Telluride

not-yet-grilled

Tim POV

I show up at my moms at precisely 7am. I'm prompt like that. I walk in and announce my presence followed by frantic steps don the stairs. "Tim!" my mom greets me as she comes down the stairs, looking slightly frantic. I give her a kiss, "you alright mom?" I ask her.

"I'm fine thanks son, Faith should be down in a minute." She tells me. "How is Christine's business trip going?" she asks me.

"She called me this morning and said it was going really well. They're off to Japan tomorrow. She said that she's been offered a promotion and that she wants to take it, wants us both to move out to the New York head office." I tell my mom.

"Oh Tim, you can't move! I mean unless you want to?" my mom says. I can tell she's trying to be supportive but I know she wouldn't want me to leave. And I don't want to, Start is my life I could never leave.

"I'm not going to mom. But I just don't think her and I could make a long-distance relationship work. I mean we've barely coped just with her travelling." I confess.

"You'll figure it out, I believe in you son." My mom says as steps come down the staircase. Faith comes into view. What an absolute smoke-show. She is stunning. A form fitting skirt and this deep cut blouse, just wow.

"Morning Boss." She says to me as she enters the living room.

My mouth has gone dry and I struggle to push out a "Morning".

"Well have a great first day Faith, call if you need anything." My mom says. "And Tim good luck for try-outs, I know those boys have been training hard all summer. Its going to be a hard decision to make, I don't envy you" she says as we head out to my truck.

"Thanks mom! Y'all coming over for dinner after try-outs?" I yell back at her but shut my door before she answers but I already know shell be there. "Ready for your first day?" I ask Faith as she buckles in.

"As read as I'll ever be." She says.

"you'll be fine, it's a small school only 900 pupils. And we only have about 30 with daily medical needs, diabetes treatments, medication administration all that. Your station and office are next to mine and school reception. The staffroom is 2 doors down the hall on the left." I explain to her as we drive.

"Thank you so much for giving me this job, Tim it means a lot." She says quietly as we draw closer to school.

"Well you don't actually have the job yet, we still need to sign all the contracts and all the official stuff, but that should only take an hour this morning." I take the principle park in the staff carparking area that is right next to the football field. We have a really nice school. The grounds are large and our classes are all high-tech. Not like your average small-town Louisiana high-school. Thanks to Christine's Dad we were able to redo the whole school last year. It turned out really well.

"Wow. How is it possible that everything in Start is so beautiful" Faith says looking over the football field surrounded by large oak trees and a grandstand.

"You say that now, but that field is about to become your life." I tell her. I still think she doesn't quite understand what a commitment being team medic is, but luckily, I have a schedule to show her before she signs that contract.

We walk into the school and I lead her to our office. When you walk in there's the reception desk first, to the right side of that is the nurses station with beds and supplies. Behind that is the nurse's office and next to that is mine. I mean sure I spend a great deal of time down in the sport offices watching game play but I basically live in this one.

"Faith that is your office. Miss Gracie came in last night with my mom and got her stuff. And I've asked the janitor to make up a Miss Faith Perry name thing for your door." I tell her. "The filing cabinet in the corner has all the student's medical files in it and they are on your computer electronically as well. And your offices view is the best." I tell her looking out the large window behind the wooden desk that shows the football field like a portrait.

"I love it." She says.

"I'm glad. Now Miss Perry if you'd please come into the principal's office to make this official."

Faith POV

After signing my contracts with Tim I've spent the day getting my office order. It was already tidy and stuff but I just wanted to rearrange it to make it mine. I read through all the high-risk student's files and at different intervals of the day kids came to have medication administered. The last one was a boy named Joey. He was big, well built, and he had a varsity jacket on. He obviously plays football. I was sitting at my desk when he knocked on the door.

"you are definitely no Miss Gracie." He says before I even get the chance to look at him.

"Correct, Joey, is it? I'm Miss Perry the new school nurse." I tell him leading him t clinic.

"Well I'll be damned." He says, "Nurses only look like you in movies." I ignore his comment and get his insulin ready. He lifts his sleeve and I give him his jab quickly. "If you're the new Miss Gracie does that mean you're the new team medic?" he asks as I pack up the needles.

"Yes, I will be." I tell him trying to use my best grown up voice.

"Well thank you Miss Perry. Il see you tomorrow." He says as he walks off. I'm starting to get hungry so go to my office and find the lunch Betty packed me. I open it to find a note "Have a great first day! PS go toast your sandwich in the staffroom". That woman is perhaps the nicest lady I have ever met. I take my brown bag and make my way to the staffroom. As I open the door I realise this will be my first interaction with my co-workers and suddenly I'm nervous. Luckily, I spot Tim in the kitchen area I smile at the teachers that I pass and make a b-line straight towards him.

"Mom give you a not-yet-grilled cheese too?" he asks, and I nod. "you can put yours in next. How's the first day going?"

"Good, I think. Most kids were shocked to see me not and Miss Gracie, hopefully they warm up to me soon." I tell him.

"How could they not." It's comforting to know that he has faith in me. I just hope he's right. "also training start half an hour after school so if you come down we can introduce to the players and get try-outs underway." And he starts taking his sandwich out of the toaster and puts it on a plate. "here you take this one, I'll make yours."

"are you sure? I can make it." I tell him.

"no, you go meet your co-workers." I'm not sure what to do. I haven't meet any of them yet and I'm apprehensive to approach the situation. "go Faith." He whispers.

I turn around to see all these teachers either marking work or drinking coffee and I'm easily the youngest person in the room, excluding Tim. I see an empty seat by a coffee table where an older man maybe 60 sits talking to a lady that's maybe 40. As I sit the older man says, "so this is the nurse the boys in my History class were discussing."

"Don't mind him. I'm Karla Van Hoven, Biology and this is Russel Brown, History." The woman says to me.

"I'm Faith Perry, nurse." I tell them. Suddenly a bunch of rowdy men in sweats walk in hollering and shouting. They're about mine and Tim's age. They all head over towards Tim.

"Physical Education department. They're not even real teachers" Russel says to me. I'm not sure if it's a joke but I laugh because I can already tell exactly the kind of teacher he is. Academics over sport. Classic traditionalist.