All The Little Moments

by G. Benson

  Anna tried not to flirt.

  I’ll judge the outcome of that promise in the morning. There’s a bad coffee cart?

  She sipped her tea and waited.

  Isn’t there always? Don’t worry, the tour will show the places to avoid. Like the level three on-call room. You’ll get pregnant just sitting in there.

  The laugh that burst from her grated against the oppressive silence in the house. Anna felt lighter.

  Can’t wait. Nurses are able to just leave their shift whenever they want?

  She leant back against the couch.

  Haha, you’re in luck. I’m working in one of the day clinics tomorrow, and we start at ten. See you at nine, Anna. :) Glad you ran into me with the shopping cart. Never thought I’d say that.

  Thumb resting on the screen, Anna sat for a moment, contemplating.

  I’ve never been happier to cause a bruise.

  Innuendo wasn’t necessarily flirting. Anna sipped her tea and waited for a response.

  Tomorrow I demand the story of that chin bruise as payment for the tour. :)

  In spite of herself, Anna smiled. A frown quickly replaced it. She didn’t know if she wanted to share her history with Lane. The reason behind the bruise, while a pretty damn funny story, now came with a big backlog of “I’m a recent full-time guardian of two charming but rather traumatised children.” Sharing with Kym had been cathartic. And Anna had filled her boss in so that he knew where she stood.

  But sharing that with Lane? Something made her want to hold it back. She was worried about scaring her off. Which Anna shouldn’t be, because she was recently single and had no time for this, anyway.

  Groaning, she dropped her head back. She had a crush on a crazy hot, incredibly flirty nurse. How perfect. What a great side note to the drama that was her life right now. But she couldn’t help herself:

  That story is worth more than just a tour.

  She gnawed at her thumbnail for a moment. Lane’s response was quick.

  I’ll think of something...

  A grin took over Anna’s face.

  See you at nine.

  She barely took in any of the TV she stared at, anticipation spreading through her limbs as the house settled around her.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The day had barely started, and Anna was already exhausted. How did single parents do it? How did single, working parents do it? How did parents with three nannies do it?

  They’d been up at six a.m., the hour not a problem, but getting two children ready in time was going to take some practice. Especially as one of those children’s idea of feeding himself was pouring his cereal on the floor and putting the remnants up his nose.

  Yawning, Anna walked into the hospital, Toby on her hip and his SpongeBob backpack on her back. She had just over five minutes to drop him off and find HR. When she reached the day care, she was shocked to realise she was reluctant to hand him over to the attendant. The woman didn’t look a day over twenty.

  But the redhead gave Toby a friendly smile, and it worked on Toby. He grinned back.

  “Hello! You must be Toby Foster?” She looked at Anna. “And you’re Doctor Foster? We spoke on the phone—I’m Tanya, the coordinator here.”

  Already, Anna was feeling slightly better. “Hey, Anna is fine, and this,” she jiggled Toby on her hip, causing him to beam again, “is my nephew, Toby.”

  Tanya looked from Anna to Toby. “My gosh, you two look alike. Hi, Toby! You want to come do some puzzles?”

  Anna hugged him harder to her. “He loves blocks. And trains.”

  “We have lots of those here!”

  Anna slid Toby down her body until he was standing on the floor. His little arms were wrapped around her legs and he tried to crawl back up her again.

  “Tobes, they have lots of trains.”

  Big blue eyes widened. “Twain, Na?”

  Tanya knelt down so she was eye level with Toby, her face open and friendly. This woman was made for child work. “We have lots of trains. I think there’s some Thomas ones.”

  Toby’s eyes lit up, but his arms didn’t move from Anna’s legs.

  When Anna had called the day care and spoken to Tanya, she’d filled her in on the situation as much as she could. They’d ended up chatting about the first day and how Toby might struggle with being left, especially in the circumstances; about how, often, the easiest thing was to get him occupied, give him a quick goodbye, and leave.

  The one thing Tanya hadn’t mentioned was that Anna might struggle to leave him.

  All she’d wanted was some semblance of her own life back. She hadn’t been away from Toby for longer than a few hours in a fortnight. Some away time from the kids had seemed like a great idea, but now she felt anxious for him. Anna rested her hand on his head. “Shall we look at Thomas, Tobes?”

  Toby grabbed her hand, and Tanya, ever perky, jumped up and led the way. Tanya sat herself down cross-legged on the floor and started pulling out trains from a bucket. Anna sat down across from her, and Toby sat himself in her lap, reaching over and grabbing at a train, holding it up in delight to show them.

  Tanya chattered to Toby as he rammed trains together in the violent manner of play he had sometimes, and Anna slowly lifted him off her lap so he sat on the ground. With a look at Tanya, she left his backpack on the floor and slowly slid back, stood up and took a few steps backwards.

  Toby had his head buried in the giant bucket as he fished for more toys.

  A reassuring nod from Tanya prompted Anna to turn away, saying a nonchalant, “Bye, Tobes.”

  “No! Na!”

  Wrenching her eyes back, Toby was standing, a train in each hand, wide-eyed, and with a look of utter betrayal on his little face.

  Forcing herself to look cheery, Anna waved. “I’ll be back soon, Toby!”

  In an instant, the trains fell from his hands, and Toby ran at her, wrapping his arms around her legs again, clinging, tears already spilling down his cheeks. “No! Na! No! No!” He looked up at her, trying to scale up her body. “Stay!”

  Anna’s heart broke for him. She gazed helplessly at Tanya, and the woman walked over, obviously realising Anna couldn’t do it. She reached down and tried to pull Toby away.

  His fingers clung to Anna’s pants, and she had to fight the urge to reach down, pick him up, and walk them out of there. She took a deep breath, smiling at the boy who was crying hysterically in a stranger’s arms. “I’ll see you soon, Tobes. You play with Tanya and Thomas, okay?”

  Toby hiccupped and reached for her.

  Anna flicked her eyes up at Tanya, who was giving her a reassuring look as she mouthed, “Go, it’s okay.”

  With a smile at Toby that made her feel a little ill, Anna stepped back, “Na! Na!” echoing in her ears as she walked out.

  Another deep breath didn’t do much to make her feel better as she walked down the hallway. Adjusting her bag, she checked her watch. Only five minutes late. She figured the HR people would let it slide. She swallowed hard as she got into the elevator.

  Toby would be fine. Anna knew that. But it still didn’t feel good. It was as if his fingers still clung to her jeans. But he would be fine. Anna would phone later, and he would be fine. Before her lunch break, she could even stop by.

  Suddenly, her hand slapped to her forehead: she’d forgotten to tell Tanya about the cupcakes in Toby’s bag. She could call after the meeting. And it would also be an excuse to check on Toby.

  She made her way to HR and got sucked into thirty-five minutes’ worth of paperwork and a fifteen-minute DVD on hand hygiene. Her eyebrows had raised at the movie the entire time. Seriously? She’d been in the surgery room for years.

  They wrapped up ten minutes early, and Anna was approached by a squat balding man in a terrible suit. Introducing himself as Barry, he handed her a security pass and offered to giv
e the tour. Trying not to breathe in the strong smell of BO or give away her amusement, Anna politely shook her head and said she’d be okay. Unconcerned, he wandered off, leaving her to back out of the room to escape the stench. Relieved, she shoved her copies of various bits of paperwork into her bag and pocketed her ID, then leant against the wall outside the HR offices to read a text from Lane.

  Seriously, don’t breathe in through your nose when he stands near you. I, on the other hand, smell like Mark Jacobs…the perfume, hopefully not the man himself. Getting coffee now, see you soon for the tour. :)

  Anna quickly sent a reply.

  Please tell me it’s Mark Jacobs, Lola. Actually, don’t tell me. I’ll take a guess when you get here. All done and dying for a coffee. :)

  She hit send and then “3” on her speed dial before raising the phone to her ear.

  “Hi, Tanya? It’s, ah, Anna Foster. I just wanted to see—”

  “Toby’s doing great, now.”

  The amusement in the woman’s voice was clear. Anna tried not to let the sheepishness she felt creep into her tone. “I figured he would be. I just wanted to hear it.”

  “I don’t blame you. What you saw is a daily show for some of the kids. And Toby’s got lots of adjusting to do—but they all settle within a few minutes and have a great day. He’s currently gluing macaroni to a piece of paper. Well, and to his hair. It’s washable glue, don’t worry.”

  Anna chuckled, feeling far more relaxed. “Thank you, Tanya.”

  “No worries. Call at any time, or stop in if you need. But I promise, he’s all good now.”

  “I believe you. Thanks, I’ll see you tonight—oh, and there’s cupcakes in Toby’s bag for everyone.”

  “Well isn’t that sweet! Thanks—we’ll see you tonight.”

  Anna hung up, feeling a lot more at ease, and caught sight of Lane walking towards her, two giant coffee cups in hand. A huge grin broke over Lane’s lips as their eyes met.

  Trying to ignore the way her heart sped up, Anna couldn’t help but smile back. “Hey there.” She tried to not look Lane up and down, those legs going on forever in black jeans and a shirt cut just low enough to show cleavage. Fighting the urge to stare openly, Anna instead focused on the coffee Lane held out to her.

  “You survived HR. Well done.”

  Anna tilted her cup. “Thanks. And yeah, I did.” Her voice went mock serious. “They made me watch a DVD on hand hygiene, Lane.”

  “Oh, you get to watch that one annually.”

  “Seriously?”

  Lane nodded over a sip of her coffee. “Yup. I just saw it last month. I love the bit about how if you sing “Happy Birthday” in your head, that’s how long you should wash your hands for.”

  “Or how long to rub in the alcohol hand rub, don’t forget.” Anna grinned.

  “That’s about when I vague out and start answering emails on my phone.”

  “Nice work ethic.” Anna’s voice was playful.

  “Oh, I’m impressive.”

  She fought the urge to wink over her coffee cup. “I believe that.”

  Lane’s eyes widened slightly before she cast her gaze to the ground, grinning. “Shall we start the tour?”

  “Lead the way.”

  They started down the hallway, then waited at the elevator Anna had come out of earlier. “I thought we’d start back down at the entrance and go from there?”

  “Start at the beginning?” said Anna.

  “Best way to do it.”

  Anna was grinning as they stepped into the elevator. Every conversation with Lane seemed to leave her feeling lighter.

  Two people quickly got on after them, and they moved back into the corner to make room, smiling politely at the two intruders. Their shoulders brushed, and Anna turned her head as Lane shifted to look at her. They were close enough that a sweet, soft scent invaded her senses.

  Anna tilted her head as their eyes locked. “Lola,” she whispered.

  Lane’s smile widened, her voice low. “Live up to expectations?”

  Eyes still on Lane’s, Anna gave a small nod. “Definitely.”

  An annoying ding sounded, and the doors opened. Reluctantly, Anna tore her eyes away and followed Lane out of the elevator. Feeling that she was acting too boldly, she slid her hands into her pockets. She just couldn’t help it, the woman smelt good. And seriously, that smile...

  Lane led her around the entrance, showing her the staff entry to the ER, then introduced her to a few of the staff and orientated her to the location of the copious amounts of paperwork she would need. Eventually, the tour brought her through to the theatres, and Anna bounced on her feet as they stood in an empty operating room. She looked around, the space familiar, comforting.

  Anna caught sight of Lane grinning at her. “What?”

  “You look like a kid at Christmas. Your eyes are practically shining.”

  “I’ve not been at work for three weeks.” Anna paused, and her mouth dropped open. “Oh, shit, more like a month.”

  Lane’s eyes widened. “A month? God, I’d be climbing the wall without working that long. Unless I was on some incredible holiday. What’s stopped you?”

  Pretending to take in the gleaming surfaces surrounding her, Anna kept her voice light. “Oh, just, the move took a while.” The fluoroscope now held her attention. “But I can’t wait to get back into it. What are the anaesthetic nurses like?”

  “We have a great team of nurses here.” Lane led the way through to the corridor. “Though I might be biased. I can take you through to the surgical nurses’ room if you like? I know most of them. I work everywhere.”

  Letting Lane lead her down a hallway and into another elevator, Anna nodded enthusiastically. “That’d be great. If there’s anything I’ve learnt, it’s be friends with your nurses.”

  “Yeah, the new generation of doctors and surgeons are finally getting that. Unfortunately, the dinosaurs are a bit slow on the uptake. When do you finish today?”

  “Five.”

  “Five? Scoring an early finish. Nice.”

  “I’m just lucky.” She studiously avoided looking sideways at Lane, fairly certain the woman was looking at her like she was a puzzle to solve.

  It wasn’t long until the smell of cafeteria food warned her they were at that part of the tour. With a flourish of her hands, Lane gestured to the ugly metal tables and boring walls that constituted an eating place in a hospital. That part of the tour included a warning to not buy lunch on Tuesdays because it was always “something surprise.”

  “And seriously, the surprise it’s given many people’s gastro tract was not fun.”

  Anna wrinkled her nose, following Lane up a flight of stairs. “Ew. Too much information.”

  Walking through the door Lane held open for her, there was a moment she thought she caught Lane’s eyes looking her up and down. The idea of it brought a smile to Anna’s lips.

  “Yeah, I tend to overshare gruesome details. Sorry.”

  Rapidly, they took in the laboratories and various locker rooms. Most importantly, Lane pointed out the coffee cart on level two that served burnt, old coffee but the best muffins and then the coffee cart on level four that served the only decent coffee in the hospital but had the worst snacks.

  “It’s all about combining the positives,” Lane explained.

  Their next stop was the surgical ward. Lane showed her the various staff rooms, then confidently led her into the surgical nurses’ room where Anna played meet and greet with the nurses and doctors present. Before she knew it, they were at the end of the tour, leaning against a railing at the top of the emergency stairs. From there they could take in the city view outside, their shoulders almost touching, not quite making contact.

  “So, do I get to hear the story of that bruise?”

  Even though she felt Lane’s eyes on he
r face, Anna continued staring forward. Her cheeks warmed. “I told you that story was worth more than a tour.”

  “Oh, come on, that was a great tour.”

  Anna finally caught Lane’s eye. “That was an amazing tour. And, as promised, there was good coffee and you smelt delightful.”

  Lane’s grin widened.

  “But, still, it’s worth more than that.”

  “Drinks, then.” Lane kind of blurted it out, her own eyes widening to match Anna’s.

  “Ah—” She knew she should say no. This morning, she had barely had time to brush her teeth and make it to the bathroom, and that was only the beginning of her problems. Yes, she was single, but Lane had no idea what she’d be getting into.

  Yet, it was just drinks. Casual. Was there anything wrong with welcoming a distraction into her life? It didn’t have to be anything serious. Anna crossed her arms and gave a small nod. “Drinks would be great.”

  A look of relief flashed over Lane’s face. “Will that earn me the story?”

  Anna was going to have to tell her sometime. She smiled, her tone playful. “If drinks with you is as amazing as I would imagine it to be, then yes. You’ll get the story.”

  Lane’s phone went off in her pocket. She checked it with a roll of her eyes. “I gotta run. But, great. Friday night?” When she looked back up, she was grinning.

  Anna would have to speak with her parents. And wow, did that thought sound strange in her head at thirty-two. “Friday night sounds good.”

  “I’ll talk to you during the week about it. Maybe we could get some of the work guys out, give you a proper introduction?” Lane started backing away.

  Anna grinned after her. “Sounds perfect.”