"I wish they could all be like that one." The nurse at the desk motioned her head.

Rosie looked puzzled. "Who?"

"You know, that new Trauma Fellow, what’s her name, Garnet? She riles the hell of the staff here. But if I needed an operation in a hurry," she winked at them. "She’s got the skill."

"Oh, you mean my doctor Garrett Trivoli," Rosie said with a sense of pride dripping in sarcasm while winking at Danni.

The small blonde just closed her eyes, shaking her head slightly and smiled. She could tell that Rosie was over the shock of the mistaken gender and was simply enjoying a good laugh at herself. Danni looked at her watch; it was nearly 3 a.m., the night was going fast. She knew that the surgeon would be tied up in the O.R. for at least an hour or two doing the exploratory surgery and then it would be time for her to round. The nurse made a mental note to page Garrett before she left for home and confirm their arrangements for Saturday’s outing. This was one picnic she was looking forward too.

***********

Continued

The flow of patients into the emergency room had slowed to a stop just like the breeze outside. The heat and humidity clung to the air like the drenched material at a wet T-shirt contest. It was stifling and difficult to breathe. Danni pondered the conditions and mentally considered the change in the patients that would soon be coming into the E.R. The stories would shift from trauma to the elderly that were unable to afford air conditioning and therefore suffered with the weather. Yes, this would be the time for asthmatics and those afflicted with heart conditions. It was almost the end of shift and the young blonde thought about what she would do on her time away from work.

"Hey, Danni, you’re coming to the picnic on Saturday, right?" Rosie asked as she looked up from the list she was making.

Her train of thoughts interrupted, she blinked and slowly offered, "Yeah, I’m coming. What do you need?"

"I need a good softball player for my team. You game?"

"When did I ever pass on the annual E.R. Softball challenge with the doctors?" The young nurse sprang into a softball pose. "Those docs won’t know what hit them," she chuckled as she completed her follow through.

"Great!" Rosie cautiously inquired, "So you bringing anyone, my friend?"


Danni wiggled her nose and looked shyly to the floor, "You mean as a date? No…" her head shook slightly from side to side. "But I did ask Garrett, I mean, Dr. Trivoli. I thought it would be nice for her to get to know us outside of the E.R. and have a little fun. She is new in town and all."


Rosie made a face and moaned. "Isn’t it enough that we have to put up with her at work?" She eyed Danni. "Well at least she won’t be on my team for the softball game."


Karen looked at the young blonde nurse, "Add one ‘amazon’ to that list of strays." and shook her head slowly, smiling like a proud mother.


Danni blushed at the attention. Then, as if to change the subject, her eyes narrowed and she nudged the charge nurse saying, "Rosie and I should be furious with you. You played us both by not telling us about Garrett before we acted like idiots."


Startled, Rosie vigorously agreed, "Yeah, why didn’t you warn us?"


Mom just chuckled. "You know, some lessons are better learned by experience than by being told. Besides, I couldn’t help but enjoy the faces that you two were giving back and forth. It was worth every minute."


"Yeah, well, thanks a lot for letting me make a smelly fool of myself."


"Gee, I wonder how Trivoli saw it?" Karen mused. "Guess I’ll have to ask her when I see her on Saturday. She is coming with you isn’t she?"


Danni realized that they had not finished making plans before the last trauma patient arrived. "Ah…I think so. I’ll have to check with her before I leave."


The charge nurse pushed the phone in her direction, "No time like the present, the shift is just about over."


The small blonde glanced at the nightly on-call schedule that hung on the counter. Finding the notation "Trauma Fellow," Danni reached for the phone and punched in the appropriate numeric sequence to reach the paging operator. She waited for the computer generated recording and slowly punched in 1048, Garrett’s personal pager, committing it to her memory. She hung up the phone, turned to the older nurse and smiled sweetly. "Satisfied, Mom?"


"You bet!" Mom reached over and fluffed the young blonde’s short hair with a gentle touch, watching as Danni became flushed with embarrassment.


"That’s my girl."


The phone rang a minute or two later causing all three of the nurses to just stare at it for a moment. Danni answered it with as much professionalism as she could muster. "E.R., Nurse Bossard speaking, may I help you?" Rosie’s eyes bugged out and she quickly clamped her hand over her mouth to muffle the escaping laughter. Danni, shot a cold eye toward Rosie as a warning, trying hard to keep a straight face.


The voice on the other end was hesitant but strong; "This is Dr. Trivoli. Danni…is that you?"


"Yeah, I just wanted to confirm our plans for the picnic on Saturday before I left for home."


"I’ll be done here in a few minutes. How about we talk over breakfast in the cafeteria?"


"I’ll meet you there as soon as I’m off shift. I’m a little hungry anyway."


"O.K. You can help me learn what’s edible and what’s not. See you soon."


It was a small exchange, but a friendly one. Danni replaced the receiver back into its cradle as a warm feeling ran through her very soul.


Garrett was at the nurses’ desk watching the group making its rounds as she answered her page. She was surprised to hear the talkative nurse on the other end of the phone. The surgeon made eye contact with McMurray as she spoke into the receiver, setting up the breakfast meeting with the nurse. Her voice was pleasant and her speech was articulate for being up all night. She was surprising even herself now. It was a long time since her last night on call during her residency. The Navy in some ways had almost been too easy for her.


With the conversation over, she replaced the receiver to its cradle and returned to the rear of the group doing the rounding.


"Was that a date you were confirming on my time, Dr. Trivoli?" The voice was directly behind her as she turned to reference her inquisitor.


"Dr. McMurray, sir," she had to stop herself from saluting. "I was just doing what you told me to."


He looked at her with intense brown eyes. "I take it, then, it has something to do with the E.R. nursing staff?"


Garrett nodded, "Yes, I’ve been invited to attend the picnic this Saturday. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?"


"Hmmm! Seems you can do two jobs at one time. There may be hope for you after all." He turned to leave, then paused saying, "Just remember what job you’re trying to accomplish. Oh, and Trivoli, get yourself a cell phone if you intend on living in a hotel. I don’t like talking to desk clerks." With that he was off and on his way down the hall.


Her face remained a picture of stoicism. The surgeon could not believe that she was in that direct line of shit rolling down hill again. What was she, the poster child for ‘I need a friend’ or was she just not used to this manner of teaching? ‘Only 364 more days to go.’ She sighed and caught up with the group rounding on the last few patients admitted during the night.


***********


The hallway outside of the cafeteria was busy with the traffic of staff and visitor alike. It was a mutual meeting ground where succulence for the body was available without being too pricey. The atmosphere was an attempt at being cheerful but also business-like at the same time. The line for the hot food was already forming at the door when Danni reached the banking machine in the hall. ‘A quick stop for some money and I’ll be good for the weekend.’ She looked around for the tall familiar form of the surgeon. ‘Guess I’m here first.’ The young nurse stepped up to the machine and submitted her card, punching in a few numbers and patiently waited for the crisp bills to be discharged into her possession. She withdrew her card and quickly counted the new bills.


"Oh, there you are," Garrett said. "I thought I may have missed you."


She had just gotten off the elevator and was walking across the hall, hoping that she had.


"I needed to get some money for the weekend, you know, with the holiday and all." Danni stuffed the money into her lab jacket pocket. "So, hot or cold?"


The raven-haired woman looked at her perplexed, thinking about the nerve of McMurray to want her to become friends with this non-stop talking machine. "Huh…oh, I don’t know what’s the best choice?"


"Well, if you are really hungry, hot is always the best." Danni motioned toward the line that started at the door. It was long but she knew that it would moved quickly.


They stood in line, in silence. Garrett thought about the events of the night, letting her mind slowly wind down to the more relaxed atmosphere. Her first night here in a new hospital, not to mention new city, was over and all in all she was feeling pretty good about it. It just might be what she had needed all along and for the first time in a number of years, she felt good about her life and the direction it was taking. What she had worked for all those long lonely years was finally coming to be a realization of her dream, even if she had to do it under McMurray.