Only Two Of Us

by Cassandra Russell

  even discreet charm. It was not surprising that he could arrange a

  fast.

  "Married a second time?" It's so new! I said a little.

  - And I'm. Only the first time, it was a hell of a lot. Teenage engravement and my parents

  practically forced me to marry him. As if this could work ... "She laughed. - Also

  I'm not married to the current one on paper, you know?

  "At least now you look happy," I guessed.

  "Yes, it is not easy to find someone willing to share the responsibility of a child who

  less is yours, even more at this age. I think I was very lucky to meet Sergio.

  "I hope they stay that way." I wished with my heart.

  "But then ... Speak, I need to know more about the work." Is the environment legal? I've changed

  subject matter.

  - Yes it is. The staff is very nice. I will introduce you to some people when our shift

  same day. There are only a few more demanding doctors. He frowned.

  "I'm not afraid of being demanded. That would be good. Maybe I can distract the head.

  "Yes, but certain distractions can be fatal near certain people," Iris said in a tone.

  half sarcastic, with no clue who exactly he was talking about.

  ***

  The next day, I arrived at the hospital earlier than the hospital, anxious to demonstrate

  interest and receive instructions from my work.

  Iris waited for me in the main hall and ended up directing me to the correct floor, introducing myself,

  thus, to the head nurse. Then he had to say goodbye quickly so he would not be late for another

  on duty at another time.

  The head nurse was called Dora. An extremely cordial woman of approximately

  fifty years old, very dark-haired and somewhat stocky, pretending to be a very responsible person. She

  knew the hospital well and coordinated the entire selection

  since he had been working there for years.

  - University of Miami ... Your resume is excellent. History of concepts, then ... - praised

  she. "What's your name again?"

  - Stephanie.

  "Stephanie, nice to meet you, my name is Dora," he greeted me. - Welcome to our

  hospital. I hope our coexistence is fruitful from now on.

  "It's all my pleasure, Dora. I also hope to be up to the task. Can you be sure that I'm going?

  I want to do my best, "I promised.

  She smiled, pleased with my enthusiastic response.

  - You will stay here, in the hematology sector, mainly in the hemotherapy center, where the

  patients do punctures, biopsies, chemotherapy, transfusions, among other treatments. The technicians will

  the most specific part. Its function will be to assist the physicians on call in the ambulatory part. Will have

  also some shifts next to internees in this sector, which is located on the second floor.

  From his tone of voice - practically apologizing - I should have understood something

  wrong The function was more for nursing assistant than a graduate position. However,

  what? He needed the job and the salary there was better than the head of the nursing

  River.

  "You've worked with it, have not you?" She asked curiously, evaluating the list of

  completed internships in my curriculum.

  "I think it's the service I've seen and done so far," I said, thinking of the painful part that life

  I preached.

  - Great! Then I'll direct you to the uniforms room; after you do this, stay

  waiting here in the hallway so I can give you the rest of the instructions - recommended.

  It seems like an unfortunate joke - I reflected on the subject as I walked into the locker room

  female. The more I fled from thinking about my father, from the things that made me remember him, the more they

  chasing When I came to São Paulo, I never imagined that I would be in that sector.

  I must be going through some sort of ordeal, it could only be.

  As soon as I had just put on my uniform and covered my hair with a hat, I waited on the spot.

  indicated by Dora, taking the opportunity to take a general look at the environment. The hospital was small but

  very well equipped, organized, and smelled of cleanliness. The stretchers and other equipment

  great conservation, making little difference from the hospital where I took my degree in the United States. That

  left me a little excited, after all I saw in the last hospital I worked in ...

  Well, you could not compare. The level there was different.

  My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden call. It seemed that someone was requesting

  a nurse in the waiting room. I waited for a few minutes and again the call was made.

  I then checked the two sides of the corridor and realized that the sector was empty, there was no one around.

  Thinking it might be something important, I instinctively got up to take a look.

  In front of one of the number five answering rooms stood a tall, handsome,

  extremely aligned. His hair was thick, black and curly, some curls

  behind his thin ears. He was very white too, the kind of guy that would never go unnoticed

  by the streets. He studied the patient's chart with a stern expression, and I almost

  hypnotically, I took a few steps forward to look closely at that man.

  With a long sigh of dismay, the doctor soon noticed my presence and started to speak.

  without even turning to look at me.

  - Nurse, where are the complementary examinations of Mrs. Deise Manzipinni, who are not

  here in the chart?

  Faced with my hesitation in answering his question, he finally turned his face towards me.

  to stare.

  His initial reaction was a little strange.

  First, he glanced briefly at me over his shoulder, as if he were

  bored to have company, quietly returning to the content printed on the paper affixed to his

  clipboard. Then, looking more startled, the man's head turned quickly and he

  watching suspiciously for a few seconds, from top to bottom, stopping for a moment under

  my lips. Automatically franzi, reacting defensively. His eyes were enigmatic,

  deep, in a different blue tone, almost violet.

  Cutting off my initial trance, he tapped his pen on the chart, in an obvious gesture of

  impatience.

  "I'll see what I can do," I said a little dizzily, not daring to say it was new there.

  I looked at the patient's name, the medical record number, and walked toward the

  properly identified by a plaque. Before, I took a look to see if I could find the

  responsible for the sector, a person who apparently was also absent at the time. Being

  So, I started by opening the cabinets, loaded with exams of all kinds, looking for someone who had

  the name of the patient in question.

  As expected, I did not find anything at all. Nor could he be sure that

  these exams would be stored there, after all, besides being a newcomer, they could come straight from some

  laboratory.

  I returned a little ashamed and had to confess that I had not been able to find them.

  "I'm sorry, Doctor. I did not find the exams, but I believe the responsible official ...

  He broke off abruptly, ignoring the rest of the explanation.

  "So, nurse, how can I prescribe anything decent for this patient?" THE

  do not think I have enough work to still have to worry about what's

  your competence? He glared at me.

  Crosses! How could I know? I did not even know him ...

  The fact is that he seemed furious, so much so that it gave me the impression that his irises had darken
ed

  anger. And I, even more perplexed, not only for her overreaction but also for not understanding the way

  as he strangely continued to analyze me. Again, I felt him staring at my mouth,

  probably waiting for some kind of answer to your question or, being cruelly realistic,

  repudiating the hideous look that rested on her.

  "I-I'm sorry, doctor," I said, showing my fear in my voice. - I started this hospital today and still

  they did not give me the proper operating instructions. Who knows...

  He turned his back and walked off at a cadenced pace, not looking back,

  quickly over the counter. He searched the place and came back shaking his head in disapproval. I had to

  I had seen him watching me from the corner of his eye as he made his way to his room,

  but he entered her looking very angry, locking the door after her.

  The patient, small, stared at me without understanding anything. Therefore, I thought it was an obligation

  my reassurance:

  "Please, wait, wait a minute, someone will see you as soon as possible."

  She thanked me with a brief nod and then I sat down again to wait for Dora in the

  Hall.

  Thick! "It was the first word that came to mind. I'm a damn same! Not well

  I arrived and I'm already provoking hatred in others! I must have done something wrong in past lives and

  now I have returned to pay for all my sins at once! And by the way things go, they should

  be many ... But also, what did I have to do there?

  Ah, I remembered: look for trouble! Right on my first day!

  I heard the sound of someone typing the keys of a telephone and grunting. Immediately after, Dora

  appeared carrying a stack of exams in his arms and entered his room. After a few minutes, she

  he returned, pulling me through his lab coat.

  "What were you doing in the answering room?" She asked nervously. "Why did not you wait for me?"

  Where did I ask?

  Oh my God! I just needed to be dismissed for being such an idiot ...

  "Please excuse me, I did not mean it!" Is that he asked for help and I was so close that ... it was ...

  was ... instinctive. "I tried to justify it by measuring the words a little.

  Dora pushed me into a small room and pulled out a chair for me to seat.

  "He really leaves all the nurses here who are first delighted," he warned me.

  she, as if she suspected I'd be interested in him. "Just do not be fooled, Dr. Richard Hacket is

  extremely demanding. In fact, it does not tolerate errors. Likes to do almost everything alone,

  dispensing even the presence of the technicians, only relying on their own methods. Only

  nurses assist him, and even so, those he considers more qualified. Most of them do not

  take the rojão: or ask the accounts or ends up changing schedules.

  No wonder, I thought. If I was not contracted I went and he already treated me like that ... How can

  anyone be "delighted" by this stupid? I'm sure I was a little curious when I got more

  near him, but that was all.

  "Was he very angry?" I asked, worried about my job.

  "Yes, but after some explanation, I think he calmed down." I left your resume in his room.

  to evaluate it later, "he said.

  Who was he to evaluate my resume? The hospital director? Someone influential? Head of

  personal department?

  Maybe it was a little early-or too late-to ask such a question.

  - Do not worry. Sometimes even I, who already know her way, I get angry too. But when

  I think about how many lives you've saved ... I retreat and I'm relieving. He is of extreme competence, comes to

  be too much! Dora sighed. "It's the real driving force of this hospital. I never saw him leave

  to heal whoever it is, it seems unbelievable! Patients who are lucky enough to have him as a doctor

  always come out alive from here.

  "Wow, how lucky they are! I exclaimed, embittering a small internal resentment. It's just me that

  I could not tell if I could get out of here alive, working with him ...

  "Come on, I need to give you some instructions now. That will be true for all the doctors present here.

  Each one of them has its peculiarities, but surely Dr. Richard is the most discerning. So,

  pay close attention because it will be very demanded. You will also be replacing a colleague.

  considered very competent by the team and who was forced to leave for personal reasons.

  "I'll do my best," I said firmly.

  ***

  I spent my first shift trying to write down all the necessary procedures and requirements or

  methodologies of each physician, especially his. I did not want to have to go through this again.

  I learned where the main sectors, the laboratories, the examination rooms, the outpatient clinics were,

  I practically toured the hospital to familiarize myself with the new work environment.

  I noticed that there the materials had good origin and that the professionals lived being

  constantly evaluated, always in favor of a standard of quality of care. Just admitted

  physicians who possessed specialization, and even so, those indicated. At that point, I even had to stay

  happy to be accepted into a role so selected.

  The cafeteria also impressed me. The food looked very varied. Each dish contained until

  even if you specified the number of calories per serving, important detail for those who needed

  do some kind of restrictive diet. At least on my days off, I knew that I could feed myself

  decently.

  I stayed until well after hours and worked so absorbed that I could not even see the time.

  I went into the dressing room and changed my uniform, loosening my hair. It took a little work to have

  They were in a very reasonable length, close to the waist. That done, I returned to the

  with my notes in my hands and I read each one of them while waiting for the

  elevator. The doors opened and I entered quietly, too distracted to realize that there was someone there

  in the background, stopped.

  Feeling myself being watched from behind, I turned around, almost automatically, and turned my face.

  again with Dr. Richard.

  There was nothing left to complete my day!

  He looked a forced tranquility, although he remained erect, totally rigid. And I had to

  shake hands with the man: the guy was incredibly handsome. It was no wonder that Dora had pointed out that all

  nurses were some day interested in him, although in my concept beauty was not

  exactly the most important. I could not pretend to myself that I did not notice.

  - Going down? He asked, staring me straight in the eye.

  "Hmmm, hmmm," I said, unable to look away.

  "But you still have not pressed the button," he said, half ironically, then pressed the T,

  ground floor.

  - Ah! It's just that I ... was reading distractedly and ...

  "A hospital is not the best place for distractions, nurse," he snapped, scolding me.

  again.

  I did not expect that.

  I was just trying to study the rules of the hospital to improve care ... It seemed like

  he had taken the day to annoy me!

  What the hell!

  I felt an immediate impulse to respond to the height, because, even withdrawn, I was never the type of person

  accustomed to carrying horsemanship home. However, the elevator stopped on the ground floor and he left me wishing

  a good night, and for the second time, without looking back.

  I did not realize which way it was. Better this way, otherwise it would have to go the other wa
y. Two

  times in one day already seemed to be more than enough. All I wanted at that moment was to go

  to my room, take a shower and literally turn off.

  I hurried into the boarding house, greeting Dona Helena, the owner of the place. I opened the door and

  I collapsed for a moment in bed. It was not that comfortable mattress she was accustomed to.

  sleeping in Rio. Depending on the position I lay, the springs would hurt me, so the

  The solution I found was to line him with a thick towel he'd brought in the suitcase. The way it came

  tired, that would not make much difference.

  As I sketched a beginning of relaxation, the thought began to wander, remembering how it had been

  It's strange, my day.

  I should be very angry. And yet, I could not feel that way.

  Weird. In fact, curious.

  Perhaps this was due to the heroic discourse that Nurse Dora had recited earlier,

  or even a little struck by the slim, imposing figure of that doctor. He had a

  posture, but he did not look as healthy as that. His skin was almost white.

  milky, worthy of those people who have not sunbathed in a long time. He proved to be one of those

  they worked too hard. Certainly he should not, at times, sleep well, for it was an air of fatigue.

  I guessed that because I could see discrete dark circles under his eyes. People like that

  she had reason to be sullen.

  Who knows, would not that be exactly your problem? Excessive shifts?

  Who knows...

  I learned early on with my father not to make hasty judgments at first contact with

  people. In many cases, they may be experiencing some sort of personal

  unintentionally unloading on others their frustrations.

  I tried not to think about it, it was not worth it. I had so many other things more important

  what I worry about ...

  I went into the bathroom, intending to take a hot bath to cushion the pain I felt for staying

  so many hours of walking and ...

  - There! I shrieked as I put my hand on the shower register, causing a shock.

  - Oh, how wonderful (not to say the contrary)! Now I'm going to have to wear rubber slippers inside.

  of boxing! I mumbled on my own.

  Meleca! That did not happen last night!

  After wiping and putting on my nightgown, I lay down on the bed again, closed my eyes, made my prayer

  and wished fervently that the next day would be better.