Page 101 of Double Daddies
“But, Cami!”
I shake my head and keep moving. I’m not in a great mood to begin with, and Helen’s close-mouthed approach to nursing isn’t helping. I can’t double back now that her tongue seems to have come loose. As the charge nurse, I’m in charge of the floorand the other nurses. Normally, I’m much more patient and empathetic, but I’ve got a lot on my plate just now.
Forcing a sunny smile, I turn the knob and enter room 217. “Hello, I’m Nurse Rodgers and I’ll be?—”
“I’m here against my will.”
His words, not to mention the frantic pitch of his voice, stops me short. I peer at the patient—a tall man with long, curly brown hair that cascades down his back, clear, square frames, and a smattering of freckles.
“Oh, stop it, Howard.” His companion sighs heavily. “Just tell her what you did already and we can get out of here!”
“What… what did he do?” I ask her.
“Hey! I’m the patient here!” he protests.
“Okay.” I give him another winning smile. “Are you going to tell me?”
He scowls at me and slams his hefty arms across his chest. “No. I don’t think I will.”
“Then why are you here?” His lips part, but before he can respond, I remember. “Oh. Right. Against your will. Well.” I turn to the blonde who’s glaring at him. “If he won’t tell us, there’s nothing we can do. We’ll have to release him AMA.”
“Howie, if you get released AMAone more timeyour insurance is going to drop you! And you’restillgoing to have to pay for the emergency room visit.”
“I’mnot going to pay, you’re going to have to cough up the money! You’re the one who forced me to come here in the first place!”
“You were in the bathroom making sounds like you were shitting freakin’ bricks! What was Isupposedto do?”
Voices were raising, and I was feeling lightheaded all of a sudden. Normally, I would have excused myself, but it didn’t seem like they would miss me, so I let myself out. As soon as I closed the door, I saw Helen waiting for me.
“He won’t tell us what’s going on.”
“I gathered that,” I reply drily. “So what do you expect me to do?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know, he’s your kinda guy, so I thought maybe…” She trails off meaningfully, but I’m not picking up what she’s putting down.
“What is that supposed to mean?Mykinda guy?”
Cuz I sorta have two of them right now, and they couldn’t be more different, let me tell you!
“I don’t know.” Another shrug. “He’s a… ah…”
“Out with it, Helen.”
“A nerd,” she finally says apologetically.
I arch my eyebrows. Of all the things she could have said, I wouldn’t have expected that one, but I don’t argue, either. “What kind of nerd?”
“What kind?” She looks baffled.
“Yes,” I say, my face solemn. “There are many different types of us.”
“I don’t know.”
I think about the man I’d glimpsed, albeit briefly. There wasn’t anything about him that shoutednerdto me. I open the door and the shrieking has risen to a fevered pitch. “Hey!” I shout sternly. Both of them fall silent and gaze back at me with slack-jawed expressions.That’s better.“What kind of nerd are you?” I demand.
The blonde snorts.
“Hey!” he protests again.
