for her after taking a nasty fall down the icy front porch steps and breaking her ankle. She felt that she probably could have taken care of herself all of this time but her granddaughter had insisted on staying to help her. She wasn't about to argue, though, it had been nice having an extra helping hand around the cottage.
Janette slipped her jacket on before giving the old woman in the rocking chair a worried look. "Are you sure? There's a fresh pot of coffee ready for you in the kitchen and some sweet rolls that I bought from the bakery last night if you get hungry." She stepped quickly over to her grandma, leaning over to kiss her lightly on the cheek. "I'll be home in about eight hours, unless my shift runs long. But, if you need anything, you have my cell number and my work number. Just dial extension 589 and it will ring you directly to my phone."
Grandma rolled her eyes. "Stop fussing over me and just go." She said with a smile. "I'm 65 years old. I'm pretty sure I can manage, you know."
"I know you can. I just worry about you, that's all grandma." Janette gave her one last kiss before grabbing her car keys and heading out the door for work. The hospital was a 20 minute drive from her grandmother's small farm house; however, Janette tried to leave at least 45 minutes before her shift was to start. She hated being late for work and with these country dirt roads you never knew what to expect, especially in bad weather.
Janette knew that her grandmother didn't really need her there to take care of her. She was perfectly capable on her own, plus she had her twin sister there to help if need be. She had just wanted to stay a few days with her grandma Rose and Aunt Marion but after those few days was over; Janette found that she wasn't ready to return to her lonely one bedroom apartment in the city. She had been raised on this very farm since they had moved to Washington when she was five years old. She loved being independent and having her own place but never really felt at home unless she was at her grandmother's house. They had always had so much fun together, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the animals. They didn't have a regular run of the mill farm. They only had ten acres of land containing a few milking goats, chickens, three horses and two cats. You wouldn't think that house work and cleaning up after animals could be fun, but her grandma and aunt always found a way to make it so.
Janette's favorite thing to do on the farm was to care for the horses. She loved her horse, Calico. He didn't look anything remotely calico but she had insisted when she was young that the horse actually spoke to her and told her that was his name. Grandma always forbid her to ride through the woods bordering their land, claiming that the big bad wolf would get her, but she knew it was just a scare tactic and did it anyway. That was the running joke between the three of them, grandma's house in the woods, the big bad wolf... one time she had even made Janette a hooded red cloak as a gift, to top it all off. Of course, these days she didn't have time for that kind of care free living and horse riding as she had been too busy with work and being a responsible adult.
Janette pulled into the staff parking lot of the hospital with twenty minutes remaining before her shift was due to begin. Parking her car and switching off the ignition, she walked quickly to the employee entrance, and went to her locker where she hung her jacket and grabbed her stethoscope. She politely bid several coworkers 'Good morning' before heading to the break room for a cup of coffee and Danish. Janette looked forward to this time of morning as these few precious minutes were likely the only ones she would have to herself all day. She pulled her name tag from the pocket of her scrub top and ran her finger across the bold lettering. 'Janette Timbers, RN'
Janette had been accepted into the RN program at the local college right out of high school. It had never been her dream to become a nurse but she had already had all of the required prerequisites out of the way and got in immediately even though there had been a rather long waiting list. She had accepted it mostly because it was convenient as she didn't really know what she wanted to do with her life yet, as far as a career went. Besides, nurses made a pretty good wage there in Washington, so she couldn't complain. She was grateful to earn a good income and have the ability to take care of herself without relying on another. Janette had gone to college for two years before finally getting her RN and landing a job at the local hospital. She had been working there for five years now and had grown to actually like it.
"Good morning, Jan." Her coworker, Robert flashed her a flirtatious grin while grabbing her cup and refilling it for her. "How's your morning going so far?"
"Can't complain, how about yourself?" She accepted the cup he offered her and nodded her thanks.
"Another day, another dollar." He said, pouring a cup for himself.
Smiling politely at him, Janette glanced at her watch seeing that it was time to get to work. She finished her coffee and Danish before throwing both the paper cup and Danish wrapper into the trash. She started to walk out the door towards her unit when Robert called her name. "Hey, Jan, wait up!" He took off in a light jog to catch up to her. "Hey, I was thinking," He averted his eyes from hers nervously. "Why don't you have dinner with me tonight?"
Janette felt her tummy flip. This was the last thing she was expecting him to ask and she wasn't too sure how to respond without hurting his feelings or making herself sound like a cold inconsiderate bitch. She paused momentarily considering her response. "Robert, that's very sweet of you but I don't date coworkers."
His face fell slightly before he recovered, masking the disappointment in his eyes. "That's ok, I understand. Thanks anyway." He gave her a wink before turning and walking away.
Janette breathed a long sigh and headed to the surgical floor. She suddenly felt frustrated at the way things always seemed to play out as far as her love life went, or lack of one. There were no official rules about dating coworkers but she had found out the hard way that it wasn't a good idea. The first and only time she had dated someone from the hospital things went to hell and she almost lost her job. She had been seeing Ben for almost three months when she caught him having sex with another nurse in a utility closet and broke it off with him. His ego was bruised and he sought retribution and accused her of stealing. The only reason she didn't get canned was because one of the doctors somehow overheard him talking to another male coworker in the hall about what he was doing. They both laughed their asses off about how he was getting back at Janette. The doctor reported it to administration, an investigation took place and Ben was fired a week later. Every since then, she had made it a rule to never date the people she worked with. The only problem was that nobody outside of the hospital ever asked her out. She hadn't had a date in over two years and it was starting to wear on her.
Janette was suddenly shaken from her thoughts when her friend Melissa came running up to her. "Oh my gawd, Jan. Where have you been?? I've been looking everywhere for you." The woman put her arm around Janette's shoulders, walking in step with her.
Janette rolled her eyes at her high strung wide eyed friend and laughed. "I just got here, why what happened?"
