Pushing Forward (Sequel to An Unlikely Duo)

Chapter 20: Shock

This chapter is dedicated to @Cici_02. Thanks for all of your comments that never fail to make me laugh!

"Guess what?" I plopped down in between Scott and Hannah the next morning at the hospital.

"You went a whole week without eating mac & cheese?" Hannah's question was followed by Scott's attempt to stifle his chuckle.

"Who do you think I am wonder woman? I don't have that kind of self-control" I scoffed.

"I'm sorry for overestimating your ability to resist children's food" Hannah rolled her eyes at me.

"I'm still a child at heart" I insisted.

"A child who still won't tell us what we're guessing about" Scott pointed out with a grin.

"Right. Since you'll never guess I'll just tell you. Paige is engaged!" I shrieked. Oh my I was not one of those shrieking, squealing girls. I was the girl who got annoyed by the shrieking, squealing girls, but hey, my best friend is getting married so I'm going to shriek all I want.

"What? Paige and what's his name? Stephen? Are engaged? At twenty one?" Scott's eyes were wide.

"Yes they are. Isn't it exciting!" wow this was not how the relationship cynic normally sounded. Maybe I was turning over a new leaf? Hah probably not.

"I was going for early, but I guess exciting works too" Scott shrugged and my smile fell.

"Oh Scott hush. They've been serious for a long time. If two twenty four year olds who dated for two years got engaged you wouldn't think it was odd. What's a three year age difference?" Hannah pointed her finger stubbornly into Scott's chest.

"Three years is a college degree, financial stability, and I don't know maturity?" Scott seemed slightly appalled that we were condoning this engagement.

"Maturity? Trust me I don't think guys are ever mature, three years isn't going to make a difference there. Sure this isn't the conventional way of doing things, but that doesn't mean it's doomed to fail" I insisted.

"Hey I hope they make it, it's just not how I would approach things. I don't see what's wrong with waiting" Scott shrugged as we stood up and were ushered into morning rounds.

I spent years waiting for my dad to come back. Waiting for the right guy to come around. Waiting for the rest of my life to start. Did waiting really help? All this planning I was always doing, was it getting me anywhere? Spontaneity was never my strong suit, but I was starting to wish it was at least in my vocabulary.

I shook those oddly profound thoughts out of my head, and focused on the patients.

"Morning Mr. Gregory how are you feeling this morning?" I asked the ornery old man in room 233. He was the typical "bark is bigger than his bite" old man. He spent all day everyday complaining about the service, or the food, or the other patients. He had been a patient for two weeks already, and in that time there was only three rare moments where he actually seemed... happy.

He and his wife were asleep when their house caught on fire. Mr. Gregory suffered severe burns pulling his unconscious wife out of the house only to have her pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

They were both eighty five years old, and he insisted she had a wonderful long life, but I caught him crying a few nights ago. Despite his crankiness he was one of my favorite patients in the hospital. I understood why he was the way he was, and I was in no place to judge. Besides, hearing him make fun of Dr. Richards, the psychotic lady in charge of the interns, always made me laugh.