Bold Bella (Book 4)

Chapter 5:

April, Lucy and I sat on an old hospital bed that was kept in the hospital basement. The hospital basement was quite bright for a basement because a window ran across the wall level with my head. Old hospital beds were pressed up against the wall under the windows and the doctors of Saint Barts would sometimes come here to take a breath and breathe.

            “Okay so tonight we’ll go for drinks at the pub after work.”

            “I’ll tell Luke,” Lucy offered.

            “I’ll tell Rick and that leaves Bella with Alex.”

            “Should be a good night. This week has just been hectic. I had two patients die,” I told them.

            “I almost dropped a kidney in that kidney transplant with Brady. Oh God, he sent me out of the O.R and banned me from surgery for a week,” April said bitterly, “I’ll be doing charts all bloody week.”

            “No room for mistakes in my O.R,” Lucy mocked Doctor Brady who was the attending general surgeon.

            “While you three are busy mocking Doctor Brady, people are dying in the very hospital your sitting in so I suggest you go check on your patients,” Doctor Chance told us before walking away briskly.

            “Yep, I definitely need a drink,” I said.

            “Yep,” Lucy and April agreed as we got off the bed and went to do rounds on our patients.

At the bar I had tequila. We all had tequila. So within a half hour we were all spilling our problems to the bartender. We sat in a row of six across the bar with our drinks in front of us and the bartender was opposite us holding the bottle of tequila ready to pour when we demanded another drink.

            “My patient died because he was a Jehovah’s witness and I couldn’t give him a blood transfusion that he needed to live,” Rick said downing his glass of tequila and then pointing at it. Ben, the bartender, obliged and poured Rick another drink. Hmm, Ben. Reminded me of the little boy from the fire. We never found his parents and later learned that they had perished in the fire. The little boy was heartbroken.

            “My patient is being put into the foster system,” I said raising my glass up before downing it. Ben (the bartender) refilled my glass.

            “I almost dropped a kidney,” April stated, “I mean, how the hell can I almost drop a kidney? I risked a patients life.” She downed her drink.

            “Green and I paralysed a patient,” Lucy said and then she laughed, “I only ruined a twenty-three year old girls life.” She downed her drink.

            “My patient needs a heart that she doesn’t have,” Lucas downed his drink.

            “My patient died because of me,” Alex said downing his drink. Ben had now refilled all our glasses and simultaneously we all downed another drink.

One by one our group of six became a group of two as the bar slowly became quieter and quieter as the clock ticked by past midnight. Lucas and Lucy were the first to go saying they had morning rounds the next day and soon followed April who had the same excuse. Then Rick, who was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, was put into a cab by Ben whilst he muttered groggily about his girlfriend and their latest fight. Apparently she wanted to move in with him but he didn’t want to so she gave him an ultimatum. So it was just Alex and me left on the bar.