We Have a Problem

Part 12

Two weeks later, and things were slowly improving. Andy and Vic were back to working quarter shifts at the desk, one of them taking the morning and one taking the afternoon at the desk on days A shift was working. Andy was getting ready to go to half days, and Vic was hoping she was on her way there too. The current plan for them was that Andy would work the desk in the morning and then move to working the aid car in the afternoons while Vic took over desk.

Maya was jealous of her friends getting to work, but she was still taking two to three naps every day and was still exhausted by 8 pm which made work impossible. She also still had a lingering cough that was sometimes so bad that she struggled to breathe because of it. It worried Carina, but Maya had gone to the hospital earlier in the week for a few follow-up tests, and her lungs were doing alright. They were still not back to normal, which annoyed Maya to no end because there was no way she would be able to fight fires until her lungs were back to at least close to where they were pre-Covid.

She was doing a little better though, even cooking dinner for Carina one night without almost passing out or having to sit down. Granted, after, she fell asleep at the dinner table after and would have ended up with her face literally in her plate except Carina seen her falling asleep and had moved her plate and caught her head before it hit the table, but it was still progress. However, she was going stir crazy.

"Please?" Maya begged Carina as they stood in their room, Carina pulling on clothes for her day at work, "Can't we just go for a short walk? Just five minutes? I need to physically move."

"Bambina, we made a deal," Carina sighed, pulling on her slacks, "You had to stay awake for three days with no naps before we started talking about walks. Your body is still trying to heal. Also, you woke yourself up from a coughing fit last night so your lungs still need to heal too."

"Carina, I have been out of the hospital for over three weeks," Maya said, "I need to move. My mind is going crazy, and maybe, if I could physically move, I would feel better."

"Bambina, no," Carina said, shaking her head, "You need rest. If you push too hard, you are going to feel worse. Just let your body heal. Now, I need to go to work. Vic is here this morning, and I will be back by 5. Please rest. I will bring back dinner with me after work."

"Fine," Maya grumbled, "Love you."

"I love you too," Carina said, "Have a good day. Call if you need me."

Carina gave Maya a quick kiss before grabbing her coffee and leaving.

Maya sighed as she went over to the fridge, pulling out stuff to make a protein shake. Nothing tasted like anything still and her appetite was non-existent most of the time, but she could usually choke down a protein shake.

"Hey," Vic said, coming out of her room, "Did Carina leave?"

"Yeah," Maya nodded, scooping her protein mix into the blender before adding some banana, spinach, and kale, "Want a shake?"

"Sure," Vic nodded, normally despising her roommate's choice in breakfast, but without being able to taste it, the shake was fine and had a lot of nutrients in it which was good.

"So today is Andy's first day back to work for real?" Maya said, adding some oat milk to the blender.

"Well, she's only working a half day," Vic said, "Half on desk and half on aid car, but yeah, she's out in the field for the first time in almost 2 months I think."

"I am so jealous," Maya said, turning on her blender, "Carina won't even let me go for a walk."

"That's because you fall asleep after making dinner," Vic said, laughing a little as she handed Maya some cups, "And that was after taking a two-hour nap before you made it. You know your body needs rest."