“Have you ever heard of Murphy’s Law? Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong?” Ericka asked, taking care to stand with her hands loosely resting on the podium in front of her. “Well, that’s the story of my life. I went on a date. The third time we went out he choked on a chicken bone and landed in the hospital. He never called back. I was a bit surprised.”
The group laughed.
“My family went on a vacation. Three days after being there, there was a shark attack, and no one was allowed to touch the water.” No response, she wasn’t surprised. “I traveled to Mexico on a medical mission with my church. It was supposed to be routine medical care. Check their teeth, check their heart, etc. Three days in there was an earthquake.
“In high school I was nicknamed ‘tragedy girl.’” She laughed awkwardly. Others in the crowd did the same. “And that’s why I became a nurse. If I’m going to be in the middle of tragedy, I thought, why not help people? But sometimes that field gets lonely. And that’s why I’m here. I’ve been told that support makes everything better. We’ll see. So, thank you for having me.”
Ericka took her seat as the group leader, Lyle, took to the podium.
“Thank you, Ericka, for sharing. Seems like you have an issue with the number three. Maybe you can come back just one more time, eh?” The crowd snickered. “No, seriously, you come as many times as you like. We all have similar stories of tragic events that have followed us. Being in the medical field is like that. Anyone want to speak next?”
Several more audience members took to the podium and talked about their lives. Ericka found it hard to pay attention. She’d been following Joey Demarco’s life. Apparently, each week he attended a support group meeting at the local community center. There was only one problem; the community center had a lot of different support groups.
She’d been going to each one trying to find him and relate so she could arrange a meeting. This was her third group in one week. She was actually looking forward to therapy after listening to all these people.
The stories that the people at the office concocted for her each day were getting more and more farfetched. At least today she’d been able to insert one truth, she had been a nurse. That time in her life felt so far away.
“Thank you all for coming, see you next week.” Lyle was dismissing the group and she’d missed almost all of it. Maybe even her true purpose for being in attendance.
She stood, wrapped her scarf around her neck, and shrugged into her jacket. Fall temperatures brought beautiful mornings, but cold afternoons. She hoped she’d brought enough warm clothes for the being outside. No officer would be taking her back to her apartment. The community center was close to the office, so she’d opted to walk.
Purse hitched on her shoulder, she headed to the dessert table. She would just grab something and go.
She picked up a puff pastry and placed it in her mouth, closing her eyes briefly as it melted on her tongue. She shouldn’t be enjoying herself so much. This was an assignment.
A gentleman approached. He took a powdered donut in a gloved hand and laid it on a pink napkin. He lifted his head. Their eyes caught. He removed a glove and held out his hand. “Joey.”
“Ericka.” She shook his hand warmed by the wool gloves, enjoying the feel of his strong fingers.
She’d finally found who she was looking for.
Restraining her happiness wasn’t easy.
He took it back, leaving her with an empty feeling.
“So, you’re a nurse. Where do you work?”
She swallowed. “Freelance.”
“Like writing articles without a permanent job?”
“Something like that. And you?” She took a sip of hot chocolate. It burnt the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t react.
“Sales.”
“Ah.” She’d finally found her mark and she was struggling to string two sentences together. What was wrong with her? She met handsome marks before. Why did this feel different?
And what did he mean by sales?
“I enjoyed your share time.”
“You did?” Enjoy seemed like a weird word. She’d listed a bunch of tragedies. Maybe he found it humorous.
“Yes. Perhaps I could use your services.”
She barely kept her eyes from widening. “You don’t look sick.”
He scratched his brow. “Looks can be deceiving.”
Joey pulled a card from inside his camel colored jacket. He handed it to her face down. “Meet me at this address at seven p.m. sharp on Monday. And bring your doctor kit.”
He popped the donut in his mouth, took a swig of lemonade from a bathroom-sized cup, and turned on his heel. She thought about chasing after him to at least remind him, she wasn’t a doctor, but decided against it.
She had her in.
She hitched her purse higher on her shoulder and headed outside. Sunshine struck her face and warmed her skin. Despite the chilly wind, it was a beautiful Friday afternoon.
Head down and hands in her pockets, she strolled along the street. She made several unnecessary turns to ensure she wasn’t being followed.
Ericka entered the indistinct building. There was a desk, but no guard, at least that could be seen. She inserted her key and turned it before entering the elevator. The door closed. She pressed floor thirteen and the elevator descended.
When the doors slid open, she stepped through. She was slowly falling in love this place. Screens flashed, showing different sections of the city. Cluttered desks filled the room facing each other two-by-two in most cases. People walked from desk to desk carrying papers, folders , coffee, bagels, and other things.
Ericka ignored them all as she headed to Greg’s temporary office. Greg was on the phone but motioned her to enter.
“Of course, I understand. I know you need more manpower, but any more that you pull from this division means we lose credibility and we’ll be shut down before we get started.” He paused. “Uh-huh, uh-huh, fine. I’ll see what I can do.”
He placed the phone on the receiver, ran his hands through his thick, black hair, then cast his intense gaze in her direction. “I really hate this job.” He sighed. “So, what do you got?”
She handed him the card.
“That was quick.”
“Well, three days of being different people and needing support didn’t seem quick to me, but if you say so. Apparently, what is needed is a nurse.”
He stood. “I’ll have the team prepare you for the meet. We’ll get your cover story in place online.”
He turned back to his desk. She knew he was dismissing her, but she couldn’t leave yet.
He lifted his head. “Yes?”
Suddenly losing confidence, she backtracked. “It’s nothing. I’ll talk to you later.”
He didn’t seem the least bit curious and went right back to his papers. The light glistened off his hair. She missed him terribly. Honestly, she missed company of any kind.
She went to her desk, did whatever they asked her to do, then went back to her tiny hole in the wall apartment. She’d hoped Greg would come visit her again, but he’d not even mentioned the possibility.
The door eased shut behind her as she exited the frosted glass office. The new unit was still without a director. Greg was filling that role well, but she really wished he was on the floor with her and the team. Doubts were creeping in about her reason for being there. Maybe she’d made a mistake.
A big mistake.
Dr. Ellen was late, again. It felt like some kind of test. Making her sit there and stew about waiting made Ericka more willing to talk. Anger did that to her.
“I’m sorry I’m late. I got caught up with another patient.” Dr. Ellen grabbed her pen and pad of paper and sat in one smooth motion. Then her leg just appeared crossed.
How did she do that?
“So, where were we? We discussed your team, I believe.”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And, what?”
Dr. Ellen sighed and leaned forward. “It is my understanding that you wish to return to your normal activities without me taking up one hour of your week, correct?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then if that is the case you must play along. I will not sign off until I know that you are safe to be out on the street again carrying a gun.”
Ericka almost laughed. She had two guns on her at the moment.
“So, I want to know how you feel about everything that’s happened.”
“You want the truth?”
“Of course.”
“The truth is that I don’t like shooting people. It leaves a hole in my gut. That was someone’s child. No matter what he turned out to be, someone loved him at some time.” Although she didn’t think that applied to her, she wouldn’t mention that right now. “I’ve never had to shoot someone, so I don’t take it lightly. But I understand that if I hadn’t done something innocent people would have died.”
“Are you sure?”
“My job is to recognize when people are in trouble and those people were in trouble. So, I did what I was trained to do. I took out the threat before it happened.”
The way that Dr. Ellen looked at her almost made her doubt her own words. But she knew that she’d done the right thing. If she hadn’t acted, more than one person would have died.
Wouldn’t they?