Banks, we have a patient in room three. Looks like he’ll need stitches.”
“Thanks, Tina.” She came back inside. This was mindless work, something she could easily perform and still leave the hospital in plenty of time to get ready.
For someone who didn’t care about Spence’s opinion, she’d sure been putting a lot of effort into this party. No matter how much she told herself it was for her alone, in the back of her mind, she knew she wanted to make an impression, knew she wanted to feel beautiful.
But, hey, that was natural behavior for any woman. It was nice to feel desirable, even if she had no plans for entering a relationship.
“Hello, Mr. Harris. How are you feeling?”
The man sitting on the table was sweating, his face a little green.
“I’ve had better days.”
“What happened?”
She put on her gloves and took inventory to make sure all the supplies she’d need were there. Her aide had done a great job of prepping the area.
“I was hanging the Christmas lights. My wife was really nagging at me, said they should have been hung weeks ago. I work hard, but does she appreciate that? Of course not. All she cares about is that the Dames and Hendricksons have their lights up already. So I go outside, get the ladder out, and start hanging the lights. It was all going fine until the ladder slipped on some ice, and there I was just flying through the air. If I didn’t know better, I’d think it was the missus exacting revenge for me taking so long to do the job.”
“Do you suspect this wasn’t an accident?” Contrary to popular belief, there were a multitude of men out there who were abused.
“No, of course not. I called for her for like ten minutes before she finally came through the front door. Did I get any sympathy? No. She just rolled her eyes and said I wasn’t gonna use this as an excuse to not get the lights finished. Hell with that. When I get home, I’m cracking open a can of beer and watching a football game. If she complains, I’ll break every strand of lights we have.”
“Well, the cut isn’t too bad. You were really lucky. And no bones were broken. You should be back to full health within a day or two,” she reassured him, trying desperately to stifle her laughter. “So how long have you been married?” She liked to talk to her patients, ease their anxiety while she took care of them. After preparing a hypodermic, she inserted it near the cut to numb the area, then picked up the sterile needle and thread.
“Twenty years this past March,” Mr. Harris told Sage. “She thinks I always forget our anniversary until she nags at me, but I don’t. I have a drink with the boys after work to mourn the loss of my bachelorhood.”
“That’s . . . uh . . . nice.” Sage really had no idea what to say. If the man was that miserable in his marriage, why didn’t he just get a divorce?
“Then I come home and take her out for a real nice dinner.”
Okay, Sage was really confused now. Before she could respond, the door opened and suddenly the room shrank as Spence joined her at the table and looked down at her work. Not something unusual.
“Can I help you, Dr. Whitman?” she asked.
“No. You’re doing a great job, Dr. Banks.” Spence walked around the table and took a seat. It looked like he was planning to stay for a while.
“Hi, Dr. Whitman,” her patient mumbled, much more subdued now with a man in the room.
“Hello, Mr. Harris. Another on-the-job injury?”
“No. Christmas lights,” he said with a sheepish smile.
“We’ve had a few of those in the last few days. I bet Mrs. Harris has been anxious for those to go up,” Spence remarked sympathetically.
“Yeah, she’s real impatient. I don’t see the big deal about these lights. Our electric bill just goes up, and they’re only on for like a month. It just seems like a lot of unnecessary work,” he said, fidgeting on the table.
“Please sit still, Mr. Harris,” Sage said as she waited for him to finish adjusting before she started the next stitch.
“I don’t know, either, Mr. Harris, but my brothers and I have been hanging the lights since we were kids. We didn’t do it one year, and Dad was right—it just wasn’t the same. There’s something about those twinkling colors that lets you know Christmas