“You’re like your grandma, always thinking you know better.” Caroline’s voice lost all pretense of warmth. “Ungrateful bitch.” She hung up.
The last words should have stung like a slap in the face, but they buzzed right past Lena. She could see now where they came from, and she wouldn’t be sucked into her mother’s spiral of anger again. Sadness had replaced the hurt and anger, and that was something she could deal with. Her problem with her mother was far from over, but at least she was on the right path to begin healing.
Jess ripped off the sterile paper gown together with her gloves and threw everything in the trash. She listened for a moment as the resident explained everything they’d done to the patient. This new guy, Marc, had a decent enough bedside manner, even if he talked too much for her taste. Especially in the middle of the night.
Jess exchanged an amused gaze with Kayla at Marc’s promise to personally escort the patient to his room.
“Are you heading home?” Kayla yawned.
Jess glanced at the wall clock. It would be reasonable to head to her condo and try to grab another two hours of sleep. She shrugged. “Nah. I’m wide awake. I caught a good six hours before the call came because Ella’s staying with my mom. A shower, some coffee, and I’m good to go.” She could get some tedious paperwork done so she could be out of here on time this afternoon. “Do you want to join me for a coffee?”
Kayla shook her head, grinning. “I’ll finish the clean up, and then I’m heading to bed in the on-call room. I’ve got a date later.”
“Congratulations. Do I know them?” Jess opened her lead apron and leaned against the door frame. Kayla was famous for falling in love with colleagues in the blink of an eye.
“No. She’s got nothing to do with medicine. She’s a cop.” Kayla’s smiled was dreamy. “But it’s the first date. Too soon to tell anything.”
“Okay. Have fun.” Jess waved goodbye.
On her way to the locker room, she detoured to the emergency department to see if she would be needed again anytime soon. Diana sat at the nurses’ station, rapidly typing something on the computer. Her head bobbed in rhythm to a song only she could hear.
Jess leaned on the other side of the counter and waited until she finished typing. “Hi, did you catch any more cardiology cases tonight?”
With a grin, Diana looked up. “Not yet. Let me save my report, and I’ll check if anyone else has a patient for you.” She clicked a few times with her mouse as her eyes moved over the monitor. Finally, she gave her a thumbs-up. “All clear. Are you going home now?”
“It’s not worth it. I’ll get some coffee and power through.”
“Do you want to run over to the coffee shop? I could use some too.”
“Sure.” Jess waited while Diana told one of her colleagues where she was going.
The woman’s gaze followed them through the doors to the main hall. Jess snorted. “Wasn’t that the resident who almost fell over her feet after I had Ella?”
Grinning, Diana held open the door to the coffee shop. “Yeah, Courtney. I’d guess she’s starting another rumor as we speak.”
“Oh, we’re having an affair now? Does Emily know?” Jess laughed. It was great to joke around with a friend. Her human interactions recently had been either strictly professional at work or laced with tension at home.
“She’ll find out soon enough.” Diana winked, then addressed the guy at the counter, who seemed barely old enough to be working the night shift. “Morning, Kevin. Flat white, please.”
The guy grunted and looked expectantly at Jess.
“For me too. And a bottle of water.” A double shot of espresso sounded like exactly what she needed right now. Technically, it wouldn’t break the one-cup-a-day rule she’d inflicted on herself. She reached into her scrub pockets for her wallet, but Diana was quicker and waved her off.
“You can pay next time.” Diana looked from her to the empty coffee shop. “Is it okay if we sit here for a while? I’m not in the mood to chat with Courtney tonight.”
Jess nodded, and they sat in a pair of overstuffed armchairs at the end of the shop. Quiet music was playing, something with a lot of guitars she didn’t recognize, and the light wasn’t too bright. Not too bad for a hospital in the middle of the night. She opened her water and drained it in one go.
When the guy brought their coffees to the table, Diana thanked him. “Cool music.” She bumped his fist when he held it out to her, and he left again.
“Not very talkative?” Jess sipped her coffee and moaned. Still too hot but exactly what she needed.
“Shy. At least he has a good taste in music. He reminds me of my youngest brother when he was that age. Now James is married to a super extroverted woman and has three kids. Never a quiet moment in his house, but he loves it.”
“Three kids!” Jess nearly spewed out her coffee. “How can you balance work with three kids?
“He’s in IT and works from home. For a time, he barely worked. Now that the kids are all in school, he’s taking on more projects. And three kids isn’t too bad. I grew up with five brothers.”
“Five!” The thought alone robbed Jess of all energy. “How did your parents manage?”
“They had a traditional work distribution. My mom stayed at home for fifteen years and worked part time in my father’s family practice afterward. I guess she considered medicine more as a hobby and being a mother as her main profession.”
Jess stirred her coffee to cool
