Small Heath's Angel

Chapter 5 - Hospital

Word Count:
3373

The walk to the hospital was longer than Florence remembered. Her heels clicked along the steps as she approached the main entrance.

Pushing open the doors, she was instantly hit with the unmistakable sterile smell. Making her way to the reception desk and taking in her surroundings, she noticed the slight updates to the room; comfier chairs, a bigger reception desk with an extra phone, and sleeker and additional filing cabinets.

"How can I help you, Miss?" The young receptionist asked, breaking Florence from her thoughts.

"Hi, my name is Florence Masters, I called the other night and arranged a meeting with Mrs Sarah King."

She checked her notes, scribbling something down before looking back up. "Of course Miss Masters; I'll notify her now that you're here. In the meantime, please take a seat and we'll call you when she's ready."

"Great, thank you." She smiled before moving toward a vacant seat. Sitting down and crossing her legs, Florence fiddled with the ring that sat on her right middle finger. She looked around the room, taking in every detail, determining whether or not it was different.

"Miss Florence Masters?" A voice disrupted her thoughts.

Florence stood, confirming herself and proceeding to follow the nurse. They navigated their way through the halls, the scent of disinfectant growing stronger. The two eventually reached a door to a small office. The young nurse opened the door; motioning for Florence to go inside. She nodded at her, thanking her and stepping in.

"I see you've got yourself a nice new office." Florence quipped, scanning the room.

Sarah looked up from her desk, gazing over the top of her reading glasses

"Well, that broom closet was rather claustrophobic." She smiled.

Sarah jumped up from her seat, moving toward Florence and captured her in a tight hug.

"Welcome back, dear." She said, pulling back and holding her hands. "It's so good to see you're safe and well."

She lightly chuckled. "Yeah well, you can't get rid of me that easily."

"I'd never dream of it." Sarah joked. "Have a seat dear." She motioned to the seat opposite as she sat back down behind her desk.

"I'm so sorry for calling so late last night. I wouldn't have unless I knew it was urgent."

"It's alright dear. How can I help?"

"I believe a friend of mine is suffering from influenza in addition to a possible underlying health condition and I was wondering if I could get some medication to help treat her."

"Is she willing to come to hospital?"

"She would ultimately prefer not to, especially if it's treatable with medicine that I can give her at home; then her kids aren't worried about her."

Sarah nodded her head, scribbling some notes down on a nearby piece of paper.

"Do you have any information surrounding her condition?"

Florence fished through her bag and pulled out the notebook from the previous night. "Everything should be in here." She flipped to the relevant page and handed it over.

Taking the book, Sarah donned her reading glasses, reading thoroughly yet quickly, her pen following along with her. She nodded her head, as if speaking to herself, and scrawled on her own piece of paper.