Brave Enough To Love Again

Chapter 18

Eden

I realized I was staring when he winked at me.

"Hey there, blue eyes!"

That was how I should be calling him. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Ah! Dr. Matthys is here to see your father, Mr. Holloway!" The head nurse waved at the person approaching us. Fortunately, my bafflement was interrupted and overlooked by the physician's appearance which gave me time to regain my composure. "See you later, blue eyes." Mr. Holloway winked at me before he turned around to greet the physician and follow her in the direction of his father's room.

After finishing the paperwork I started, I did my last round of checking the patients and giving them their medications before my shift ended. On my way to the dressing room to change into my private clothes I saw a male form walking towards the elevator. The man looked so much like Keane from behind I sped up to ascertain I was right. I didn't call his name in case I was mistaken, and I wondered what he could possibly be doing at the hospital if it really was him. A rush of excitement fueled my steps and I almost caught up to him, but the voice of the head nurse interrupted my chase. "Nurse Eden, Dr. Matthys and the hospital director want to talk to you before you leave."

"I'll be right there." I called back at her and ran to the elevator which was already closing. Nonetheless, I sped up and ran towards the door but was too late, I couldn't catch a glance of the man anymore. Along with excitement came feelings of confusion. Why would he come visit me here? Was I imagining things because I already missed him so much? I needed to check my phone as soon as possible for messages or missed calls from him. That thought brightened my mood immensely.

As I made my way to the director's office I wondered what they together possibly want to talk to me about. My mind couldn't come up with any plausible explanations as to why I was being summoned. However, I didn't waste any more time guessing since I was soon to find out anyway.

"Come in." Dr. Neumann, the director's friendly voice invited me in after I knocked. Dr. Matthys was already sitting in one of the two cozy armchairs in front of Dr. Neumann. Both welcomed me with a smile and motioned for me to take a seat. It was the whole setup and the too friendly greetings that made me a little wary. I inwardly prepared myself for whatever the two ladies have to say by calming my nerves and controlling my breathing.

"Nurse Eden, uh, we both want you to know that we appreciate your hard work in this institution. We applaud your diligence and sincere commitment to your patients. You are truly one of the most hard working nurses we have." Dr. Neumann began, "I don't really know how to say this, but..."

"What is it? Am I being fired right now?" Panic was beginning to spread in my body and I couldn't stop my heart from accelerating. What did I do? Why was I being fired? I needed to ask them what the reason for this unexpected dismissal was.

"Could you please tell me why I'm being fired?"

"You're most definitely not fired, Nurse Eden. On the contrary, it would be a great loss indeed for our hospital to lose someone as dedicated as you." I was mollified by her words and also embarrassed at the same time for jumping to a strange and overly dramatic conclusion.

"Then please, tell me why is it that I'm here? Just give it to me straight. I can handle it."

"Well, we, I mean Dr. Matthys and I, this hospital as a whole, really, want to ask you for a favor. It's a bit unorthodox."