Chapter 6

I’m stuck in a dilemma. I don’t want to go inside and face my colleagues, the same ones who were laughing at Dr. Keller’s comments about me. I also don’t want to go back and run into Marty, who’ll ask why I skipped my break and force me to explain everything.

In the end, I find a solution. I go to the treatment room, the same room where Dr. Keller made me feel like a fool. I pull a chair over and sit, staring out the window at the parking lot and the construction site beyond it. I don’t even know what they were building there. No one’s working now. Only half-built structures stand in silence, tangled in overgrown plants. It looks like the project was abandoned halfway through and hasn’t been revisited.

A few minutes later, Kim walks in to grab supplies. She freezes when she sees me sitting there, then lets out a sharp breath and presses a hand to her chest.

“Sorry,” she says with a small smile. “I get startled easily.” Instead of blaming me, she puts it on herself. She’s a sweetheart. “What are you doing here?” she asks.

“I’m on my break,” I say.

“Here?” She looks around. “You know we have a break room, right?”

I lower my gaze. “I do. But everyone sitting there was making fun of me because of Dr. Keller.”

“When Dr. Keller says something, people tend to side with him,” she says gently. “They’ve known him a long time, and you’re new. That doesn’t mean they were making fun of you. Once they see your potential, things will change. You don’t need to hide. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know,” I say quietly. “But it’s still really hard to face them.”

She pauses, thinking. “Do you want me to come sit with you?”

“No. I’m okay here.”

She studies me for a moment. “How long are you going to hide? Forever? Or do you want to face them now, on day one, and show that Dr. Keller was wrong and that his accusations don’t affect you?”

“They do,” I whisper.

“I know,” she says, gently patting my shoulder. “I know they do. I’ve tried to stop him. He doesn’t listen to me, and that’s never happened before. He’s never ignored my suggestions or brushed me off like this. This is the first time he’s been so determined, even after I asked him several times to stop. I don’t understand it. I have full faith in you. I can see how capable you are, even after working with you for one day. Daniel is usually good at spotting talent. I don’t know why he’s treating you this way.”

“I don’t understand either,” I say. “I have no doubts about my abilities. This is a new place, and it takes time to learn the routine. I’m confident I’ll pick everything up in a few days. My only obstacle is Dr. Keller. I still can’t figure out what I did to make him this angry with me.”

“Did you two ever meet before?” she asks.

“No. Never. I lived in BC my whole life. I only moved here a month ago. There’s no way I could’ve met him before. He trained in Ontario, right?”

“Yes, he did. But still,” she says slowly. “His behaviour feels personal. Not like someone dealing with a stranger he met yesterday.”

“That’s what confuses me,” I say. “I never met him before yesterday.”

She goes quiet, thinking. Then she asks, “Is your family in BC?”

“I don’t have any family.”

She looks at me, stunned. The words spill out before I can stop them. “I grew up in foster care until I turned eighteen. I studied nursing with sponsorship support. I don’t have anyone.”

“I’m so sorry,” she says, her face falling.

“Don’t be,” I reply. “I’m okay. I don’t have a problem with it.”

“Don’t say that,” she says firmly. “We’re your family now. You can tell me anything.” She pulls me into a tight hug.

It’s overwhelming. I hadn’t planned to tell anyone about my background, but the way she treats me, like someone close, like a sister, makes the truth come out.

I’m glad I told her, though. I feel lighter afterward.

I finish my shift and don’t see Dr. Keller on the floor again.

I live in a bachelor apartment less than a mile from the hospital. If I take the shortcut behind the building, it takes only about 10 minutes. I avoid it in the early morning when it’s dark and deserted, but in the afternoon, it feels safe enough.

As I walk behind the parking lot, beside the construction site, I see Dr. Keller heading into the unfinished structure.

What the hell is he doing here?

I stop and duck behind a tree. I watch him walk inside, then pause and scan the area. I stay still, holding my breath, far enough away that he doesn’t notice me.

Once he disappears behind the half-finished structure, I move forward and slip inside. It’s long and divided into several sections. I’m not sure what they were building here. I move quietly from one area to another until I hear voices.

I peek around the corner. Dr. Keller is facing my direction. A woman stands in front of him, her back to me.

“This is always the case,” she says. “Always late. I’ve been waiting here for twenty minutes.”

It’s Dr. Brooks.

“I was in the OR,” he says coldly. “I can’t leave in the middle of surgery. I’m the one performing it. Unlike you, treating fevers or migraine.”

“You always look down on me,” she snaps. “You never miss a chance to make me feel small. Doing surgery doesn’t make you superior.”

“Why did you call me here?” he asks, impatient. “I have work to do.”

“Like I don’t,” she fires back. “I want to know why you’ve been ignoring my calls and refusing to see me.”

“I was busy,” he says.

“You were busy before and still answered my calls. Yesterday you had one case. I called outside your surgery time. You had no reason not to answer.”

“The floor was short yesterday. I was helping,” he says.

“Since when do you do nurses’ work?”

“That’s none of your business, Nellie,” he snaps. “What I do on the surgical floor is none of your concern. And don’t show up there looking for me because I didn’t answer your phone. I don’t want interruptions.”

So that’s it; a fight between Dr. Daniel Keller and Dr. Nellie Brooks. It sounds like a typical argument between a couple.

I feel a strong urge to stay and listen to the rest, but I know that’s not right. Slowly, I turn around and walk away without making a sound.