You Make It Easy

Perfect Shade of Green.

Maya~

"Do you want the kid with the flu?" Anne asks me.

I look up at her, "Not really."

She hands me the tablet, "Mom doesn't think it's the flu. She's brought in other extreme diagnoses and everything points to the flu. I told her I would get the NP, that's you."

"Did you run a flu test?"

"Waiting for the results. I hate complaining, but sometimes I want to tell parents that I've worked here for thirty years and I know what the flu looks like. He has a high fever and I've already given him Tylenol. He's got muscle aches, his mom claims he's fatigued. I know for a fact he's dehydrated."

"I'll take it from here. There's a guy in exam room 4 waiting for sutures if you want to trade."

"I'll take it."

I take some hand sanitizer and a mask before going into their room. I look toward the mom, "Hi, I'm Maya, the nurse practitioner. We're still waiting for the test results for the flu to come back."

"You probably think I'm crazy. He's my first child and I think there's something else we're missing."

"I'm in no place to tell you that you're crazy. You're worried about your son and I understand. We will take different measures once the flu test comes back, okay?"

"Okay, thank you."

"If it happens to be the flu, we can't give any antibiotics since the body needs to fight it off on its own. However, I'd recommend some over-the-counter meds you can get at any convenience store."

"Okay, thank you."

I go back to the nurse's station and check on my other patient's vitals. There's nothing I can do until I get the lab results back.

I take my phone out and look at the notifications. Hmm, my not-so-secret admirer has decided to finally text me back.

Christian: I'm back in Milwaukee :)

I'm going to play hard to get. That's the only way to do this.

Me: Okay? And?
Christian: Well, I was hoping maybe you'd be free later. We have an off day.
Me: I don't get off until 5.
Christian: Perfect. Your place or mine? Or a public place? Any place works for me.

"Who are you texting?" Bridget asks, startling me.

I put my phone down, "No one."

"I saw the name. Who's Christian?"

Anne comes around the corner, "You're talking to a guy?"

"No. I'm not."

They look at each other, "She's lying."

"I am not. We're just, I don't know. We're not even friends. I wouldn't even say, acquaintances."

"Wait, Christian? The one that was here?"

I look up at them and slowly nod, "Maybe."

"Wait, you're telling me that I worked my magic and it's working?"

I roll my eyes, "Sure."

"We need details."

"Nothing is going on. I went to his baseball game about ten days ago. That's it. He's back in Milwaukee and wants to do something later."

"You're going, right? I mean, c'mon. This is your chance."

"He gave me the option of my place, his place, or somewhere public. He doesn't seem like a public guy."