It Hurts When It's True (Affaire de Coeur, #1)

Chapter 15: Safe ground

Just returning from a week off, Maggie was faced with an announcement that she was to be transferred to another ward the following day. It was enormously surprising to know that after having worked in the medical-surgical ward for a year, she was the one chosen to move to the pediatric ward.  

To top it off, she was not exactly good with children, especially the loud and stubborn ones. 

"Is this for real?" Maggie asked for the third time, confirming that her transfer was genuine and final.

Ms Smith looked at her with indifference in her eyes and said, "Mrs Harper lost one nurse and she informed the board that she was in need of nurses. Only our ward has an excess, so I volunteered to transfer one of you."

That had definitely caught Maggie's attention. Everything fell into place right then on how she was chosen by Ms Smith. Having been away for a week had given the others a chance to point to each other as to who should change wards. Being away from work for the whole week, she ended up having no say as to the decision-making. Hence, their head nurse had easily picked her out of her nine nurses. 

Damn, Maggie thought.

"We'll miss you, Maggie," Hanna spoke in her usual shy manner.

"Terribly." Rose added.

Traitors, she said repeatedly in her head.

The hours of Maggie's shift had passed so quickly even with only three patients admitted in their ward. Sorting out her locker, she had packed her things in a box offered to her by Ms Smith. In just ten minutes, she had finished emptying her locker and sealed her box with its accompanying lid.

"I hope you'd take the transfer as an opportunity for career advancement, Ms Hampton." the head nurse uttered quietly as she stood at the doorway of their lounge.

"Of course, Ms Smith." Maggie replied in a tone that had no hint of dissatisfaction that she was feeling at the moment.

The head nurse walked forward and crouched next to where she was sitting cross-legged on the floor.  Shockingly, she took Maggie's hands in her own and she looked straight into her eyes. For the first time, she saw some sort of motherly care in her eyes — something she had never witnessed in the older woman's eyes given her propensity for strictness.

"Maggie, my dear, you are one of the most promising nurses I have ever met. Please don't think that I chose you over the others for reasons like I don't like you or that you were not available to make any objection," she paused.

The head must have noticed the twitching under her right eyes — a sign that she had pointed out what exactly was in Maggies's mind.  Despite Maggie's discretion in her reaction, Ms Smith did not care to mention about it.

"I want you to learn more things in this field, dear Margaret. And I know that once you're ready, you'll be given the promotion that you deserve. Mark my words." 

Maggie's eyes widened at the fondness in Ms Smith's tone, the kind of tone she was not used to hearing from her unless she was conversing with the patients in their ward. For the first time, she had felt a certain connection with the head nurse of the MS ward.