nurse carefully removed the bandage. Richard winced, Rebecca stared and the nurse whistled low under her breath when they saw the gash in the palm of his hand.
“I know one newspaper man who isn’t going to be typing for a while,” the nurse chided. She grabbed more gauze, held it against the wound and motioned to Rebecca to apply pressure. “I’ll be right back,” she said, and whooshed out of the room on quiet shoes.
“Jesus,” Rebecca said, stunned by how deep the cut was.
“A few stitches will take care of it,” he said.
“We’ll have to be careful not to get lube on it.”
He laughed out loud at her teasing.
When the nurse came back with the proper supplies, she led them into a little room and instructed Richard to sit down in a comfortable chair. She sat a metal tray on the desk beside him. On his lap she placed a pillow, then a waterproof mat on top of that, making a comfortable place for his arm to rest. She unpackaged what looked like an enormous needle, and Rebecca turned her head away.
“You can stay if you want to,” the nurse said, “but it’s not going to be pretty. You might want to wait in the lobby?”
Rebecca met Richard’s eyes. There was no expression in them. He was letting her make the decision, and the fact that he wasn’t about to ask her to stay made the decision for her. The nurse watched as Rebecca stepped to his side and put her hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll be all right,” she said.
The nurse gave her a broad smile. “Here we go.”
Rebecca stood behind the nurse as Richard got a few shots of numbing medication, then got his stitches. She watched through all fourteen of them, and marvelled at how rarely he flinched. He seemed to be more interested in a story for the paper about the nurses at the hospital. He asked one question after another, and eventually more nurses came into the room, adding their own answers. Richard joked that he needed his tape recorder at a time like this, and more than a few of the nurses offered to answer his questions—anytime. Would he like their phone numbers, so he could call them when he was ready to do the story?
Rebecca reminded herself that she was leaving in about a week, that these women would be here long after she was gone, and that she had no cause to get jealous about things. After all, when they had cast curious looks in her direction, she had told them she was just a friend from out of town. That’s what she was, wasn’t she? She was a friend who happened to have wild sex with the man they all seemed to lust after, but how well did she really know him?
She watched as Richard collected phone numbers, prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medication. The attending nurse finished wrapping his hand again and pointed a finger at him.
“Take that medicine. Finish the entire antibiotic. Don’t hesitate to take those pain pills if you’re hurting. And stay away from broken glass, for God’s sake.”
“Yes, Madam.”
The nurse gave Rebecca a final grin and walked out with his chart. Richard shrugged into his coat as Rebecca watched him from across the room. With his good hand he stuck the papers deep in his pocket, and a small twinge of jealousy nagged away in the corner of Rebecca’s mind.
“You okay?” he asked, and she nodded.
“Are you?”
“Yeah. But I need to get some of this pain medication in me, because I have a feeling I won’t be so okay in an hour or so. That was a big needle.”
“That was a big cut.”
They walked together down a long hallway and wound up at the pharmacy, where the receptionist knew him by name and didn’t ask for his insurance information. The bottles were filled amid banter about the snow and what the paper would have to say about it, and a minute later they were outside in the darkness. The sun had gone down while they were under the fluorescent lights of the hospital, and now the world seemed a bit disorienting.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked when they were out
“I know one newspaper man who isn’t going to be typing for a while,” the nurse chided. She grabbed more gauze, held it against the wound and motioned to Rebecca to apply pressure. “I’ll be right back,” she said, and whooshed out of the room on quiet shoes.
“Jesus,” Rebecca said, stunned by how deep the cut was.
“A few stitches will take care of it,” he said.
“We’ll have to be careful not to get lube on it.”
He laughed out loud at her teasing.
When the nurse came back with the proper supplies, she led them into a little room and instructed Richard to sit down in a comfortable chair. She sat a metal tray on the desk beside him. On his lap she placed a pillow, then a waterproof mat on top of that, making a comfortable place for his arm to rest. She unpackaged what looked like an enormous needle, and Rebecca turned her head away.
“You can stay if you want to,” the nurse said, “but it’s not going to be pretty. You might want to wait in the lobby?”
Rebecca met Richard’s eyes. There was no expression in them. He was letting her make the decision, and the fact that he wasn’t about to ask her to stay made the decision for her. The nurse watched as Rebecca stepped to his side and put her hand on his shoulder.
“I’ll be all right,” she said.
The nurse gave her a broad smile. “Here we go.”
Rebecca stood behind the nurse as Richard got a few shots of numbing medication, then got his stitches. She watched through all fourteen of them, and marvelled at how rarely he flinched. He seemed to be more interested in a story for the paper about the nurses at the hospital. He asked one question after another, and eventually more nurses came into the room, adding their own answers. Richard joked that he needed his tape recorder at a time like this, and more than a few of the nurses offered to answer his questions—anytime. Would he like their phone numbers, so he could call them when he was ready to do the story?
Rebecca reminded herself that she was leaving in about a week, that these women would be here long after she was gone, and that she had no cause to get jealous about things. After all, when they had cast curious looks in her direction, she had told them she was just a friend from out of town. That’s what she was, wasn’t she? She was a friend who happened to have wild sex with the man they all seemed to lust after, but how well did she really know him?
She watched as Richard collected phone numbers, prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medication. The attending nurse finished wrapping his hand again and pointed a finger at him.
“Take that medicine. Finish the entire antibiotic. Don’t hesitate to take those pain pills if you’re hurting. And stay away from broken glass, for God’s sake.”
“Yes, Madam.”
The nurse gave Rebecca a final grin and walked out with his chart. Richard shrugged into his coat as Rebecca watched him from across the room. With his good hand he stuck the papers deep in his pocket, and a small twinge of jealousy nagged away in the corner of Rebecca’s mind.
“You okay?” he asked, and she nodded.
“Are you?”
“Yeah. But I need to get some of this pain medication in me, because I have a feeling I won’t be so okay in an hour or so. That was a big needle.”
“That was a big cut.”
They walked together down a long hallway and wound up at the pharmacy, where the receptionist knew him by name and didn’t ask for his insurance information. The bottles were filled amid banter about the snow and what the paper would have to say about it, and a minute later they were outside in the darkness. The sun had gone down while they were under the fluorescent lights of the hospital, and now the world seemed a bit disorienting.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked when they were out
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