same one over and over sometimes.”
Before she could respond to that, they arrived at the PACU, and the friendly camaraderie between them faded a little. In this environment the expectations were different. She suddenly didn’t feel as open with him as she had in the canteen when it had just been the two of them at a small table. Oh, well. Not a time to get curious about the medical director.
Two hours passed before the anesthesiologist declared Roberto responsive enough to be transported to the pediatric ICU. Jeannine assisted the PACU nurse to hook up transport monitors and together they moved him upstairs. Although Roberto was not under the influence of the heavier medications any longer, Miklo’s instructions were to keep him slightly sedated.
Arlene appeared at the doorway of Roberto’s room. “Jeannine, are you okay?” she asked, concern in her voice.
“Oh, yes. This has been a fabulous experience,” she said, and placed a small blood-pressure cuff onto Roberto’s arm.
“I was going to get angry with Miklo if he scared you off on your second day on the job.” She moved closer and gave Jeannine a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.
“You worry too much. Really. I sat through the operation and then had something to eat, so it’s been a surprisingly good day.”
“Good.” Arlene placed a hand on her chest in obvious relief.
“What’s good?” Miklo asked as he entered the small patient room. Everything in it was designed for children, and with Miklo’s large presence everything seemed to shrink even more.
“Jeannine was just telling me you hadn’t frightened her out of the job today, and I said that was good.”
“She’s been a trouper. But she kidnapped my patient,” he said, and faced Jeannine.
“I did not! Dr. Harrison said he was able to go to PICU, so the PACU nurse called—”
Miklo gave a quick laugh.
“Miklo, stop teasing,” Arlene said, and glanced at Jeannine. “You can sue him for harassment if you like. I’ll be a witness.” Arlene shook her head and left the room.
“You’re not very nice to tease me so many times in one day, Doctor.” Jeannine pulled out a clipboard with Roberto’s chart and began to record his vital signs.
“I have to. Once you’ve been here a while you’ll be too smart to fall for my little tricks.”
Jeannine double-checked Roberto’s IVs and the ventilator settings, made sure of the security of the tube in his mouth that assisted his breathing. Distracting herself from the appeal of Miklo was extremely important at the moment. Though she had recently suffered the biggest letdown of her life when her fiancé had deserted her, she suddenly found herself being pulled against her will toward Miklo. She mustn’t allow herself to be drawn to him. That path only led to self-destruction. Once was enough for her.
“Jeannine? You got very quiet there for a minute. I hope that I haven’t offended you with my comments.” Miklo took a step toward her, concern in his eyes. “I really was just teasing.”
Jeannine swallowed hard as he reached up and removed the cover from his hair, allowing it to fall back over his collar. The dark, luxurious locks fell down in disarray that didn’t impair his looks at all. The man was devastating to her senses, and he didn’t even know it.
“No.” She offered him a smile that was extremely lame. “I’m fine. Just been a long day, you know? Been a long day for you, too, I’m sure. Have anything fun planned for the weekend?” Jeannine asked and busied her fingers writing down vital signs she didn’t really need.
“Me?” Miklo snorted. “Hardly.” He held his hands out, indicating the area around them. “This is my life. Fun doesn’t enter into it.” Taking the stethoscope from around his neck, he listened to Roberto’s lungs.
“I have a hard time believing that you don’t have anything better to do than to hang around here all weekend. Don’t have you have anything to keep you busy?” she asked. She had noticed the absence of a wedding band, but these days that didn’t mean much.
“No.” Now was not the time to tell her he’d given up his life for his family, entirely too late. “How about you?”
“I might get out and take a hike or go to an art show or exhibition. There’s a bunch of stuff going on this weekend. You should try it.”
“Thanks, but I’m more of a museum kind of guy.”
“Really? Why is that?” Jeannine asked. He looked more like a museum guy than a craft show kind of person, but you never knew from looking at a person what they were like inside.
“You can sit in a museum and look at things that don’t talk back to you and rarely have a crisis,” he said, and picked up Roberto’s chart.
“That’s true, but I like being around people, too.” Jeannine wasn’t convinced by his philosophy. Sometimes people needed to interact with each other, rather than just watching life go by. Being alone for too long had made her desperate for company over the last six months.
Miklo rubbed the day-long growth on his face. He smiled a little crookedly in a gesture she was beginning to associate with him. His full mouth moved slightly to one side, but failed to form a complete smile. “My day doesn’t end when the surgery does. There is always much more to do before I leave.” Again he looked around them at the PICU.
“You’d rather go home and have a cold beer, right?” she asked.
Miklo laughed out loud. “You are exactly right. For tonight, though, I’ll turn things over to the intensivist on call.” He grabbed his labcoat from the back of the chair and headed toward the door. “Are you ready to go, too?” he asked, and paused at the doorway.
“Yes. I just need to give the night nurse report on what I’ve done, then I’ll head out. Have a good night and it was a pleasure working with you today.”
“Same here.”
Jeannine gathered the chart and headed to the nurses’ report room.
Just as she left, several family members came in to see Roberto. Miklo explained how the surgery had gone and what the boy’s condition was. By the time he was through answering their questions, Jeannine had returned to the room. She gave Roberto’s face one last stroke. “I’ll be back in the morning,” she said.
“Aren’t you off tomorrow?” he asked, surprised that she would be working her first weekend on the job.
“I am, but I want to come in to see him anyway.” She shrugged and looked away from his vibrant eyes. They saw way too much of the things she carefully guarded. Things that no one here knew about her.
“I’ll walk you out, then,” he said, and slowed his long stride to match hers.
They approached the front door of the hospital and emerged into the early evening twilight. The sun setting over the west mesa cast a muted peach glow low on the horizon. Not a cloud marred the distant sky for miles. Purple hues blended atop the other colors and melded into the approaching evening.
Jeannine cleared her throat and shifted her weight from one foot to another. “Well, good night, Doctor.”
“Miklo, remember?”
“Yes. It’s just hard to get used to change isn’t it? I’m so used to addressing physicians by their titles.”
“I wasn’t always a doctor. Sometimes when I’m addressed as Dr. Kyriakides, I think people are talking to my father.”
“Does your father practice here in Albuquerque?” she asked.
“Yes, but he’s partially retired. Somehow he found the right balance between the obsession of medicine and having a life outside his work.”
“But you haven’t?” she asked,