On Opposite Sides

by Walters, Janet Lane;

  After Sandra left, Jenessa closed the folder. The receptionist vanished through a door behind her desk. Jenessa tucked the folder under her arm. As she quietly exited the office, she prayed Sandra wouldn’t return.

  When she reached her car, she sat for a few minutes. Eric had to hear about this latest event. Maybe she should head to the hospital, but if she did, how could she be sure their meeting would be secret? She’d bring the folder down when she came for dinner. Even if her fellow committee members would be skeptical, she knew Eric would believe her tale.

  *****

  The excited voices of the four other women who planned to walk the lines with Jenessa rolled down the apartment hall. She sat on the edge of her bed and pulled on a pair of black leather boots that ended just below her knees. She rose and smoothed the forest green velvet tunic over her hips. As she strode into the living room, her long braid slapped against her back.

  At her entrance, Simone laughed. “Lordy, Jenessa, give you a bow and arrows and you’d pass for Robin Hood.”

  “Isn’t that the idea. We are fighting the evil and devious president of the Board.”

  Dru chuckled. “I don’t think he’ll be amused.”

  Jenessa reached for the top sign on the coffee table. “I can’t believe we managed to keep our outing from being a major item of gossip.”

  Megan grinned. “Who said nurses can’t keep secrets and that gossip rules the hospital.” She picked up the second sign. “Board Refuses To Talk. I’ll take this one.”

  “Six Months No Contract,” Nan said. “Not my choice of language, but we must act like ladies.”

  “Girls,” Simone said. “Like those little girls. Isn’t that how Bishop constantly refers to us?”

  “Who think they run the hospital.” Dru followed Jenessa to the door.

  Jenessa waited in the hall. “Remember, just answer questions. If there are any agitators, ignore them. We’re doing this to gain supporters, not to alienate people.” Feeling both excited and a little anxious, she headed for the stairs. Eric had approved of the letter to the Labor Board and the ad in the newspaper. What would he think about pickets?

  “My neighbor, Marc, and a photographer from the News will be here around six,” Dru said. “He wants to interview us and take our pictures.”

  “Will they print the story?” Nan asked.

  “I hope so. He said he had an alternate plan.”

  Jenessa frowned. “He’s not staging a riot or anything like that, is he?”

  Dru shook her head. “He said the minute Bishop learns what we’re doing, there’ll be some kind of action. He mentioned that he would call him.”

  Jenessa pushed open the lobby doors. “Let’s go for it, guys. Remember, don’t block the sidewalks or the entrance to the Emergency Room. Don’t argue. Answer questions with facts.” Holding her sign high, she led the way across the street.

  Chapter 8

  Jenessa stood on the narrow band of brown grass between the sidewalk and the curb. A chill in the air made her wish she’d worn a jacket like her fellow marchers, but that would have spoiled the effect of her outfit. She gestured to Dru. Her friend shrugged.

  So much for publicity, Jenessa thought. Not that the signs weren’t gaining attention. Many of the arriving visitors had stopped to offer support or to ask questions, but the reporter and the photographer from the News hadn’t arrived. The union needed to publicize the issue because they needed the average person to be aware of the problem. To every questioner, she had urged a call to their town councilman. Though the Board made all the decisions about the hospital, the council appointed the Board members. She made a face. Even with the council, Bishop seemed to have a strangle hold.

  What had gone wrong? Had one of the group let a hint of the plans to picket the hospital escape? Had Bishop pressured the News and ordered the paper to ignore the story? She hoisted her sign and joined the parade.

  “Read your piece in the paper.” An elderly woman stopped beside Jenessa. “It’s a crying shame what they’re doing to the nurses. You’ve all been wonderful to my husband. You deserve to get everything you ask for.”

  “Thanks,” Jenessa said. “Would you pass the word along to your councilman?”

  The woman snorted. “A lot of good that would do. He doesn’t listen.”

  A burly man started up the walk to the main entrance of the hospital. Halfway along, he turned and stomped toward Jenessa. She braced for an angry tirade.

  “I’m a union man myself,” he said. “Why don’t you just walk out?”

  “Because we care about the patients. We don’t want to abandon them to unskilled caretakers.”

  “Honey, you can’t look at things that way. You complained to the Labor Board yet? Six months without talks ain’t good.”

  “Our lawyer sent a letter, but you know bureaucracy.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, forever and a day.” He patted her shoulder. “Way I see it, ain’t right the way the Board’s acting. You’ve my support and when you hit the picket lines for real, me and some of my buddies will be walking beside you.” He waved and walked away.

  Though the offer of support pleased Jenessa, she hated to think of the day when she and her co-workers stood outside the hospital instead of at the bedside. How many patients would suffer from a disruption in their care? Even if -- X-tra Hands! That was why Sandra had visited the staffing agency. For nurses in case there was a strike. But the vote had failed so what other event was about to erupt?

  “Jen, over here,” Dru called.

  “I’m on my way.” Jenessa stepped from the curb and walked down the street to where her friend stood. “What’s happening?”

  “Jen, Marc Jones, my neighbor.” Dru smiled. “Jenessa heads the negotiating team for the union. Marc wants to interview you while the photographer takes some shots of the rest of us.”

  The slender man shook Jenessa’s hand. “Pleased to meet you. Hope you don’t mind if I tape this. I strive for accuracy.” He held out a small tape recorder.

  “I’ve nothing to hide.” Jenessa leaned her sign against the light pole. “What would you like to know?”

  By the time she finished answering his questions, Dru and the photographer called her over for some group shots using the hospital as a background.

  “Just what is the meaning of this?” Bishop’s gravely voice sounded behind Jenessa.

  She turned and nearly clipped him with her sign. “Informational picketing to inform the public of the need for a contract.”

  He pulled a cigar from his pocket. “You little girls think you’re cute. This kind of nonsense won’t plant you any friends, but you’re going to reap a crop of enemies.”

  “Are you sure of that?” She lowered her sign to the ground. “Everyone I’ve talked to seems to be in sympathy with our cause.”

  He turned away. “Jones, does Grayson know you’re here? Get ready for a long vacation and the unemployment line. This story won’t make the News.” A flash flared. Bishop grabbed the strap of the photographer’s camera case. “You can dump that film in the trash.”

  The photographer pulled away. “Actually, Jones and I are working freelance tonight. City papers’ll give us a full page spread.”

  “You have no right to be here.” Bishop said.

  “Wrong.” Jenessa grabbed her sign. “We’re on public property.” The light from the flash brought tears to her eyes.

  Marc Jones thrust his tape recorder at the Board president. “Mr. Bishop, what do you think of the nurses’ quest for a contract? Is it true that you’re behind the Board’s refusal to hold talks?”

  Bishop clamped his lips together. He pushed between Jenessa and the photographer. Once he reached the walk, he turned. “Take your parade elsewhere or you’ll be cleared away.”

  “Public property,” Jenessa called.

  “We’ll see about that.” He lumbered into the hospital.

  *****

  At six thirty, Eric closed the top drawer of his desk. He rose and st
retched. Rather than sitting at home and anticipating the evening with Jenessa, he had stayed to complete grant proposals for two innovative programs he wanted to establish at Eastlake. For a moment, he thought about Bishop’s threat to fire him. Even if the vote failed, and with financial backing available, would the Board approve any changes?

  He grabbed his jacket from the coat tree and headed down the hall. When he heard a voice shouting in a high pitched tone, he halted at the door to the main room of the Nursing Office.

  “You’d better come right now.” Mrs. Rodgers shouted into the phone. “You told me to call you if there was a problem. Jenessa Robertson and her cronies are picketing. They’re stopping visitors. Someone from the News is there...How would I know what they’re saying?…He just arrived and I hear he’s livid.” She turned. Her eyes widened. “Look, I’ve got to go.”

  “What was that all about?” Eric asked.

  “It’s...that Jenessa Robertson. She’s always pushing and stirring trouble. Sandra told me to call her when anything out of the ordinary happens around here. Pickets certainly qualify.”

  “Why didn’t you let me know there was a problem?”

  She shuffled papers on the desk. “I...I didn’t know you were still here.”

  “You have my beeper number.” He crossed his arms on his chest.

  “I thought they had to give the hospital ten days notice before they go on strike.”

  “Are the nurses on strike?”

  “Why else would they picket?”

  He inhaled and added her name to the list of administrative personnel he’d like to replace. “There are a number of reasons. Let’s examine this so-called strike. Is there a high absentee rate on evenings?” She shook her head. “What about sick calls for nights?” Again she shook her head. “Have you or one of the other supervisors investigated the situation?”

  “We...at least, I have enough routine problems to last until eleven.”

  “Then I’ll check.” He walked to the door. “In the future, notify me, not Ms. Wallace when a situation warrants a phone call.”

  While he rode the elevator to the ground floor, he shook his head. This move by the nurses when added to the ad in the paper was bound to create interest in their cause and to antagonize Bishop.

  The moment the elevator door opened, he heard the Board president’s rasping voice. “What do you mean you can’t stop them? They’re parading up and down like clowns shilling a circus.”

  The evening chief of Security stood with his hands on his hips. “Sorry, sir. They’re not blocking the entrances. Yours is the first complaint I’ve had.”

  “And it’ll be the last. I’ll have your job. Get the rest of the guards and clear that bunch of clowns away.”

  “I can’t do that, sir. It’s against the Constitution. The people have the right --”

  “Wrong. You some kind of lawyer?” Bishop chomped on his cigar.

  “Not yet. Just finishing my last year of law school.”

  Eric approached the pair. “Is there a problem, Mr. Bishop?”

  The Board president gestured toward the glass doors. “Is this the way you control your staff? Cackling hens gabbling about their rights. Don’t just stand there. Fire them.”

  “For what cause?” Eric asked.

  “Can’t you see what they’re doing? Get out there and terminate them.”

  “They’d sue the hospital and win.” Eric watched the five women parade along the grass between the sidewalk and the street. “They aren’t on duty. They’re not harming the patients. You might consider allowing the Board to meet with them.”

  The older man’s face turned a dark red. “There’s a reporter and a photographer enjoying the spectacle. They’ve threatened to peddle the story to the world. If you know what’s good for your career, you’ll go out there and get rid of them.”

  “They have the right to peaceful assembly,” Eric said.

  “Peaceful. They’re fomenting a revolution.” Bishop pushed past Eric and entered the switchboard room.

  The evening Security supervisor looked at Eric and shook his head. “That man’s going to have a stroke. It’s not good for someone to get so riled.”

  Eric nodded. “Guess I’d better go out and start a dialogue.”

  *****

  Jenessa gripped her sign. The urge to use it as a weapon grew stronger. She inhaled and tried to concentrate on making sense of the councilman’s angry tirade.

  “What right do you have to question the Board’s decisions? If Jim says there’s no need for a new contract, he’s right.”

  Knowing the man was a local contractor helped her choose her words. “Is this the way you treat the plumbers, carpenters and electricians who work for you?”

  “That’s different. They’ve got a contract.”

  “So do we.”

  “You’re women. Can’t you be content to work the way women have worked for centuries? First the teachers, now the nurses. You’ll all be married some day and your husbands will take care of you.”

  Jenessa nearly choked. This man existed deeper in the dark ages than Bishop. “And if a woman’s not married or if the husband’s absent from the picture, what then?”

  He stepped back. “You’ve got good, steady jobs here and excellent benefits. If you don’t like what you’re getting here, go somewhere else.”

  “We can and will. Then who’ll take care of the patients?”

  Without answering, he strode away. Jenessa watched him. As he entered the hospital, Eric left. She gulped a breath.

  He sauntered toward her. “Nice sign.” His gaze traveled from her face to her feet. “Nice outfit. No wonder Bishop believes you’re fomenting a rebellion.” He grinned. “Guess this is my surprise. I would have liked a party better.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “A party? Why?”

  Megan waved her sigh. Jenessa ducked to avoid being sideswiped. “His birthday. He’s a Libra.”

  “When?” Jenessa asked.

  “I’m not telling.”

  “I’d like to know.” She rested her sign on the ground.

  “I’ll ask Sam,” Simone said. “Did you see Bishop?”

  Eric nodded. “He’s furious. Wanted Security to remove you, and for me to terminate everyone.”

  Nan dropped her sign. “Go ahead. We’d end up owning the hospital.”

  “I told him that,” Eric said. “Are you sure this kind of picketing is the way to go?”

  “There’s --” Megan began.

  Jenessa elbowed her roommate. “We’re gaining public support. That’s one way to beat him.”

  “I don’t think he cares what other people think.” Eric put his hand on her arm. “The man has an agenda and he’s not going to change it.”

  Megan laughed. “Bishop’s a Taurus. He’ll go through an obstacle, but never around or over it.” She walked away and the other three followed.

  Jenessa met Eric’s gaze. “Are you going to hurt your career by being nice to us?”

  “He’s already threatened to fire me.” Eric stepped from the curb. “I’ll resign before that happens.”

  “You...” She bit her lower lip. She had no right to challenge his decisions.

  “See you at seven thirty.” He waved and crossed the street.

  Jenessa returned to her place in the line of parading women. He wants to leave Eastlake. A protest built inside. The hospital was her refuge. She didn’t want him to leave, but she couldn’t force him to stay. She’d tried to force Chuck into a decision that had been wrong for him. In doing that, she had lost his love and he’d lost his life.

  As she watched Eric enter the apartment building, she realized how deeply she cared for him. More than cared, she thought. If she wasn’t in love, she hovered on the rim of that inferno.

  What am I going to do? She inhaled. He’d never expressed the kind of interest that made her believe he wanted more than an affair.

  The blare of sirens startled her. The wails increased in intensity. A pair of patr
ol cars with lights flashing pulled up to the curb. The Board president lumbered down the walk.

  “Where’s the reporter when we need him?” Simone asked.

  “The photographer would be better,” Megan said.

  “Will they let my children visit me in jail?” Dru asked.

  “Just give them name, rank and social security number,” Nan said.

  Jenessa shook her head. “They can’t arrest us. We’re not breaking the law.” She strode to the driveway where the officers were talking to Bishop.

  “Remove these women,” Bishop ordered.

  One of the officers raised an eyebrow and nodded to Jenessa. “They’re not on private property. They aren’t blocking access to the hospital. There’s not much I can do.”

  “They’re conducting themselves in an orderly fashion,” the second officer said. “We could consider your call a false alarm.”

  “I’ll have your jobs.” Bishop’s voice became a roar. “Give me the chief’s home number.”

  “I can’t do that. The situation here doesn’t look like an emergency or a disaster.” The first officer waved Jenessa away. She retreated several feet. “I realize you wield a lot of power in Eastlake, but I have no reason to make an arrest.”

  “Fools.” Bishop turned and advanced on Jenessa. The glower in his eyes made her want to back away, but she remained in place. He raised a fist. She braced for the blow.

  “I wouldn’t do that, sir,” the officer said. “It would be assault and I’d have to make an arrest -- you.”

  The Board president stalked off. He stopped at the edge of the walk. “You might think you hold the highest hand in the game, but all the cards haven’t been dealt. And Jenessa, you won’t be playing cozy with Eric for much longer.”