Page 59 of Nice Guys Don't Kiss Like That At Christmas
“You don’t know when it is, dear,” Sally replies with a smile.“I’ll see you later at the B&B.”Sally waves back to me before I can ask her why she cannot text or call Margaret to get the book at the B&B which is right down the street.But Sally is already avoiding a patch of ice and chatting with someone else.
Because, of course she is.
And I’m standing here, clutching a book where the hero’s...dimensions are being compared to prize-winning produce.While wearing my professional scrubs.Before my first shift.
With Adam’s father.
This is fine.
I adjust my badge again.One month here and five days in Sandwich Bay.That’s all.Then I’ll be back in Chicago, showing everyone that this is where I belong.
My phone buzzes with an early morning text from my grandfather.Even at eighty-three, he’s still up before the sun, watching waves crash against the Cape shore.
Papet
You got this, girlie.Papet loves you.
I snap a quick picture of the sunrise peeking over Pine Creek's snow-covered rooftops and type:
Me
Thank you.Morning from PA.Thinking of you and Mamet's blueberry pancakes.Your heart ornament is safe with me.Love you.-
I smile remembering how that glass heart hung in my hospital room during my transplant, catching rainbow prisms that danced across the walls.Back when the future seemed like a gift I might not unwrap.“Stubborn like your grandpa,” the nurses would say with a smile when I pushed myself to walk until I couldn’t as they checked my counts.They weren’t wrong.
Tempted to do a smallyou-got-thisdance that would make my grandpa laugh and Chuck choke on his own saliva, I step forward and slide, dropping coffee all over my brand-new scrubs.
Not even the end of Day One and I’m already making a mess.
Of course.
With the book heavy in my hands and coffee-stained scrubs, I meet Dr.Harrison Sr.- tall, distinguished, with the same kind eyes as his son and a Santa hat on his white coat.
"Eve Foster."He smiles warmly."My wife gave me a cinnamon bun for you and Adam to bring back to the B&B."
"Thank you.And I have a book for her."
"Sally, I'm sure."He gives me a crooked smile Adam clearly inherited."My wife is probably going to try to get you to join the town's book club."
My face warms.Are they aware Adam and I are sharing a room?A bed?Saliva?
"I love books," I manage, grateful he doesn't notice the zucchini drawing Sally added."I need to change, but my other scrubs are at the B&B."
"We have some here.Very seasonal."
And that's how I end up with scrubs decorated with candy canes and reindeer while meeting Liz, the nurse in training, and Manuel, the receptionist.I want to ask why Adam’s dad hired me with so few questions.It's a second chance contract, but still.A resume.A letter of motivation.References check.And two phone calls?It doesn't seem like enough.If only we'd done the interview via video call, I might have seen the resemblance.And ran the other way?Or arrived earlier?
The waiting room fills quickly with holiday colds, prescription refills, and what sounds like a Santa’s emergency.
"Don't smile too much, it's unprofessional, Eve."My ex's voice echoes as Mr.Peterson settles into the exam chair.His critiques were always delivered with that concerned tone that made it impossible to argue without seeming defensive.
My hands move automatically checking his blood pressure, but my brain won't stop running diagnostics on my own performance.
"How have you been managing your medication?"My voice comes out in that careful way I perfected.Mr.Peterson chatters about his grandkids' Christmas pageant, and I nod mechanically while documenting his vitals.When he mentions being too busy with holiday baking to take his evening dose, I catch myself almost frowning.
"That's inadvisable."The words come out sharp and I wince, trying to soften my approach."I understand the holidays are-" No, too warm.Patients need protocols, not coddling, Eve.
Shit.How am I going to go back to Lakeview Chicago Hospital if I cannot tune Chuck out when he’s not even in the vicinity?
