I sighed. “I don’t think you know how much that means to me.”
He kissed the back of my hand. “Let’s get this done.”
He merged into traffic and parked at the hospital in the reserved emergency vehicle area. We entered through automatic doors and proceeded to the long information counter. The receptionist behind it had large brown eyes and had her hair pulled back into a knot at the base of her neck. She put down hercell phone when she noticed us. Patrick introduced who we were and inquired about the new admission, David Moreno. The clerk typed into her computer with long brown, almond-shaped nails.
“I’m sorry, his status is confidential.”
“Can you tell us if he is alive or deceased?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”
There was a numbness inside of me at the lack of information. Patrick and I turned to leave.
“Excuse me,” the receptionist said. “Because of the status of this patient’s admission, I cannot divulge information here. But you are more than welcome to go up to the fifth floor and talk to the doctors there.”
Patrick raised his brows and waited for my decision.
I nodded.
We waited for the elevator. I blinked and felt a pinprick in my eye. I rubbed it but it continued to jab.
“Eyelash?”
“Yeah.”
He crouched. “I can’t see anything.”
My eye watered, and the pain speared.
“There’s a washroom near the coffee shop,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”
In the ladies’ room, I moved close to the mirror and found the culprit under my lower lid. I tapped on it and coaxed it out. Gone and done. The door flew open. Victoria. I froze in shock. Her eyes widened in surprise, but I was sure I looked absolutely stunned. My heart beat like a bass drum.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Still blunt as ever.
“Visiting,” I said. She wore a uniform and a name badge. “Wait, are you working here again?”
“Yup. I’m back from wrongful termination,” she said with attitude.
“That’s just super.” The union must have won her case. She slammed the hand dryer button as I walked out. I shook my head. The best thing I did was leave my job at this hospital.
Patrick paced at the elevator.
“Everything all right?” he asked.
“You won’t believe who I ran in to.”
“Who’s that?”
“Victoria Silverstone.”
“Your fired ex co-worker?”
“Yes. But I found out she has been unfired.”
“What?”