Page 6 of Every Little Kiss
Like Liv, Kevin Curtis was a registered nurse working the ER. Unlike Liv, he was Sequoia Lake royalty, his family going back five generations of Lake Sequoians, with the most recent generation being one of the largest donors to the hospital.
Not that Kevin relied on his connections—he was a great nurse. But for this project Liv was better. Sam wouldn’t have backed down because he lacked a few years of experience. He’d gotten ahead in his career by being the guy who showed up at the table and turned his weakness into a strength.
“Because he wasn’t afraid to apply even though he was a few years short on the required minimum?”
That earned Liv a smile. “There seems to be a lot of that going around.”
“I may not have the flexibility to work as many hours as some of the other applicants, but my patient-care rate is the best in my department.”
Nicole’s face softened. She was a working mom too, so she understood the struggles. “Your hours wouldn’t be a concern since the mobile clinic will be open in different locations around town from eight thirty until four thirty. No more on-call, but also no more overtime.”
There would also be no more swing shifts or split shifts. Kindergarteners qualified for after-school care, so she could pick Paxton up after work, and they could have dinner together every night. And the weekends would be family time.
God, to have the whole weekend with her kid would be amazing. Not to mention the money. Liv knew that this promotion also came with a nice pay bump—she’d heard Kevin talking about it. There was still some of Sam’s insurance money left over, but that was for Paxton’s college. Anything extra, she’d have to earn.
“If you took my collective experience into consideration, I would be the most experienced nurse applying,” Liv said confidently. “I’ve worked the ER, the OR, trauma, and family care. Which means I know how to follow directions as well as take the lead.”
Nicole glanced at Liv’s résumé again, then looked up over her glasses. “Working in the field is different than the hospital. We won’t have files at our fingertips and the database that we do with patients here.”
“I understand,” Liv said, a glimmer of hope flickering in her chest.
“That means it will be imperative that every team member can summarize their patient’s history in a matter of seconds. Knows who they are, what medical issues they’ve had in the past, and how to proceed.” The doctor gave a long, thought-provoked pause. “Kevin is in the Lions Club, belongs to the Sequoia Fishermen’s Association, and is in the local football hall of fame. He has that knowledge. I’m not sure you do.”
“Kevin was also prom king, but that doesn’t make him more qualified. And I just moved here from Sacramento two years ago,” she said, because Liv had learned just how many hats she could wear since becoming a single mom. But if the deciding factor came down to birthplace, that wasn’t something she could compete with.
“And in those two years you haven’t ventured very far outside of work and home,” Nicole said, and Liv wanted to point out that she didn’t have the time to get involved with the community, but she knew that would be a lie.
Liv had been selective in whom she opened herself up to, and it didn’t take a therapist to tell her why most of them hadn’t known Sam well. It was hard to find closure when surrounded by people who wanted to reopen the past. It was even harder when the past had so many different perspectives.
To the town, Sam was the hometown hero who went off to save lives as one of the top thoracic surgeons. To Liv, he’d been the love of her life who’d constantly chosen his career over their family. Well, Liv was choosing her family first, and that meant getting this promotion.
“I have a stellar memory, I’m a fast learner, and I work hard for my patients,” Liv assured her. “I might not know every detail of their history yet, but I will, if you give me a chance.”
“You don’t have to sell me on your qualifications,” Nicole said with a genuine smile, and that flicker of hope caught fire. “It’s clear that your patients love you, you have great instincts, and more importantly, you have a gift of putting people at ease. You seem to find common ground with every person you come across, and when we’re dealing with on-edge patients, you’re the kind of nurse I want in my corner, but—”
“Oh God.” Liv scooted to the edge of her seat. “There’s abut? That’s like offering up a box of cupcakes, then saying they’re sugar-free.”
“It’s not as dire as sugar-free cupcakes.” Nicole laughed. “And while I know that you like your cupcakes sugarcoated, the facts not so much.”
“I’d rather leave with everyone on the same page than be blindsided,” Liv said, speaking from experience.
“This project’s success is going to hinge on my team’s ability to reach out into the community, work with different local organizations and groups, get the citizens to feel comfortable coming to us,” Nicole said with an apology already in her voice. “My strength is with hospital administration and the board. They trust me and my judgments based on my reputation in medicine and what I did with the clinic in Boise. I need a nurse who has earned the same kind of confidence within the community.”
Nicole pulled out a file from her top drawer and displayed its contents on her desk. It was charts, graphs, expected patient profiles. “These are the kind of people the Mobile Medic will serve. Sure, many of the patients we’re hoping to reach don’t come to the hospital because they can’t, but a good chunk of them simply won’t.” She flipped the page to a chart that showed the statistics of different outreach programs in the past. “As you can see, most of these failed. The ones that didn’t had two things in common.” Nicole looked up. “A fresh, new approach to draw interest from the community. And the patients had a personal connection with one or more of the staff members. I need to make sure that people feel as if they’re visiting an old friend when they seek care with the mobile clinic.”
“I belong to Living for Love.”
“Living for Love is a bereavement group, which you joined because it allowed you to do outreach without leaving the safety of medicine,” Nicole said, and Liv swallowed down the growing uncertainty.
There hadn’t been a lot of room for opportunity in Liv’s career. It was hard to move up the nursing ranks when Sam was transferred every few years to study under a new surgeon or learn a new procedure, but Liv had adapted. Finally, this was her big opportunity, her time, but in order to own it she had to move right past step three and on to step four. And that was the step she had been trying to ignore.
Taking the emotional energy spent on the one who had died and reinvesting it in another relationship or relationships terrified her. There were still times when she felt the loss so deeply it was hard to breathe. Then there were other times when she had to pull out Sam’s aftershave to remember what he smelled like.
That was one of the reasons she’d moved to Sequoia Lake and purchased Sam’s childhood home. She wanted to be surrounded by parts of Sam that weren’t a part of their marriage. Sacramento reminded her of their problems, but Sequoia Lake reminded her of the man she’d fallen in love with. The man she wanted Paxton to know. But moving on and reinvesting were two different things.
The first was necessary to find peace. The second felt as if she were being disloyal.
“So you want someone who has deep ties to the community?” she asked.
