Chapter Ten

 

Melanie took the note out of her purse and looked at it. According to the letter of acceptance, she was to talk to a Mrs. James, the Head of Nurses for Mercy General first. According to Dex Mrs. James was known for having a haughty type personality. Obviously, she thought quite well of herself.

Melanie stuck the paper back in her purse as she took the elevator to the third floor. She put a smile on her face and was determined to make a good first impression.

Finding the office, she knocked and heard a woman's voice.

The secretary stared at her for a long moment, sliding her glasses on her slender nose up so she could really inspect her. "May I help you? Did you change your hair color?"

"I beg your pardon." Melanie looked at her strangely.

The secretary looked at her pad and saw the name, Melanie George. "I'm sorry, are you Melanie George?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh, strange, you reminded me of someone else."

"That is strange, this is the first time I've been here." Melanie answered. "I have an appointment to see Mrs. James about my nursing position."

The secretary nodded, "Just one moment."

She dialed another phone. "Yes, Mrs. James there's a Melanie George in the waiting room to talk to you. I think I better tell you…." Then she whispered into the phone. "You won't believe who she looks like."

The secretary nodded. "She'll be right with you."

"Thanks." Melanie sat quietly trying to figure out how she would respond to her questions.

Melanie waited a half hour, giving her time to ponder on the morning fright she had. But this was a strong lesson in not dwelling on what she couldn't control. It happened, she was alright and everything worked out, but it cemented her fears that someone really was after her for some reason. She knew she hadn't made anyone mad or anything, at least she didn't think she had. Running through a list of people she had known and some she didn't she still couldn't come up with anyone that would want to hurt or scare her. Sure, Jesse had acted a bit strange when he saw her again. Brad hadn't appreciated her throwing four years of dating down the drain either, but she really didn't think that either of the two would be mad enough to cause her trouble.

Cal had been helpful, Corinne had wanted to keep in touch. So, who was left? No one that she could imagine. Maybe Ed from the dorm? She'd snubbed him enough to tick him off, especially the night Cal helped her pack everything to put in her car. She couldn't dwell on this right now. She glanced at her phone. Dex had left a short message. "Good luck, see you soon."

She smiled, it was nice that he thought enough of her to wish her well.

But someone was stalking her. She could feel it. She was sure of it. And knowing she hadn't just been paranoid relieved her to some extent. Still, what she gathered from this morning was that someone wanted to frighten her.

But why and who? Just how far would they go to scare her?

Lost in thought she didn't see Mrs. James approach her with a slight smile. Mrs. James was a lovely woman of about forty, with blonde hair done up in an up-do and she wore high heels and a tight skirt, Melanie noted. For a woman of forty, she dressed like a woman of twenty, Melanie tried not to size the woman up too quickly though. She realized that first impression were not always the best. She wore a plastic kind of smile that Melanie recognized instantly. The smile disappeared, "Norma?"

The woman's eyes got big and round.

"I beg your pardon, I'm Melanie George."

The woman seemed to hesitate, stare, then nodded woodenly, as she cast the secretary a glance.

Still, this woman might be a chance for advancement for her, so she had to make a good impression.

Melanie plastered a smile on her face and introduced herself. Knowing how important first impressions were, Melanie did everything she could to sound confident. She extended her hand for a shake, but the woman wasn't interested.

Who was this Norma anyhow?

She put her hand down and followed her into her office. The woman was setting a tone of indifference, so far.

The woman studied her paperwork and then looked at up at her from her desk now.

"Please sit down, Miss George, I hate looking up to anyone."

Melanie glanced at the chair in front of the desk and took a seat.

The woman took a pen and twirled it in her hand. "Positions here at Mercy General are hard to obtain."

"I would imagine." Melanie nodded with a slight smile. "It's a huge and impressive hospital."

The woman eyed her above her glasses, slightly rolling her eyes.

"Normally, a newbie like yourself would come into the ER and work for six months or so then be transferred to a more permanent position. But since you've done some internships at your local hospital back home and your grades are way above average, Julia Myers, head of Pediatrics requested I send you right to her. Apparently, she's a little short-handed right now."

"Oh really, I didn't know…" Melanie stared.

"Really, you didn't know you were taking the place of a nurse who has worked here for over ten years. A nurse you look remarkably like."

"I look like her?" Melanie said slowly, with a frown, her eyes rounding on the woman with question. "I'm sorry I wasn't aware. I've never met this…Norma is that her name?"

"Norma Wells. Very much, except the coloring. She had brown hair."

"I've never met the woman."

The way she said that cut to the bone. She hadn't been here but a few minutes and already there was some hostility in the woman's words.

"You don't know her?"

"No, how could I? I've never met the head nurse of Pediatrics, either." Melanie stated. Suddenly on the defensive, Melanie quirked her head and asked. "Why did the nurse quit, if you don't mind me asking?"

"You don't know?"

"Of course, I don't."

"She didn't quit, Miss George. She was fired."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that either. I'm a little dumbstruck."

"Then perhaps I should tell you now. Do not get too attached to the babies. This is a job, and we do our jobs and go home, like anyone else. I'm sorry for staring so much, but you look remarkedly like her. You could be her twin. I'm surprised security didn't stop you from coming up."

Melanie gasp. "I don't understand." But she didn't understand any of this. All she had done was apply for work after graduating and was accepted. Mrs. James acted as though she had forcefully taken the job from the other nurse. Melanie was at a disadvantage because she didn't know about the other nurse, and she had no idea why the head of Pediatrics was so interested in her, either.

Why hadn't Dex told her?

"Very well, what I'm trying to tell you is that you have acquired a job that many other young nurses would love to have and couldn't. We have six applicants vying for the job. Julia picked you. And rather quickly I might add. I was not aware that her department was low on nurses, nor needed staffing. It appears she has the best of me right now. But this, is totally unexpected."

"I'm flattered by all the attention. But I must admit, I had no idea. The letter that was sent didn't go into detail about why I was chosen, it basically just told me to report to you."

"As you should." Mrs. James bit her lip as though she wanted to say more, but didn't. Melanie decided to wait until she started asking questions to speak. Mrs. James was a woman in control and Melanie wanted her to control this interview as it was headed in the wrong direction from her guarded looks she gave her.

Mrs. James took her glasses off and leaned back in her chair studying Melanie with such scrutiny that Melanie felt uncomfortable. She was silent for a long moment. "You obtained this position because of Julia. It really isn't the way things are done around here. She went over my head to hire you. But, because she needs you, I'm allowing it. When department heads need staffing, they usually go through a process. Julia didn't. I'll have to speak to her about that, but it isn't your fault. I'm sorry. She needs someone immediately and you were the best candidate for the job, in her opinion." Mrs. James made a smirk, looked off, then seemed to gather her composure and added. Just from the hooded expressions Melanie knew it wasn't her opinion. But there was more, Melanie was sure of it. "That being said, report straight to Julia. Here's her office number and she'll be waiting to talk to you. You'll have six weeks of training on the floor before you are working in the nursery. Please arrive promptly, and if you can't make it to your shift, then have the decency to call in and let someone know." She took her glasses off now and eyed her. "Good luck."

"Thank you," Melanie took the paper with Julia's name and office number on it. The look on Mrs. James face as she stood and got ready to leave, held no confidence in her being remotely able to handle the job. Melanie felt like frowning, but refrained. She hadn't made a good first impression. What had she done wrong? Who was this nurse that she looked so much like? And why on earth didn't Dex prepare her for this?

She glanced at Mrs. James over her shoulder as she was leaving, but the woman didn't smile.

In fact, her and the secretary were heavy into some discussion as she left.

Melanie had an uneasy feeling about this job. Maybe she was still spooked from this morning. She had to forget that and concentrate on impressing her new boss. Although the way Mrs. James acted, she didn't deserve this job. How could she judge her so quickly, she knew nothing about the nurse that got fired?

But the minute she walked into the head Pediatric nurse's office, the atmosphere was pleasant and calm, a completely different atmosphere.

The secretary there was young and smiling. Melanie introduced herself and waited for Julia.

Julia came out of her office and introduced herself. Melanie paid close attention to every word she uttered. The woman was stunningly beautiful. With blonde hair in an up-do, blue-green eyes that sparkled when she talked, and a figure that any woman would die for, Melanie felt at home with her the moment she reached for her hand for a shake.

"Come with me, hon." Julia led the way to her office.

Melanie didn't understand, she was replacing a nurse that looked very much like her, and yet Julia hadn't made any comment about it. That was odd. It sent some signal to Melanie to pay attention. Her secretary didn't see the resemble either, or at least she didn't act as though she did.

The minute Melanie walked inside her office she noticed all the special touches of home here, pictures of people on her desk, neat and clean as a pin. Flowers in a vase on her file cabinet, even a lovely scent in the room. Quite different from the sterile office of Mrs. James presented, Melanie noted silently.

"Beautiful office," Melanie murmured.

"Thanks," Julia smiled, glancing about herself. "I like to keep it like my home, I'm here so much of the time."

"Good idea," Melanie smiled and nodded.

"Now, I've read your resume and I liked everything I read about you, but honestly, a resume tells us little about the person. So, tell me about yourself, Melanie."

Surprised she was interested, and the casual way she used her first name set Melanie more at ease. Melanie sat back in her seat and tried to relax a bit. She related a lot of personal information about where she was from, her family, her small-town upbringing. She informed her of her college and night classes in nursing school. And then she stopped and looked at her. "That's about it. I don't lead a super exciting life I'm afraid."

Julia seemed to soak up the information and file it somewhere mentally.

"Why did you want to work in Pediatrics?"

Melanie leaned toward her desk, "Because I think having babies is the sweetest thing on earth and because I’m an only child and haven't had the opportunity except a few occasions of babysitting to know as much as I'd like to about babies. Kind of like an education in them to work with them when they are so little. I've loved medicine ever since my dog was injured and I nursed him back to health. Seeing people get better is a pure pleasure. But working with babies should be very enlightening."

"I see you aren't married?"

"No ma'am."

"So, you've had little experience around them huh?"

"I guess you could say that. I've babysat and I've patched a lot of skinned knees and owie's. But bringing a child into the world to me sounds like a life changing moment, and I wanted to share in the happiness it brings."

"Well, it isn't always pleasant, I have to tell you this. Sometimes babies are born and don't do well. Sometimes they are born dead, can you also see yourself handling this kind of situation too?"

Melanie sobered to some extent, "As a matter of fact I can. I think the parents would need a compassionate person to help them get through losing their child. I had an experience once in just such a case. She was a cousin and she was mortified when she woke up and realized her baby had died during delivery. I was fifteen at the time and I stayed at the hospital with her as I was the only one in the family who didn't work yet."

"Oh, tell me about it?"

"Well, her pregnancy was normal everything looked good, but during delivery they found the baby's heartbeat was weak and as it was born they saw it was the cord wrapped around its neck. Although the doctors worked meticulously to save the child, it was simply too late. Her mother was hysterical, her husband not much better, so I stepped in and sat with her for the first two days afterward. I tried to uplift her and encouraged her to think about trying again. Because we were close to the same age I suppose I related to her better than most. When she left the hospital, she had accepted the baby's death and so had her husband, but she felt uplifted that I and her doctors encouraged her to try again. After she left the hospital I went and talked with her mother and gradually the woman began to accept what had happened too. I think all babies that die, go to heaven, and it is encouraging to think that way. That you'll see them again, in time." Melanie finished. "Do you think that's too dumb?"

"Dumb? Why no, I think that is exactly what the mother and father need to hear, often. I think you will be a real asset here. You show a lot of compassion and that is what is needed at a time like that. As long as you don't become too attached to any one child."

"Well, most don't stay that long anyway, do they?" Melanie asked curiously.

"This is true. You know, I've had a few nurses that weren't compassionate at all, and it makes things even more difficult."

"I can imagine it would."

"As a new nurse, you would be required to put in some extra hours off and on, how do you feel about that?"

"Well, I'd love it for a while at least. I need to save and buy some furniture and a better car." She smiled.

"Are you seeing anyone at the moment?"

"A boyfriend you mean?"

"Yes."

"Sort of, he works here at the hospital."

"Oh, maybe I know him then?"

"Dexter Cooper."

"Oh Dex, I know him. But I didn't know he was dating anyone." Her expression changed quickly and Melanie made note of it. Dex said he knew and liked her, he wondered if they had ever dated.

"Well, we just sort of hooked up you might say. I just moved into his apartment building. We are good friends really, haven't known him long enough to call him a boyfriend."

Julia smiled. "He's a nice young man. Now, let's talk about your work. Working with babies is not a cushy job like some seem to think. And even though they are little angels at that point, don't go thinking this job is easy. They get fussy, they have problems and sometime only sometimes we lose them. Can you handle that?"

Melanie stared soberly at her. "I think I handle death well, ma'am but to lose a baby, must be the saddest thing on earth, for the mother, especially."

Julia seemed to react to that, "Yes, well, it is. And many times, it's just as devastating for the father."

Julia studied her resume closely for several long seconds. There was a long silence, giving Melanie the opportunity to size up her new boss and decide whether this would be a good match for her.

Julia was stern, but friendly. Approachable came to mind. She liked the fact that she could actually talk to her. She hadn't counted on that.

She was also a lovely looking woman. She kept a clean and organized office and the many pictures she had on her desk spoke volumes of getting along with a lot of different kinds of people. In short, Melanie decided that she liked her.

Julia laid down the paperwork and stared at her now. "First off, I'm strict about cleanliness. We wash our hands many times a day as we are handling precious patients. We do things methodically so there are no mix-ups. We don't get too attached to them, as they are not ours. This is very important and something the last nurse in your spot did not adhere to. She was way too personal about the babies. We cannot do that. We can enjoy them for the time they are here, but we cannot allow ourselves to get too attached to them."

Melanie nodded. "I understand."

Now she knew why the nurse had been fired, or at least she thought she did.

"Everything will get to be a routine here after a while and the job is easy and enjoyable most of the time. As long as you remember the things I teach you, there will be no problems. I run a tight shift, but also a personable one too. If you need time off, please don't hesitate to talk to me about it. If you know ahead of time, you might want to discuss it with one of the other nurses taking your shift. We work together here. I'm very approachable but I don't have time for drama, so keep that to a minimum."

Melanie nodded.

"Now, let's take a tour around the floor so you can get used to your surroundings, meet a few and get back to filling out more paperwork, issue you a badge and put you to work."

"Sounds good."

She met several doctors, Dr. Peters head of Pediatrics, Dr. Simon, Dr. Wentworth, and Dr. Lyons. She also met a few nurses, most of them were friendly.

It took until noon to view all the offices and rooms. Finally, they went to the nursery where she had to put on scrubs and mask, washed her hands and arms, and then went inside to meet the babies.

Melanie's heart warmed to each of them, but Julia was showing her the name tag systems, and the charts and regulations they had to adhere to. It was a lot to take in and when they finally went back to her office, she told her to go downstairs to the lunchroom and get something to eat then come back and she'd issue her supplies and a long list of do's and don'ts.

Melanie was excited to be working here, but something niggled in the back of her mind. Several things. Why did Mrs. James and her secretary think she was this Norma, and Julia hadn't said a word about it. This Norma had worked with Julia. It didn't connect. If she really looked like her, why didn't Julia and her secretary remark about it too? It was puzzling. It didn't fit.

Melanie went downstairs and finally found the cafeteria. It was packed with nurses and doctors and even visitors to the hospital. Mulling over the two important women she'd met this morning she liked Julia best. She was direct, and to the point, but also interested in her and fair.

Mrs. James had been unapproachable and hard to define in one sentence. And yet her reactions to be a look alike were more normal than Julia's. It just niggled, Melanie fretted.

The menu had a variety of things and Melanie just grabbed a sandwich and some soup, grabbing some tea and lemon, she found a place to herself and was busy watching the crowds of people coming in and out of the cafeteria.

When she spotted Dex he came over and sat with her.

"So how did it go?"

"I got Pediatrics." She smiled.

"Great, so you've met Julia? That's fantastic. I'm a little surprised since the majority do get stuck in ER for a while."

"Yeah, it was a shock to me too. I like her a lot. And I think Julia must have been shorthanded was the reason I was sent immediately to her." She told him.

"Good."

"But, I was informed by Mrs. James that I’m taking the place of another nurse who was fired from Pediatrics. And that I bare a resemblance to the woman."

Dex's face changed. His expression was serious, and he seemed to think about what he was going to say. "Norma Wells, oh yeah, we've all heard about her. And I never saw it until you just mentioned it, but you do bear a resemblance to her."

Dex knew Norma too, and he didn't remark about it. That was strange, he'd been with her for some time now and nothing about Norma.

"Well, great, I haven't had the pleasure. Why don't you tell me about what happened? I haven't a clue."

Dex shrugged. "She'd been here ten years. Good nurse. But she kept to herself a lot. Wasn't friendly. No one liked her much except Julia."

"That's funny, she didn't mention the resemblance."

"Probably didn't want to scare you off. Anyway, as time went on Norma was very controlling of the babies in the ward. Julia noticed her spending her breaks rocking one baby. She watched her closely too."

"Why was she fired?" Melanie asked point blank.

"She got too involved with the babies. There was one she wouldn't let any other nurse rock her. She insisted. It got to be she'd neglect other babies while this one seemed to take up her time. Julia noticed, but she also knew that Norma had tried for some time to get pregnant and couldn't. So, she indulged her. We all suspected Norma might try to take the baby."

Melanie's eyes widened. "You don't mean it?"

"She tried. She was almost out of the hospital when they caught her."

"My God!"

"And she didn't go down quietly either. She kept telling them it was her baby."

"How did they know it wasn't hers?"

"She'd worked here ten years. Although she was married at the time, they couldn't have children, everyone knew that. So, when they found her at the back door of ER they figured something was amiss."

"Oh my! So, what happened to her?"

"Julia fired her, she was arrested, and when she was released on bond she came back here. Norma lost it that day. She screamed for her child, who had luckily gone home by then. Julia had to call the cops to come get her."

"Forever more…"

"The day she took off with the baby, wow, that was a day no one around here will forget. Everyone in this hospital knew about her before that day was over. They chased her through the halls of seven floors before they caught her. She'd gone completely nuts. A week later, while being transferred to another prison, she escaped. No one has seen her since."

"That's so sad, Dex." Melanie murmured. "Did they catch her?"

"No, she escaped when they were transferring her to another prison, and no one has seen or heard from her since. They've been keeping surveillances cameras here at the hospital. They think she'll return here and try to take another baby. The baby she was after was a preemie, so naturally has been here a while, but she was released and gone home now. That's a good thing. She used to live here in our apartment building, a while back. Before I ever moved in. That's how I knew her. She found out I lived here and came to introduce herself to me."

"She lived in our apartment building?"

"Yeah, for a while, when her husband first left her. He couldn't handle her kidnapping a baby."

"It's all kind of sad. But, it's funny, if I look like her why didn't Julia say anything about it?"

"I'm sure she didn't want to alarm you, considering Norma's behavior."

"I guess."

Then a tall good-looking black doctor came to their table. "Well, you are holding out on us Dex, who is the cute girl?"

Then when Melanie turned to look at him, he gasped. "My God, Norma?"

"No, I'm afraid not."

The doctor looked from her to Dex.

"Melanie, this is Dr. Rod Covington, Gynecologists from the fourth floor. He's quite the ladies' man, so watch out for him." Dex teased. "No Rod, this isn’t Norma. This is Melanie, and oddly enough, she's working in Pediatrics."

"I don't believe it."

Ron scooted Dex's tray over and joined them. "Melanie huh? You are working here?"

"Yes, started today." Melanie smiled, "Pleased to meet you."

"Same here, and don't be a stranger." He smiled at her. "My God, don't you see it Dex?"

"What?"

"She looks so much like Norma Wells."

She chuckled. "So, I've been told."

"Hey, wait a minute, you're telling me, she's taking Norma's place, in Pediatrics?"

"Yes," Dex explained.

"But she could be her twin. How on earth did that happen?"

"I'm with you, I find it rather odd, myself." Melanie agreed.

"Well, Norma has mousy brown hair, but you look just like her. I swear. Oh yeah, we'll be seeing a lot of each other then." He grinned. "I knew Julia had someone in mind to replace Norma, still, this is more than a little ironic. But it's uncanny how much you look like Norma. You could be twins. I sure hope security knows about you."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Hey, let up will you. She's nothing like Norma." Dex defended. "You are scaring her."

"No, she's prettier than Norma. But seriously, maybe you should let security in on this so there is no mix-up."

"Okay, maybe that's a good idea. Don't let him fool you. He has a girlfriend in ER and she'd can him if she knew how much he flirts with all the new girls." Dex glanced at his buddy.

"Gloria trusts me."

"Sometimes I wonder why." Dex teased.

"She will after this weekend. I have a ring," He whipped it out of his pocket and displayed for both of them to see.

"Wow, that's not a ring, it's a rock." Dex whistled.

"Been dating for five years now, it's time bro." Rod chuckled. "She deserves it."

"She's a lucky girl." Melanie smiled.

"Think she'll like it?" He asked her.

"Any girl would like that," She chuckled.

"So, how long you known my friend Dex, here?"

"Not long, I moved in the same apartment building."

Rod looked at Dex, "You have all the luck."

"Yeah, I think you are right." Dex smiled.

The intercom called Rod's name and he shook his head. "Well, at least I got some food in me first. Gotta run, nice meeting you Melanie, look forward to working with you too."

"Thanks." She smiled.

"See ya, bro." Dex shook hands with him and he left.

"I guess I better run before someone calls me too," He told her. "See you later."

"Okay," She smiled. "What about security?"

"Oh yeah, come on, we'll take care of that now." He suggested.

They walked what seemed like miles around the hospital until they got to the security area.

Dex waited until the guard came out and introduced her to him.

"She looks like Norma? How do I know for sure, that she's not Norma?" The guard declared.

"Yeah, that's why we are here. This is Melanie George, and she's working in Pediatrics so we thought we'd come down and let you know before you arrested her or something." Dex explained. "She's got ID and Julia can vouch for her."

"Good thing you did. Because I would have sworn it was her."

"I really look that much like her?"

"You could be twins except your hair color is different."

"Thank God for that."

"Well, I'll let everyone know about you and there shouldn't be any incidents."

"Thanks," she smiled at the guard. He was quite handsome.

He smiled back.

Dex walked her back to her department and ran into Julia.

"Dex what brings you here?" Julia smiled.

Melanie noted that their glances were flirty and she wondered about that, but she said nothing.

Melanie noted how she referred to him as Dex, not his proper name. Maybe they had known each other a long time.

"Oh, I took Melanie to security and introduced her so they don't arrest her for looking like Norma."

Julia nodded and nearly gasped, "You are wise to do that. I should have done it myself. But honestly Melanie, I didn't want to scare you off because of it. Mrs. James called me to warn me they might arrest her by mistake. Thanks for taking care of it for me, Dex."

"Sure, well, see ya later." Dex told them.

He winked and left.