Day Thirty, morning tea
Muttering to herself under her breath, she stomped quietly down the corridor, entered the room, now brightly lit, with a doctor examining the printout from the monitor while a senior nurse listened intently on a stethoscope.
“Excuse me!” Kylie muttered, as she peeled back the sheet and took a good look.
“What game are you playing, nurse?” the doctor was glaring at her.
“Ah, sorry, doctor, but it’s a legal thing. I’ve got someone on the phone.”
“Must be a crank call,” the other nurse muttered as Kylie left.
Kylie was fuming. This whole thing was a waste of valuable time and resources. She knew she shouldn’t have taken up nursing if she couldn’t also take a joke, but this was flat out ridiculous.
“Yes?” Scott Devere asked when she bounced the handset off the floor and picked it up.
“Yes,” she said. “Not that any of this matters at all.”
“I’ll be right in.” he replied.
And he was, or at least as directly as ten kilometres of early morning traffic and the intricacies of car parking would let him.
Kylie realised who he must be as soon as he stepped off the elevator. Who else but a lawyer would wear a three piece suit at two in the morning.
All the fuss (and everything else) had subsided. There was no medical problem, just a legal one, and the routine was strictly a matter of covering every opening in case a slippery lawyer could slip one in unawares.
Scott insisted of photocopies of everything. “Three copies each, please.” Kylie complied, inwardly raging at the futility of it all. Couldn’t he just let the poor man die in peace and let his wife have some closure?
“I really am sorry about all this, nurse,” he said, looking at the set of her jaw. “If it’s any consolation, I’d much rather not be putting you to all this effort, and in the middle of the night I’d prefer to be punching out a few zeds. But it’s a matter of duty, and I’m hoping you can understand that.”
Kylie nodded. She understood duty. Duty and compassion were the two sides to the coin of a nurse’s career. Lawyers were probably missing one side of the deal. Where was the compassion in keeping a dead man alive?
“There!” she handed the pile of papers over to him. “I suppose you are going to wake up some poor magistrate now?”
“Do you really think I should?” he asked, alarm spreading over his face. “You said it’s not medically significant.”
“Do what you think best,” she said.
“I will. I always do. But if he’s not going to last the night, then what’s the point? Putting his feeding tube back in won’t save his life.”
She looked at him in disgust. “I’d suggest that you talk over your client’s condition with a doctor, but I’m sure that would be a complete and utter waste of time. For the doctor.”
Surprisingly, he smiled at her. “I appreciate your candour, nurse. And thanks for your work tonight. Maybe it will turn out to be wasted effort all around, but if I didn’t go the full distance for my client, I wouldn’t want to do the job at all.”
He held out his hand. “You may not like me, but can we at least respect each other? As professionals.”
Kylie looked at it, and took it reluctantly. “Respect,” she said. “I can understand that. But I very much prefer my job to yours. No offence.”
He gave a crooked smile. “I don’t take offence at an honest opinion. And thanks again. I’ve taken up far too much of your time. Good night.”
“Excuse me!” Kylie muttered, as she peeled back the sheet and took a good look.
“What game are you playing, nurse?” the doctor was glaring at her.
“Ah, sorry, doctor, but it’s a legal thing. I’ve got someone on the phone.”
“Must be a crank call,” the other nurse muttered as Kylie left.
Kylie was fuming. This whole thing was a waste of valuable time and resources. She knew she shouldn’t have taken up nursing if she couldn’t also take a joke, but this was flat out ridiculous.
“Yes?” Scott Devere asked when she bounced the handset off the floor and picked it up.
“Yes,” she said. “Not that any of this matters at all.”
“I’ll be right in.” he replied.
And he was, or at least as directly as ten kilometres of early morning traffic and the intricacies of car parking would let him.
Kylie realised who he must be as soon as he stepped off the elevator. Who else but a lawyer would wear a three piece suit at two in the morning.
All the fuss (and everything else) had subsided. There was no medical problem, just a legal one, and the routine was strictly a matter of covering every opening in case a slippery lawyer could slip one in unawares.
Scott insisted of photocopies of everything. “Three copies each, please.” Kylie complied, inwardly raging at the futility of it all. Couldn’t he just let the poor man die in peace and let his wife have some closure?
“I really am sorry about all this, nurse,” he said, looking at the set of her jaw. “If it’s any consolation, I’d much rather not be putting you to all this effort, and in the middle of the night I’d prefer to be punching out a few zeds. But it’s a matter of duty, and I’m hoping you can understand that.”
Kylie nodded. She understood duty. Duty and compassion were the two sides to the coin of a nurse’s career. Lawyers were probably missing one side of the deal. Where was the compassion in keeping a dead man alive?
“There!” she handed the pile of papers over to him. “I suppose you are going to wake up some poor magistrate now?”
“Do you really think I should?” he asked, alarm spreading over his face. “You said it’s not medically significant.”
“Do what you think best,” she said.
“I will. I always do. But if he’s not going to last the night, then what’s the point? Putting his feeding tube back in won’t save his life.”
She looked at him in disgust. “I’d suggest that you talk over your client’s condition with a doctor, but I’m sure that would be a complete and utter waste of time. For the doctor.”
Surprisingly, he smiled at her. “I appreciate your candour, nurse. And thanks for your work tonight. Maybe it will turn out to be wasted effort all around, but if I didn’t go the full distance for my client, I wouldn’t want to do the job at all.”
He held out his hand. “You may not like me, but can we at least respect each other? As professionals.”
Kylie looked at it, and took it reluctantly. “Respect,” she said. “I can understand that. But I very much prefer my job to yours. No offence.”
He gave a crooked smile. “I don’t take offence at an honest opinion. And thanks again. I’ve taken up far too much of your time. Good night.”