20 Questions

Chapter 54

I'm finishing up wound care on my patient when my boss peaks her head in the room.

"Jenna, when you are done, I'd like to see you in my office."

"Um, yeah ok. I should be done in just a couple minutes," I tell her. She smiles, nods and exits the room.

"Are you in trouble?" my patient asks me.

"I don't think so," I respond nonchalantly.

I don't think I'm in trouble, but you never know in the hospital. If you inadvertently look at somebody the wrong way, they run and tell on you. It's the curse of working with almost all women. The pettiness drives me crazy, so I tend to keep to myself. It's not hard because I spend every minute of my shift doing things for my patients instead of standing around the nurses' station gossiping like so many of coworkers do. Either way, being beckoned to the boss's office is always nerve racking.

"I remember getting called into the boss's office one day," my patient recalls, smiling at me with the three teeth left in his head.

"Yeah, what happened?"

"Well, I was on this job site one day, laying brick at this big fancy house. I had to take a piss and the shitter was full, so I walked to the side of the house and whipped it out." I am internally groaning. "About an hour later, the big boss man pulled me into his truck and told me that the rich bastards who lived there had cameras. Apparently, they caught me pissing on her flowers. How was I supposed to know that they were some award-winning rose bushes? They're lucky I didn't catch my dick on one of them there thorns, bleed to death and sue them. Anyway, I got pulled off that job so I understand what you are going through."

"That's very helpful," I deadpan. "Thank you for sharing."

He shrugs and goes about flipping channels on the TV. I've been his nurse for several days in a row now and I know his routine. He will go through every single channel, but always returns to the one that plays old westerns. I've seen and heard things as a nurse that would make even Mother Teresa lose faith in humanity. You would be shocked at the things people shove up their rectum...or any orifice for that matter.

I secure the dressing with tape and tell my patient I will be right back. He bids me good luck as I leave the room. I walk slowly to her office, thinking about my last couple shifts and if I did anything wrong that would warrant a trip to the principal's office. I stand in her doorway and she tells me to come in and shut the door behind me. My stomach is in knots as I impatiently wait for her to tell me why I am in here.

"Jenna, there's something I want to talk to you about." I gulp and take a deep breath as she continues. "I have been offered another job that would be a big promotion for me. I accepted the position today."

"Congratulations," I tell her. "I am so happy for you. You will do awesome."

I meant what I said. She has been the greatest manager I have ever worked for. She takes excellent care of her employees and has been great with me. She is my manager, but she is also a friend. She could tell I was off one day and brought me into her office. She let me cry about Hunter and how heartbroken I was that I hadn't heard from him yet. She was kind and supportive. She found coverage for my shifts so I could be with my dad after his surgery. I couldn't ask for a better boss. I am happy for her, but it is also unsettling to know that she won't be my boss anymore. I'm afraid that they may bring someone in that I don't like or doesn't support their employees. I don't know how I feel about all of this.

"Thank you, dear. The reason I called you in here today was to tell you that I recommended you for my position."

"Me?" I ask her in complete shock, pointing at my chest. This was not the conversation I thought we would be having when she came to get me.