I can’t hear a thing you’re saying,” I said into the phone. I walked to the back room where Sonya was having her lunch and the speakers that were always on the same radio station didn’t blare.
“Trevor is in the hospital,” Dianne said, and my blood slowed and then stopped in my veins. The walls around me moved in on me, squashing me and I felt lightheaded. I felt blindly behind me for a chair and sat down.
“What happened?” I asked.
“We were outside, I was gardening and he climbed into the tree… I’m so sorry…” She started hiccupping, unable to tell me what was really wrong.
“I’ll be right there,” I said and hung up. I looked at Sonya who was sucking on a yogurt spoon.
“I’ll cover for you,” she said. “I’m off anyway.”
“Thank you,” I breathed and tore out of the salon.
Chapter 3 - Richard
A knock on my office door startled me.
“Come in,” I said without looking up from the papers in front of me. A nurse popped her head around the corner.
“Do you have a minute?” she asked.
I sighed and nodded. The girl looked like she couldn’t have been old enough to be out of school, let alone have a nursing qualification. She had braces, for crying out loud. I waved at the chair opposite me, and she sat down.
“What can I do for you…” I glanced at her name tag. “Darlene?”
“I wanted to talk to you about my rotations. I have...“
“Isn’t this something you should bring up with the head nurse?”
She twirled her thumbs in her lap, looking down. “She doesn’t really like me. She’s always shouting and I’m scared if I ask her to book me on a different time she might blow up. She has so many nurses...“
“I’m sorry you feel that way. But unfortunately the rotations are out of my control. The only way you’re going to sort this out is by talking to her.”
Darlene stood up and nodded. She walked out of the office with her head hanging. I sighed again and I was just about to continue with my paperwork when the phone rang.
“Dr. Morgan,” I said into the phone, clamping the receiver between my jaw and shoulder, paging through the paperwork while I listened.
“We need to talk,” Astrid’s clear voice rang across the speaker. It seemed like I could never really get away from her, no matter how long we hadn’t been living in the same house anymore.
“Not now, Astrid. I’ve told you not to phone me at the office. Unlike you I actually have work to do.”
“We have to talk about the settlement,” she said, ignoring me.
“Call me on my cell after work. My shift ends at three then we can talk.”
“When are we going to have time to talk about this? Did you get the papers?”
I chucked the stapled stack of papers onto the desk and leaned back. I’d been through the divorce papers four times now.
“I’m busy, Astrid.”
“You’re always working,” she complained, her voice turning into a whine. There was a time when I used to think she had the sexiest voice in the world. She could turn me on with a few words, alone, and she didn’t even have to be in the room. Her voice had lost that quality to me. It was a consistent whine now, either demanding or complaining.
“It’s to be able to make all the money you’re going to get out of me, darling,” I said sarcastically and hung up on her.
We’d been married three years, and if you asked me, I’d tell you it was three years too many. There should have been some kind of law that stopped men from marrying women with a tight ass and a sultry voice before they really knew them. I’d known Astrid for six months before we’d gotten married.
I’d met her at a conference in Ohio the year I was still doing my residency. She’d been there with another man, a Swedish doctor that had wanted to practice in the States. I’d taken one look at her and known that the doctor was one lucky man. She had a body to die for, long golden locks that were always styled perfectly and the greenest eyes I’d
“Trevor is in the hospital,” Dianne said, and my blood slowed and then stopped in my veins. The walls around me moved in on me, squashing me and I felt lightheaded. I felt blindly behind me for a chair and sat down.
“What happened?” I asked.
“We were outside, I was gardening and he climbed into the tree… I’m so sorry…” She started hiccupping, unable to tell me what was really wrong.
“I’ll be right there,” I said and hung up. I looked at Sonya who was sucking on a yogurt spoon.
“I’ll cover for you,” she said. “I’m off anyway.”
“Thank you,” I breathed and tore out of the salon.
Chapter 3 - Richard
A knock on my office door startled me.
“Come in,” I said without looking up from the papers in front of me. A nurse popped her head around the corner.
“Do you have a minute?” she asked.
I sighed and nodded. The girl looked like she couldn’t have been old enough to be out of school, let alone have a nursing qualification. She had braces, for crying out loud. I waved at the chair opposite me, and she sat down.
“What can I do for you…” I glanced at her name tag. “Darlene?”
“I wanted to talk to you about my rotations. I have...“
“Isn’t this something you should bring up with the head nurse?”
She twirled her thumbs in her lap, looking down. “She doesn’t really like me. She’s always shouting and I’m scared if I ask her to book me on a different time she might blow up. She has so many nurses...“
“I’m sorry you feel that way. But unfortunately the rotations are out of my control. The only way you’re going to sort this out is by talking to her.”
Darlene stood up and nodded. She walked out of the office with her head hanging. I sighed again and I was just about to continue with my paperwork when the phone rang.
“Dr. Morgan,” I said into the phone, clamping the receiver between my jaw and shoulder, paging through the paperwork while I listened.
“We need to talk,” Astrid’s clear voice rang across the speaker. It seemed like I could never really get away from her, no matter how long we hadn’t been living in the same house anymore.
“Not now, Astrid. I’ve told you not to phone me at the office. Unlike you I actually have work to do.”
“We have to talk about the settlement,” she said, ignoring me.
“Call me on my cell after work. My shift ends at three then we can talk.”
“When are we going to have time to talk about this? Did you get the papers?”
I chucked the stapled stack of papers onto the desk and leaned back. I’d been through the divorce papers four times now.
“I’m busy, Astrid.”
“You’re always working,” she complained, her voice turning into a whine. There was a time when I used to think she had the sexiest voice in the world. She could turn me on with a few words, alone, and she didn’t even have to be in the room. Her voice had lost that quality to me. It was a consistent whine now, either demanding or complaining.
“It’s to be able to make all the money you’re going to get out of me, darling,” I said sarcastically and hung up on her.
We’d been married three years, and if you asked me, I’d tell you it was three years too many. There should have been some kind of law that stopped men from marrying women with a tight ass and a sultry voice before they really knew them. I’d known Astrid for six months before we’d gotten married.
I’d met her at a conference in Ohio the year I was still doing my residency. She’d been there with another man, a Swedish doctor that had wanted to practice in the States. I’d taken one look at her and known that the doctor was one lucky man. She had a body to die for, long golden locks that were always styled perfectly and the greenest eyes I’d
Similar Books
