Chapter Five

BY NOON ON MONDAY, ELENA RODRIGUEZ WAS more than ready for a break or, even better, a day off. Maybe even a week off. The Intensive Care Unit was usually one of the busiest places in the hospital, and today was no exception. That morning, they had gotten two admits—both in critical condition. The first was a fifty-year-old man who’d fallen from a two-story building at a construction site; the second, a woman who’d been involved in a head-on collision just outside of town. She had been put into a medical coma to rest her body and her brain and to allow both to heal. Her husband sat in the chair beside the bed, holding his head in his hands and occasionally looking up at the monitors.

Her nursing supervisor, Marge Matthews, had assigned both patients to Elena, and she’d been running back and forth between the two of them all morning. The morning had been crazy, and unfortunately, she hadn't been able to meet Anabelle as they had planned. Anabelle hadn't minded of course—flexibility was an important part of the job.

At one, Elena finally took her lunch break. She ate quickly and then pulled out her notebook, efficiently swapping from nursing hat to Grandma hat. Her sweet Isabel would be five soon, and Elena was probably more excited than the birthday girl. Elena pictured her adorable dark-haired princess and smiled.

Isabel and her daddy—Elena's son Rafael—lived with her and her husband Cesar. They would have the party in their backyard, which had recently been beautifully landscaped by Evan Scott, Anabelle's son. He had done the work at cost this past spring. Such a gift. They had thoroughly enjoyed it all summer, especially the pool and hot tub. It was an extravagance; but with both Elena and Cesar using part of their salaries, they were able to manage and invest in their home.

She had already started a guest list for the party. First on the list was Anabelle, then Candace and James. She had jotted down several neighbors and family members, including her own mother and grandmother. Thinking about them brought pleasant memories.

Every year, Elena managed to get a five-generation picture. She hoped this year would be the same. Her grandmother would turn eighty-eight this year. So far, she’d been active and in relatively good health. Abuela, the Spanish word for “grandmother” and “old lady,” had always told Elena they were blessed with longevity genes.

She and Isabel had put together a list of children from the day care/preschool and Sunday school class. This would be Isabel's first time to invite friends, and that would be a challenge in itself. Elena told her she could invite five children close to her age.

“Hey there.” Anabelle took the chair across from her. “I’m surprised you’re still here, since this is the earliest I could get away.”

“Me too.” Elena told her about her admissions and they talked for several minutes about Dr. Hamilton. News had spread quickly among the hospital employees.

Candace took the seat next to Anabelle. “Hi, guys. I’m glad you’re still here. You must have had a busy morning too.”

“You might say that.” Elena smiled.

“What are all these notes for?” Candace asked, nodding toward Elena's papers.

“Isabel's party.” Elena told them all about her plans so far. “You and the kids are invited.”

“How fun. Howie and Brooke love parties.” Her smile turned bittersweet. “Though with Brooke's being eleven-going-on-twenty, she may consider herself too old to play with the children.”

Anabelle sighed. “Kids grow up way too fast. Enjoy those parties while you can.”

“I am fortunate to have a second chance.” Elena put a star on Candace's and Anabelle's names indicating they’d been asked and would be coming.

“You are indeed,” Anabelle agreed. “I loved planning parties for my three when they were little. I must have made every kind of cake you can imagine. I did a princess cake one time where you bake part of the batter in a bowl to make a dress. I bought a doll to slip into the top. It was gorgeous with pink and white frosting. Loveliest cake I ever made. When I went to cut into the skirt to serve it, the inside wasn't done and batter oozed out all over the place. The kids thought it was a hoot. Called it a lava cake and ate it anyway.”

Elena laughed. “Now they make lava cakes on purpose.”

Candace set her fork on her plate and reached for her water. “I’ve had a few fiascoes myself. Mom usually makes the cakes now, or we get ice-cream cakes at the grocery.”

For the next few minutes they talked about past birthdays, decorations, the party store and themes. Elena wanted something colorful with a fiesta theme so they could have a piñata.

After a few more minutes of planning, Elena checked her watch. “I have to get back.”

“You’re leaving already?” James set his tray down. “I was hoping to hear about Dr. Hamilton.”

“Not much to report.” Anabelle sighed. “He's stable; but you saw him, James. He's not taking this well at all.”

“That poor man,” Elena said. “He's spent all his life healing people, and now he's on the other side. I think that would be especially hard.”

“It's just the heart attack.” Anabelle tossed her napkin on her tray. “I think he's feeling guilty about going ahead with the surgery.”

Elena nodded. “Of course he’d feel guilty. He's a doctor and didn't recognize the heart attack symptoms.”

“Or refused to.” James took a bite of his hamburger leaving them all to puzzle over the ramifications of his statement.

As Anabelle stepped off the elevator on the second floor, she almost collided with Genna.

“Anabelle! I was hoping to run into you, though not literally.”

Anabelle gave her friend a hug. “I was just coming back from lunch. Is something wrong?”

Genna's grin gave way to desperation. Her eyes closed as she heaved an exasperated sigh. “Oh-h-h. That man!”

“I take it you’re referring to the good doctor.”

“Good is not a word I would use to describe him at the moment.”

“Is there something I can do?”

“Talk some sense into him.” She pulled a tissue out of her bag to wipe the tears spilling onto her cheeks. “I know he isn't upset with me. He's angry with himself. Says he should have known what was happening but didn't want to admit it. He's upset that his stupidity, as he calls it, put a patient's life at risk.”

“Come on.” Anabelle led her friend to the waiting room and settled her into a chair with a cup of coffee.

“Dr. Hildebrand said the patient came through surgery just fine, but Drew is worried. She reminded him they’d have to write up an incident report.” Genna held the cup with both hands. “Anabelle, what if they take away his license? Could that happen?”

“Did he tell you it could?” A hollow ache formed in Anabelle's stomach.

“No. But if they find him negligent…”

“That isn't going to happen. Drew is one of the finest doctors around.” Anabelle patted her friend's arm. “You stay here and finish your coffee; I’ll go in and speak with him.”

When she reached Drew's room, Anabelle tapped on the glass. He turned slightly, harrumphed with crossed arms and looked away.

“Well, hello to you too.” Anabelle opened the door far enough to get into the room.

“Did Genna send you to cheer me up?” Some of the color had come back to his cheeks, but he still had an unhealthy pallor.

“No. She's the one who needs cheering up. You need a swift kick in the you-know-what.”

He chuckled and met her gaze. “Leave it to you to tell it like it is.”

“I’m not about to pussyfoot around where you’re concerned. We’ve known each other far too long for that.”

He sighed. “Okay. I won't lie to you. I should have realized my symptoms were heart related.”

“You are a doctor, yes, but you are not perfect. It's normal for people to dismiss heart attack symptoms for heartburn.”

“For some people, but not for me. I did think heart early on, but refused to admit it. That makes me negligent. It also makes me a fool. I should have known better.”

“You need to stop beating yourself up and focus on getting well.”

“Easier said than done.”

“I know this is hard on you. But try to go easy on the nurses and on Genna. This is scary for her too.”

“You’re right as always.” His gray eyes met hers. “I will try to be on my best behavior.”

“Good.”

“Did Genna tell you that she and Dr. Hildebrand think I should take a month off?”

“No, but I think that's a good idea.” Anabelle smiled. “It would do you a world of good.”

“I don't think so. I have patients to tend to. There's no way I could take a month off. Sitting around doing nothing would drive me nuts.”

“I hear you, but you know what? You have at least a week before you have to make that decision. Right now, you need to think about healing that heart so you can make a decision.” Anabelle frowned. “We want you around so you can see all those patients who depend on you—now and in the future.”

He nodded. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Okay then.” She grinned and headed for the door. “I’ll have Genna come back in. Just promise you’ll behave yourself.”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

Anabelle headed for the nurses’ desk to check in with her staff for any new orders or pertinent changes before making rounds again. Becky, Olga Pederson's nurse, stepped out of the elderly woman's room and smiled when she saw Anabelle approaching. They started for the nurses’ station together.

“Did Dr. Hildebrand ever order the sedative for Mrs. Pederson?” Anabelle asked.

Becky nodded. “I gave it to her a few minutes ago.”

“Good. Hopefully she’ll be able to relax for a while.”

“She has a visitor. Not family, but it's the neighbor who brought her in.”

“Oh, good. Maybe she can fill in some blanks about Olga's history.”

As Anabelle was doing her rounds, Olga stirred when she came into the room but didn't open her eyes. A young woman sitting in the recliner near the bed rose when Anabelle entered. She wore jeans and a fitted print top. “I’m Christina Godwin, Olga's neighbor.”

“Nice to meet you. I was hoping someone could be with her.” They walked out into the hall so as not to disturb Olga.

“I’ve been trying to find out more about her condition; but since I’m not family, no one can tell me anything.” Christina crossed her arms.

“I know. The confidentiality thing can seem frustrating, but it's important. I can tell you that she's stable.”

“I understand. The information on the Internet says atrial fibrillation is pretty serious.”

“If not treated, yes.” Anabelle wrote Christina's name and phone number down as a contact person on her clipboard.

“I called her daughter Carla in Oregon.” Christina glanced into the room. “I thought she should know.”

“I’m glad you did. Olga asked us not to.”

Christina smiled. “I was afraid she’d do something like that. She's so independent. Carla doesn't know if she can get away, but she’ll be calling the hospital to get a report.”

Anabelle made a note about Carla on her sheet. “I understand Olga lives alone. Does she take care of the house by herself?”

“She does,” Christina said. “I swear she has more energy than I do. She gardens and I have never seen anyone over there helping her. Well, except for my husband and me. We’ve sort of adopted her as grandma. She even came over to help me clean after my baby was born.” Christina laughed. “Not only that, Olga is active in church, she knits and crochets. Seems like she's always busy. She knit the cutest sweater for my little guy for Christmas this year.”

Anabelle chuckled. “She told me she likes staying busy. Looks like she meant it.”

Christina frowned. “It would be really hard on her to have to give up her home.”

Anabelle sighed. “Like I told her, there's no reason to think she’ll have to leave her home. There are ways to get around that.”

“I’ve told her she should think about moving out to her daughter's place, but she's so stubborn.” Christina turned to look at her friend. “The thing is, I think she really wants to be closer to her family. You should see how excited she is when she goes to visit.”

“It's hard to have family living so far away.” Anabelle was thankful her children lived in town. Her pager vibrated. “That's Carla now. If you’ll excuse me.”

“Oh, right.” Christina grinned. “I need to go anyway. Thanks.”

“Thank you for being such a good friend to her.” Anabelle ducked into her office to take the call. “Anabelle Scott speaking.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” The woman sounded agitated.

“You must be Carla.” Anabelle settled into her chair. “How can I help you?”

“The operator put me through to Mama's room, but no one answered.”

“I’m sorry. The ringer must be off. She's asleep right now, but I’ll make sure she gets the message that you called.”

“Thank you. When I called back, someone said I should talk to you. Is Mama—I mean do you think I should fly out there?”

Anabelle hesitated. She wanted to say, “Yes, you should. She needs her family right now.” But it wasn't her place. Instead she said, “Your mother seems to be stable right now. Her doctor plans to run some tests to determine what the next steps will be.”

“What's her prognosis?”

“Carla, I feel really terrible about this, but your mother doesn't want us to release information.”

“But I’m her daughter.”

“I know.” Anabelle sighed. “But we have to respect a patient's wishes. Did Christina tell you what your mother was admitted for?”

“Yes, atrial fibrillation.”

“Good. Here's what I’d like you to do. Go online to a reputable site like the Mayo Clinic and read about the condition. That might help you determine what to do.”

“Thanks, Anabelle. I will. Tell my mother that we love her and are praying for her.”

“I’ll do that.” Anabelle hung up feeling frustrated. She’d like to call Carla back and encourage her to come.

Anabelle then called the recovery room to get the status on Dillon Blake, the patient who’d had the open-heart surgery that morning. “He's doing great,” the recovery nurse reported. “We’re sending him up to you in a few minutes.”

“Thanks.” She whispered a brief prayer for him. Mr. Blake would be in the room across from Dr. Hamilton. Anabelle wondered how Mr. Blake would react when he discovered his doctor had suffered a heart attack—during surgery.

The rest of their patients were doing well. Two would be going home tomorrow. She visited them, answering any questions or concerns they had. Anabelle always made it a point to check on all of the Cardiac Care Unit's patients at least twice a day. She felt they appreciated the extra attention and having a supervisor caring about them made them feel like a priority and well cared for. Plus, it helped her discover staff problems as well as being able to give compliments to nurses and aides who made that little extra effort to comfort their patients.

She stayed through the shift change and report, adding comments as necessary, and then headed back to her office. Ordinarily she’d be going home about now, but she needed to catch up on some extra paperwork from the weekend.

Before tackling her stack of files, she paused to look out the window. Dark, metal-gray clouds covered a distant sky and the darkness swept to the ground. The rain had let up some, softer now than this morning. But a nasty-looking storm appeared to be headed their way.

She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and called Cameron to tell him about Dr. Hamilton and her workday. “Looks like I’ll be staying at the hospital until around five.”

“I’ll put potatoes in the oven then go to work grilling the salmon,” he said. “Be careful. Weather forecast is predicting tornadoes across our area later tonight.”

Anabelle looked out the window again as a pang of anxiety struck her. Tornado warnings would put anyone on edge.

She’d just ended the call when she heard a tap on her door. “Come in.”

The door opened and Winona Stouffer poked her head in. “Got a minute?”

“For you? Certainly.” Winona was one of her favorite nurses. She stood all of four foot ten and usually wore colorful scrubs. Today, she had on a pink and black set with a Betty Boop theme. In fact, the black-haired cartoon character reminded Anabelle of Winona. Cameron jokingly called Winona an attitude in a small package.

“I like your top.”

“Thanks. Got it on clearance for three bucks.” Winona perched her hip on Anabelle's desk.

“Did you need something or did you just want to visit?”

Winona grinned. “Would that we had time to just visit. Actually, I have two things on my agenda. First, since school is about ready to start, we need to have a meeting of the Bike Smarts committee to decide who's going to present the programs and when.”

Winona and Anabelle both served on the committee geared toward helping kids and adults stay safe when riding their bikes. After Kirstie's accident, Anabelle had been instrumental in beginning a bike safety program called I’ve Got Bike Smarts. The program was established with a grant from the town council that the entire community contributed to. Thanks to them, the program reached every child in the fourth grade in the district's four elementary schools, and each child received a bike helmet. Anabelle still served as an adviser, program presenter and member of the committee.

Anabelle nodded. “I can't believe summer is almost over.”

“Tell me about it. I’m taking the kids out to buy school supplies this weekend.” Winona shuddered. “There goes the budget.”

Anabelle nodded. “How well I remember.” She would need to shop for supplies as well. Her and Cameron's church, Church of the Good Shepherd, had a program for which parishioners either donated supplies or money to help parents and kids who couldn't afford them. “When are you thinking we should meet?”

“How about Wednesday night at your place?”

“I could do that.” Anabelle picked up a pen and jotted a reminder on her calendar.

She sighed. “Good, now for the tough one.”

Anabelle raised an eyebrow. “Tough one? Uh-oh, something tells me this isn't good.”

“It isn’t. You know the new aide we hired last month?”

“Seri?”

Winona folded her arms. “That's the one. She seems very sweet and is nice to the patients; but according to Michelle, Seri isn't getting her work done. The girls from evening shift are complaining about the work your day girls are leaving. Personally, I think she's more interested in socializing than working.”

Anabelle pinched her lips together. “Thanks for telling me. She's been fine with me.”

“Me too, but we’re her superiors.”

“True, but I’d like to give her a chance.” She recalled Seri's comment about Dr. Hamilton and added, “She seems intuitive and caring. I’ll keep an eye on her and talk with her in the next few days.”

“Okay.” She set her hands on her knees and pushed herself away from the desk. She grinned and gave Anabelle a little wave. “I better get back to work before the others decide I’m shirking my responsibilities.”

When Winona had gone, Anabelle jotted a note about talking to Seri on her to-do list. “Just what I need.”

Truth be told, Anabelle had suspected she might have some trouble with Seri, but she saw promise there as well. Maybe the girl just needed a firm hand. After a thoughtful moment or two, Anabelle pulled the top memo from her stack and got to work.