(Just to warn you--this is a very long chapter. I couldn't really find a place to split it.
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Chapter 3 – Coffee and SympathyMorgana existed as best she could over the weekend. Despite numerous attempts by her friends to get her out and socialize, her heart really wasn't in it. All of Saturday and most of Sunday were spent with her nose in her medical textbooks studying for the next set of exams. Her burgeoning medical career was the one bit of normalcy she had left, and she very much looked forward to going back to work on Monday morning.
But normal, as Morgana was beginning to understand, was a relative thing in the medical field. Little did she realize that things were going to be a bit different this week, and it was all because of one small patient with big brown eyes.
Morgana went to the hospital twenty minutes early that morning and was immediately cornered by her boss. “Ahhh, just the nurse I wanted to see. Just a heads-up, you have a new patient on your floor.” Geoffrey handed her a manila folder. “He was just admitted an hour ago. Four-year-old with a critical respiratory infection. I've got the patient on full oxygen and heavy antibiotics, but you'll want to keep a very close eye on him.”
While it had been engrained in Morgana's mind from day one that she needed to detach herself emotionally from the people whom she treated, this particular patient made doing so rather difficult. Seeing something so heart-wrenching as a small boy tangled in a nest of tubes and wires was not something that she could easily brush aside. The child was fast asleep when she entered the room that morning, and nearby sat a worried looking young man whom she only assumed was his father.
“Good morning,” he whispered.
“Greetings,” Morgana whispered back. “My name is Morgana Wolff, I will be Sam's day nurse for the week.”
“Leighton Sekemoto, pleased to meet you.”
As she set about checking the boy's vital signs he began to stir, and soon there were a pair of big brown eyes staring at her, looking very confused. She gave him a friendly smile and lightly waved.
“Sam, this is Nurse Wolff. She is going to help you feel better, okay?” Leighton assured him.
The boy looked skeptical. “You have a pointy thing?”
Morgana shook her head. “No Sam, I don't have any needles. I'm here to help you breathe better.”
“That's what meanie doctor said,” Sam replied with a pout.
Morgana had to laugh. “I promise. I have no needles. I'm here to check on you and take your temperature. Is that okay?”
At that moment Sam started coughing, and right away Morgana knew that it was the right thing for Doctor Landgraab to admit him; just from the sounds of it the infection was quite nasty and could easily turn into pneumonia if they weren't careful. Once the coughing fit finally subsided she helped Sam to lay back down.
“Owie...I don't feel good, Daddy.” Sam whimpered. Leighton looked up at Morgana with concerned eyes.
“Don't worry, Mr. Sekemoto. We will take good care of him.”
She finished her duties and waved goodbye to her young charge, then went about the rest of her rounds. Try as she did, though, she could not get her mind off of that little boy and his worried father. For the next two days, like clockwork, she would enter little Sam's room to check on his vital signs...and every morning and afternoon, like clockwork, his father was there with him. Sometimes he would ask questions, sometimes he would make light conversation, but he was always there with Sam.
It brought a smile to Morgana's face whenever she thought about it. He was dedicated to his son above all else. She had to admire that.
On Thursday morning she was rather surprised to see an entirely different person in the room.
Sam's grandmother perhaps? Morgana wasn't sure, but she politely introduced herself and put on her best smile. The woman said nothing, offering instead a curt nod. Morgana couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something oddly unsettling about her gaze; it felt as if the woman was scrutinizing every last inch of her. She did the best that she could to ignore it and set about her work.
Sam opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling when he recognized her face. “Nurse Wuff!”
“Hi there, sweetie. How are you feeling today?”
“Still kinda yucky.”
At that moment the door opened and Leighton walked in. He looked positively haggard, but smiled when he noticed that Sam was awake.
“Daddy!”
Leighton went over to the bed and cuddled his son as best as he could without dislodging his IV, then looked straight at Morgana. “How is he doing?”
“His numbers are looking a lot better,” she answered. “The fever is down to much more manageable levels, and I'm happy to say that his pulse oxygen is back up to near 100%. He's not quite out of the woods yet, but Sam is definitely on his way.”
He was visibly relieved at the news, then glanced over at the elderly lady. “By the way, this is my mother Yumi. I...well, slept in a bit later than I wanted to and she came in to sit with Sam for a while.”
Yumi smirked and uttered something that Morgana didn't quite hear. Her voice was very quiet, but it sounded like she was speaking in another language entirely. Whatever it was that she said was enough to make her son's eyes widen in horror.
“
Okaa-san...yamete...” Leighton stammered.
“Am I wrong?” Yumi replied.
Leighton glanced at Morgana then back at his mother, the slightest hint of a blush flowering on both cheeks. “That isn't important.”
“Hmph.” Yumi rolled her eyes and went back to reading her book. Morgana still had no idea what Yumi had said, and judging from her son's reaction she was pretty sure that she didn't want to know. She tried not to think about it too much as she continued her work.
Ah well, you can't please everyone, Morgana finally concluded.
The next morning came with much eager anticipation. It was Friday, which meant payday, and a new paycheck meant that Morgana could finally put down the deposit on the apartment that she wanted. As soon as she checked her bank account she called the apartment complex...
...and was instantly thrown for a loop.
“No availability? But I called last Friday and there were still two units left!”
“I'm sorry, Ms. Wolff. The larger unit was leased on Tuesday and someone put down a deposit on the smaller unit just last night.” Morgana heard the sound of shuffling paper.
“The tenant in unit 16 just gave his notice, so that apartment will be available in four weeks.”“What's the rent on that one?”
“§650 plus utilities. It's a two-bedroom, two bath with a balcony.”Morgana winced. That was too much. “I'm afraid that won't work. Is there anything smaller that might be opening up soon?”
More shuffling.
“I'm afraid not, Ms. Wolff. All of the one-bedroom units are leased past the beginning of June.”“Thank you anyway. I appreciate your help.”
“My pleasure. Again, I am sorry that we couldn't find something to accommodate you. Best of luck.”“Thanks.”
The news sent Morgana into a near-panic.
Now what was she going to do? The only other apartment complex in town was in a not-so-nice area. Maybe she could look on Simslist and see if someone was looking for a roommate? What if she
couldn't find a place? She didn't have much time to contemplate it, at any rate. Her shift started in less than an hour and the last thing she wanted to do was be late. At the very least work would distract her for a while.
As usual her morning rounds brought her to Sam Sekemoto's room. Today, however, his father was less than animated. He gave her a sort of half smile, but said nothing as Morgana checked Sam's vital signs. The toddler was fast asleep, and from the looks of it Leighton wasn't too far behind.
“Mr. Sekemoto, forgive me if I'm being too forward, but you look absolutely exhausted.”
Leighton yawned. “I am. I don't think I've gotten more than three hours of sleep each night since Sam was admitted.”
Morgana's heart went out to him. She couldn't possibly imagine what he must be going through. Although her main concern was for his son, at the very least she could offer a listening ear. “Well...I'm just about to go on break,” she began. “Would you care for a cup of cheap coffee from the cafeteria? My treat.”
Leighton sighed. “I suppose I could give myself a break for a moment, especially since Sam is asleep. Sure.”
Ten minutes later the two of them had gotten their coffees and sat down at one of the empty tables. The cafeteria was surprisingly deserted for this time of day, something that Morgana rather enjoyed. She looked over at her companion. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, perhaps a touch younger. Slim, but muscular. It was obvious that he made a habit of working out. Leighton was actually a very handsome man, now that Morgana really thought about it.
She wasn't about to go there.
“The coffee isn't too bad,” he spoke up.
“It's no Simbucks, but it gets the job done,” Morgana replied. “From the sounds of it you could use the caffeine boost.”
“I suppose you could say that. It's going to be challenging enough just to make it through work this afternoon.”
“Where do you work?”
“The stadium,” Leighton replied in between sips. “I'm one of the little league coaches.”
Somehow Morgana was not surprised. “It must be a blast working with all of those children.”
“You know it!” He laughed. “Some of them are high-maintenance, but most of them are just a joy to be around and teach. I tried to get Sam involved, but he seems more at home with his finger paints than a baseball.” His expression became sullen. “It doesn't pay terribly well, though. Not nearly enough to give Sam the life he deserves. With any luck this year's team tryouts will go my way and I'll finally make it into the minor leagues.” He shook his head. “You know it's bad when your own mother moves in to help pay expenses.”
His words brought back Morgana's own financial worries and she sighed uncomfortably. “I know the feeling. I'm still trying to find an apartment. On my salary, not exactly the easiest thing to do.”
“Yeah, I hear you. It stinks have to go at it alone.”
Silently Morgana wondered why Sam's mother was not in the picture, but she didn't wish to pry.
“I'm optimistic that things will work out though, once we can get past this setback,” Leighton continued. “Right now my focus is on Sam, making sure he pulls through this. He's my life.”
Morgana smiled. “You can be assured of one thing. He is under the best care that Sunset Valley has to offer. Doctor Landgraab is a fantastic doctor.”
“He certainly seems like it.”
Morgana glanced up at the wall clock and was shocked to see the time. Her next class started in five minutes. “Oops, I guess I should have been checking the time a little bit closer,” she stated as she hastily stood from her chair. “I have to get going. Doctor Morita will never let me hear the end of it if I'm late to his lecture. I'm glad we got the chance to talk, though.”
“Me too,” Leighton replied. “Thank you for letting me vent. You can imagine with a small child and a full-time job I don't get much of a chance to socialize.”
“Any time, Mr. Sekemoto.”
“Hey, just call me Leighton. Mr. Sekemoto sounds just so...formal.”
“All right, but only if you call me Morgana.”
“I think I can manage that,” he replied with a grin.
Morgana only barely managed to make it to her class on time, but her mind was about as far away from Histology as it could possibly be. Her conversation with Leighton had reminded her that she still had no place to live, and the clock was ticking. To add to the distraction, somewhere in the middle of Doctor Morita's lecture on liver cells she felt her cell phone vibrate. Morgana ignored it at first, but then felt it vibrate again. She discreetly pulled the phone from her pocket and checked her messages.
Checking to see how you are doing. Haven't chatted in a while. Then a second message:
Though I imagine you're probably in class right now. Sorry.She smiled inwardly. Her self-proclaimed “big brother” had a terrible knack for poor timing. In this instance, though, Morgana welcomed the distraction. She thought for a moment, then texted him back.
Meet me at lunch? Need advice.The response was almost immediate.
Name the place, I'll be there.Bistro.See you at 12:15.Morgana concentrated as best as she could manage for the rest of the lecture, though it wasn't exactly easy. Noon couldn't possibly have come quickly enough. As soon as Doctor Morita finished Morgana was out of the door and on her way to the lobby...but before she could leave she was stopped by a very familiar voice.
“Nurse Wuff!”
She turned around to see little Sam Sekemoto running toward her at full speed, his father a short distance behind him.
“Nurse Wuff! I can go home!”
Morgana smiled as the child leaped into her arms “That is very good news, Sam! I'm so glad that you are feeling better now.”
“Me too! And Daddy said I can have French toast for lunch!” He cheered.
“Mmm, that sounds yummy!" She gently set Sam back on the floor and glanced up at Leighton, who was looking more than a little bit relieved. “It looks like you will finally be able to get some sleep tonight.”
“I certainly hope so,” he replied. “Thank you for everything, Morgana. I really appreciate it.”
“You are most welcome. Take care, all right? And best of luck with the coming tryouts.”
Leighton smiled. “Thanks.”
Morgana watched as father and son walked hand-in-hand out the front door. As ill as Sam was when he was first admitted it was a relief to see him well again. At the same time, though, Morgana knew she was going to miss him. The
both of them, actually.
By the time Morgana finally made it to the Bistro her lab-coated friend was already there. Gobias was one of the first people she met when she moved to Sunset Valley just over three years ago. In many ways he reminded her of her brother, something that Gobias instantly latched onto, and ever since he had considered her to be his surrogate “little sis”.
And this was one of those times when she definitely needed her big brother.
The two of them purchased their meals and sat outside, where Morgana began pouring her heart out to her friend. She told him everything—her failure to get into the paramedic program, her problems finding an apartment. All of the pent-up emotions that she had been holding in for the past week came gushing out. By the time Gobias had finished his meal Morgana was less than halfway done with hers.
She quickly discovered that goopy carbonara tasted terrible at room temperature and put down her fork, sighing deeply.
“You needed to vent, didn't you?” Gobias asked.
“Yeah...I suppose I did.” Morgana sighed. “I'm sorry that I vented at you.”
“I don't mind, but Morgana, why didn't you call me? You know I have plenty of room.” Gobias looked genuinely hurt. “Even my
couch is more comfortable than a motel bed, you have to admit.”
“I would never wish to impose on you...or anyone.”
“You? An imposition? I doubt that is even possible.” He looked at her with puppy-dog eyes. “So what do you say? Roommates for a while? Pretty please with cherries on top? Or if you don't like cherries, maybe some walnuts and a spritz of whipped cream?”
Morgana let herself laugh. “Are you absolutely sure?”
Gobias cast her a sideways glance. “If I wasn't would I be making a fool of myself like this? Besides, I can't just leave my sister hanging. You can stay as long as you need to get back on your feet...and I'm not about to take no for an answer.”
“Oh all
right! Yes. I'll check out of the motel as soon as I get off shift.”
“Good. See you in a few hours, then. Now I'd better get going before Susan makes me clean the rat cages again.”
Morgana laughed. "I'll see you soon."
Morgana walked up to Gobias's house early that evening, suitcases in hand and a smile on her face. This was a port in a storm, a transition point on her way to a brand new life. This last week, if nothing else, had given her a new sense of perspective. Even though her marriage had been torn in half, she had a good job and amazing friends, both old and new.
She smiled when she thought of Leighton and his adorable son. Now that Sam was on the mend they could finally move on with their lives.
Who knows...maybe one day they would meet again.
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(A/N: The words that Leighton said to his mother are Japanese. Literally translated, he said “Mother, stop.” Kind of makes you wonder what it was that she said...? Hmmm...
Thanks so much for reading!)
