Seven

15. Julie

15. Julie

“Hey Julie! Here again?” my coworker greeted. I greeted my coworker and started to head toward the large automatic doors. With a wave of my hand, the door slides open. I wash and scrub my hands intensely to get rid of any germs before I start to put on my gear. Left arm, right arm. Left hand, right hand. Squeaky clean! Once I’m all geared up, I head down the hallway through more doors. This place is like a maze. Luckily, I make it to my destination.

Knock, knock.

 

“Come in.”

“Hi Mrs. Foeda! How are you today?” I ask cheerily. Always appear happy to the patients. Always.

“Julie! I’m doing fine now that you’re here!” she responds. I quickly walk over to her bedside and place my belongings on the floor. My hand brushes the floor and I immediately shiver at how cold it is.

“Are you cold, Mrs. Foeda? Should I ask them to turn the air conditioning off-“

“I’m fine!” she insists. I place my hand on hers and frown. Her frail hands are cold as ice. “I’m fine, really.” She smiles reassuringly and her grip tightens on my hand, signaling for me to remain seated beside her. “How about we talk about something else? How was your day, Julie?”

“It’s great! I got to go out today and meet up with a beautiful woman.”

“Oh? Did you have fun?”

“Yep. I’m having a blast. She’s always so fun to be around. She’s so much fun that I decided to get her a present.”

“What kind of present did you get her?” Mrs. Foeda asks, still not picking up on my hints.

“Well,” I start to say. I pull out the bags from under my chair and place them gently on where her lap appears to be below the blanket.

“What kind of present did you get her?” Mrs. Foeda asks, still not picking up on my hints.

“Well,” I start to say. I pull out the bags from under my chair and place them gently on where her lap appears to be below the blanket. “Why don’t you see for yourself?”

Mrs. Foeda gasps and gawks at the bag. Ciel Inc. is printed on the light blue paper bag that indicates the high quality merchandise on the inside.

“Julie you shouldn’t have-”

“Mrs. Foeda. Ever since I met you, my days have been so much better. You make my life a joy and it is always a pleasure to come volunteer at this hospital. Accept it as a token of my appreciation,” I insist.

She takes the item gently and slowly out of the paper bag and gasps again upon realization. “Julie! You- This- How- I can’t accept this! This is too expensive!” she exclaims while pushing the leather handbag away.

“Mrs. Foeda. Just accept it. No worries,” I insist again. I hold her hand reassuringly. “We’re all girls here. No need to pretend. Do you like it, Mrs. Foeda?”

“Like it? I love it! I just can’t accept something as expensive as this…”

“Just accept it my gift, Mrs. Foeda. Women are women and all women love Ciel Inc. handbags,” I say matter of factly.

“Is that the company slogan?” She laughs.

“Not yet. I’m working on getting it approved,” I joke. We both laugh as Mrs. Foeda admires the bag some more.

She sighs. “Julie, I really want you to meet my son. I think you two would be a perfect match. He’s a really nice kid, Julie. And you are too. I would love it if my son met a great young woman like you. I would rest at ease…”

“Has your son visited you lately?”

“He did yesterday.” Well darn. My shifts are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays only. Yesterday was a Thursday…

“Do you think he could come again next Monday? I could maybe meet him then?” I suggest.

I really wanted to meet her son. I wanted to meet her son and discuss some things. From what I’ve heard, Mrs. Foeda’s hospital bills are piling up. It seems like they’re in rough times. I would pay them off myself but the hospital forbids this sort of behavior. I wanted to hand the money to him directly and hopefully he would accept it.

“He comes whenever he likes. That boy…” she swears under her breath and I try to lift her spirits again.

“It’s fine! We could meet another time! How about some television?” I asked while switching on the TV. Pretty Little Liars was on.

“Oh! My favorite show!” Mrs. Foeda boasts. Our attention diverted from her son to the TV. We both watched the rerun intently for the next hour until my shift was over.