Page 18 of Rounds
“As you should. Was your day busy at the office? You said you were at the hospital.”
“No, it wasn’t. That was why I was at the hospital, making rounds. I only have about three patients up there, but I needed to make sure those nurses were treating them right. I was in Miss Miller’s room for nearly an hour. Thirty minutes of it was talking about her condition, and the other thirty minutes was her trying to hook me up with her twenty-five-year-old granddaughter. That girl look like a baboon.”
He laughed loudly then started coughing. I slowly shook my head as he resumed laughing once he got his coughing under control. “You didn’t tell her that, did you? Your ass can be cruel at times. Don’t have no filter at all.”
“I didn’t. I told her I was seeing someone already. Had she kept pushing, I would have. I didn’t have high expectations anyway. Miss Miller isn’t the greatest looking woman. There was always a chance that her granddaughter would look like her.”
My dad shook his head. “Your ass is ruthless. Delaney is gonna come around. I used to wish for death, but with her as a prospect, I gotta stick around to see how this plays out. You like to move fast, so once she makes up her mind, I’m pretty sure a baby will follow soon after. Then I’ll be able to see the grandchild your mother always wanted.”
“I hate that you were wishing for death, but I’m glad I gave you a reason to hang around. What was for dinner?”
He rolled his eyes. “Bullshit, son. Bland spaghetti with turkey ground.”
He turned his lip up as I laughed. “Did you eat all of it?”
“Yeah. I don’t have a choice, because yo’ ass ain’t gon’ bring me what I really want. You know how long it’s been since I had a juicy cheeseburger?”
“Maybe I’ll get you one if Delaney gives me a chance. I’ll be in a better mood.”
He smiled. “Well, so you know, I don’t like tomatoes on my burger. I’m gon’ call the hospital and talk to that woman. She needs to put you out of your misery ASAP!”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, and then you’ll tell her how much I wanna be with her like you told all my business the other day.”
“That’s why you got the goodies. She only saw you for the ho you are.”
“You know what? I didn’t come here to deal with this foolishness.”
I stood like I was about to leave then sat back down, giving him the side-eye. He laughed as I let a smile grace my lips also. It was great to see him in good spirits and minimal pain. Now that his mental was doing better, hopefully, that would filter over into the emotional and physical as well.
“Doctor Israel,we really need you in the E.R. There was a multi-car pileup, and we are swamped.”
I looked at the clock to see it was nearly eleven o’clock. I’d just gone to bed at nine. I was getting the best sleep of my life. “Okay. I’m on my way.”
I got up and quickly put on scrubs and headed to my SUV. I was tired as hell. My eyes felt heavy. I swore I was gonna need toothpicks to prop my lids up to keep them open. Somehow, I made it to the hospital in one piece. The minute I walked into the E.R., my adrenaline went into overdrive. People were every-damn-where. I didn’t even ask how many cars were involved in this pileup, but I figured it couldn’t have been any more than ten. This was Silverrun, not Denver. Shit like this didn’t typically happen here.
However, it was tourist season. During that time, traffic was at an all-time high. I was more than sure this happened because someone was lost and didn’t know where the hell they were going. One last-minute turn, lane change, or hard brake could have caused this. I quickly dove in, seeing where I was needed. Before I could even get to the first patient, I saw Delaney. She was moving quickly, helping out where she could.
I didn’t know why they would need anyone taking blood. If anything, they needed to preserve blood. Maybe she was seeing to other patients who weren’t involved in the wreck. Whatever the case, I didn’t fail to notice the bags under her eyes. She looked as tired as I did. When her eyes met mine, she quickly looked away. I wasn’t sure what that was about, but I would do my best to find out before she left.
I hoped she didn’t go back to that nigga. If he cheated on her, he would do it again. I couldn’t stand when a nigga cheated on a good ass woman. If he wasn’t feeling it anymore, he should have just told her. Most times that wasn’t the case. Most times, niggas were just greedy, wanted their cake and ice cream and be able to eat it too, as my mama used to say. It was the good women that seemed to get cheated on the most.
While she was at her job working her ass off, he was fucking around. Then when she got off, she went home to take care of the house and cook.Ungrateful bastards.I had a feeling Delaney was one of those good women. She was everything I knew I needed, but she was in love with him. That shit was depressing, but I knew that the day would come where I would have her all to myself.
Diving in, I went from patient to patient, helping out where I could, ordering tests, stitching people up, ordering medications, and even helping with procedures to reset bones. When I looked up, it was already five in the morning. I headed to the lounge to try to get a nap in, but Delaney was on the couch, knocked out. So instead of trying to nap, I went ahead and got a cup of coffee. A couple of others had the same idea I did, so the noise woke her up.
I was sitting in a chair across from her, sipping my coffee. She grabbed her phone, I thought to check the time, but she rolled her eyes, allowing a couple of tears to fall from them. I didn’t make a move because, frankly, I wasn’t sure if she wantedme to. I knew she’d seen me, but she had yet to acknowledge me. She quickly stood and stretched as two other medical personnel left the room, leaving us alone.
When they did, she glanced at me. She looked nervous as hell, fidgeting and shit. I tilted my head as I stared at her. “Why you looking like you scared of me, Delaney? You good?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry for not responding to your texts. I have a lot going on. Thanks for the flowers. They’re beautiful. I just . . . I can’t entertain anything more than I have already with you. My emotions are going haywire, and my personal life is a fucking mess, excuse my language.”
I stood from my seat and approached her. “Your personal life doesn’t have to be a mess. You’re making it a mess. You have options, but until you realize them, you’re going to be in turmoil. Did you choose to stay with him?”
She lowered her head for a moment, so I just knew she was about to respond in the affirmative. However, she said, “No. I left.”
“Is he harassing you?”
“No, because I blocked him.”
