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“Morning.” Lucy said to Carter after she entered the lounge and started to head toward the coffee maker. She grabbed two cups, one for him and one for her, before she remembered their deal: pretend like nothing happened, even though Chuny had already spread the news of their X-ray room rendezvous all over the ER. So instead, she subtly glanced at his neck.
“It’s not as visible today,” she noted. “Did you take my suggestion and get concealer?”
“No, sorry. You were right: I’m not in touch with my feminine side. Did you tell Dale yet?”
“Nope. He’s off today and we’re not really spending that many nights together. I told you; things aren’t that serious between us. We’re just having fun. Did Roxanne pick up on anything? Or did you tell her outright?”
“I told her about how you kicked me and stitched me up afterward but left out all the other details. She doesn’t suspect a thing. I’m lying by omission, though. I should tell her, right?”
“Carter, we made a deal. It would make any woman mad enough that you and I messed around while you were in a relationship with her, but if she found out that you came close to making out with your med student, that would be the end of things for sure. Don’t risk your relationship on me making a bad move.”
When they left the lounge, they headed to the front desk, where Jerry immediately noticed them. “Wow, Carter,” he said. “I heard about what happened after you got kicked in the chest. Sounds like Lucy has some good healing powers, huh?” He winked.
“What are you even talking about?” Carter asked.
“I always just assume that if it comes from Chuny, it’s the truth.”
“Then I highly suggest you stop trusting the nurse’s gossip mill as your source of information about your coworkers’ personal lives. Listen, nothing happened in that room. Lucy just wanted to make sure I had a quiet space to recover and some privacy because she and I were both embarrassed about what happened. Nothing more.”
Haleh raised her eyebrows at overhearing the conversation, indicating that she was all in on the latest gossip.
“Carter’s right, everybody.” Lucy chimed in. “Whatever you heard isn’t true. I was stitching his head up and I leaned in to make sure my stitches were precise. I’ve been practicing them but it’s not one of my stronger suits, and I’ll be working more with sutures on my surgical rotation. So, I was just double-checking my work and making sure the cut was cleaned out properly too.”
“Those must have been some sutures,” Haleh said sarcastically. “I heard you were practically on top of him on the floor.”
Just then, a familiar voice barked, “OK everyone, let’s get back to work.” Much to Lucy’s relief, Kerry came over to the front desk looking like she had only had a few hours of sleep, and thus was not in the mood to hear work gossip. “And by the way, whoever it was from this department that seemed to be doing…extracurricular activities somewhere in the hospital, I’d like to issue a reminder that such activities are not appropriate at work. You all have bedrooms. Use them.”
With that, Lucy quickly walked away and headed off to the surgical floor to report for rounds.
“I heard I missed a lot of excitement overnight,” Lucy told Elizabeth, happy to be free of the ER gossip and speculation about her and Carter. “Big mass casualty event, right?”
“Yep,” Elizabeth replied. “School bus crash. It was a long night of surgeries and backed up ORs, but we pulled through, although one had to be transferred to Mercy where they had more surgeons available. Does hearing about that make you want to do surgery more or has it scared you away?”
“I’m still deciding, honestly. I’m doing a psychiatry rotation before the end of the semester that I’m pretty excited for. I loved psychology in undergrad, which I know that’s not the same thing, but I love hearing about how the human mind works and I’m looking forward to not having to do IVs or blood draws or that kind of thing.”
“You still have time. So, how was the ER yesterday?” At the moment, it didn’t appear that Elizabeth had heard any of the gossip.
“Oh, it was interesting. I had this patient who got kicked in the face during a Tae Bo class, so now I’m going to start taking classes before I come in, I think. But when I was doing a demo, I accidentally kicked Carter and broke the glass on the door to Exam 2.”
“So that’s why there’s a big wooden board there. I noticed, but in the chaos of the trauma, nobody was really thinking about it, I’m sure. Is Carter OK?”
“He’s fine. Just a hairline fracture of the rib and a small cut on his forehead that I had to suture. He was such a baby; it was almost adorable. I can’t believe how we gave each other such a hard time and after all that, he let me take care of him.” Lucy stopped. She realized if she wasn’t careful that Elizabeth would know something was up.
“Uh, question for you,” she continued. “Out of curiosity, how do you feel about workplace dating? I have this friend who’s doing her rotations at UIC Medical Center and she has a crush on one of her residents. Not her supervising resident, of course. But there’s a lot of power dynamics at play, don’t you think? She asked me if I think it’s a good idea for her to go on a date with him.”
“She’s a student? Then she may want to avoid going out with a resident. I mean, I was dating Peter for a time, and at first I wasn’t sure if I should be dating someone at work. However, this was long before I ever thought I’d have to be an intern again. If I thought I had a crush on him today, I don’t think I’d ask him out, even though he’s not my boss.”
“But you had fun, right?”
Elizabeth smiled. “Yes. We did. I like to think I got him to loosen up a bit. You know how Peter is. Very focused and serious, and although he’s softening up now that he has a son, not much has changed about the way he works. I’m glad we were able to enjoy each other’s company and make some memories. I’m not in a relationship right now, though, so maybe I’m not the best to advise you on your friend’s scenario.”
“Thanks for your help. I think I’ll tell her to make sure there’s no chance he’ll supervise her in the future and that she won’t be too embarrassed to be around him if something goes wrong on the date. You didn’t feel weird at work when you and Peter broke up, or did you?”
“If I did, there was no time to worry about it. We still had to work together, and we couldn’t act like children or bring drama into the OR. We respect each other too much. And since you and your friend are students, you have to remember you’re here to learn, not find dates.”
“Good advice. Thanks.”
“Lucy, are you sure everything’s all right?” Elizabeth asked. “I notice you seem flustered at times around residents and other experienced staff. If someone’s intimidating you, you have to stand up for yourself or at least talk to them. Remember what I told you on your first day: you’re not anybody’s slave. You may have to do some scut work, but make sure you’re getting experience treating patients and honing your skills.”
“Everything’s fine.” Lucy quickly replied. “I just may have embarrassed myself a bit yesterday. It’s so weird because Carter and I never really got along until close to the end of my ER rotation, before I was supposed to go home for Christmas break. I mean, I always thought he was kind of cute and I had a bit of a secret crush on him. I must have told the wrong person, though, because everyone’s talking about it and it’s super awkward.”
“Oh, well you do have to be careful what you say around here. Sounds like a painful lesson to learn.”
“For sure. I guess I got a little too comfortable with everyone. And other than the crush, there’s nothing going on between me and Carter. He has a girlfriend and I’m not the type to break up relationships, even casual ones. I know if a guy is taken, then any kind of hookup or date is off the table.
“Look, I wasn’t really asking that question for my friend. It was about me; I just embellished some of the details because technically, Carter isn’t supervising me right now.”
“He didn’t ask you out, right? And nothing else funny has happened?”
“Nope. He actually said he was flattered to hear the gossip but that since I’m a student and he’s a resident, we can’t do this. It has to remain a crush. I told him I know.”
“Then as long as you’re aware, I say there’s nothing wrong with butterflies and longing. Just because you can’t have it doesn’t mean you can’t also wonder what if. We only live once, right?” Elizabeth winked. “And don’t worry,” she added. “I won’t tell anyone, even if Shirley also loves getting a good scoop every so often.”
“Thanks again for all your help.”
At the end of her shift, Lucy headed back down to the ER, where, coincidentally, Carter was also getting ready to leave.
“I thought you were supposed to be on a double,” she said. “Change of plans?”
“Sort of. I’m still kind of sore, so I let Mark know and initially just said I needed to take a break for some ice and then I’d get back in the swing of things, but we’re quiet enough that he said I could just go home. I think he’s still getting over Doug quitting on the spot and the fiasco of yesterday, to be honest, so he sounded pretty indifferent. The good thing is, since he was helping with the fallout from that, he has no idea what went on in the X-ray room.”
“Phew. I have to admit, I almost outed us to Dr. Corday.”
“Really? What did you end up saying?”
“I pretended I was getting advice for a friend who was doing a rotation at a different hospital, and then I just admitted I had a crush on you and you happened to find out from the nurses’ gossip club. She has no idea we kind of…you know…”
“Kind of? I mean, you did start it.”
Lucy opened her mouth to object, but then realized Carter was right. “Yeah…I did. I kissed you on the forehead, and I felt kind of stupid for even doing that. I mean, I’m still a woman in my 20s; of course I’m going to give into temptation every so often. Forbidden romance is kind of a thing for me now, especially after watching Titanic.” She put a hand to her face and noticed it felt warm. “I’m blushing, aren’t I?”
“Mmmhmmm.”
“You know…we ended up not going anywhere last night, unless you count each of us going home after work. I feel like re-extending the invitation. Do you want to get dinner? I mean, as friends or as a student and teacher in a totally neutral setting.”
“You mean a date?”
“OK fine. Yes, I guess that’s what I’m referring to when I say we could have dinner together.”
“Cool. Good to see you stop pretending.” Carter put on his coat and closed his locker. “My suggestion is, though, let’s not go to Doc Magoo’s. If we run into anyone from work, the rumors will start all over again. We need to get a little further away from here.”
“Which rules out the diner near the dorm and anything near Kerry’s house.”
“Yeah, that’s a problem. Um, my grandmother’s been begging me to come over for dinner and wants to know what it’s like for me to be a teacher. You could come back to my place and I could call her and see if she’s home before we go to her house.”
“Oh, not your grandmother. She’ll probably worry that we’re dating. You said she’s one of those high-society, uptight types, right?”
“The type? She’s the definition.”
They looked at each other and shook their heads before bursting into laughter.
“I don’t know if there’s anywhere we can go with total privacy that will shut down gossip,” Lucy said. “We’ve already ruled out four possible locations.”
“We can always go for Greek food. I know it’s not the most romantic choice, but it’s a 20-minute drive from here. No one is going to be making that kind of trip to fuel up during the night shift. And on the off chance we do see anyone from work, I’ll say I’m giving you pointers on choosing rotations for your fourth year.”
“I think that’s a good plan. Thanks for helping me keep the charade going.”
“Of course. See, am I so bad after all? Just admit it, I'm a better catch than Dale Edson.”
“You’re both way too fascinated by my ass, though.”
“OK, fine; I’m a typical man and got caught up in my curiosity. That won’t happen again; I think that’s part of what started this whole thing, meaning I am more responsible than I realized and I guess I can’t pin the whole thing on you.”
“And now you’re going to dinner with me. Wait…who’s driving?”
“I will.” Carter held up his keys. “Do you need to take your car back to the dorm first?”
“Oh, I took the El today because of the roads and everything. I don’t like driving in the snow if I can avoid it.”
Once they were settled into Carter’s Jeep, they breathed a sigh of relief and started giggling. Then, Lucy reached for his hand.
“I’m glad we don’t have to pretend anymore today,” she told him. “That was exhausting. I know we still need to be careful, but let’s just be our goofy, flirty selves for the rest of the night. And not go home together, of course.”
“Let’s do it.”