Plum Blossom | Completed

Chapter Twenty-Six

"You got the job," Mellisa smiled as soon as she saw Caleb walking towards her in his white coat, stethoscope around his shoulders, iPad with patient files in hand.

"I did," he casually nodded.

"I'm glad. It's always nice to have another friendly face around. Congratulations!"

"Thank you. So, what do I need to do to have the pleasure of you going assigned as my nurse?" Caleb grinned cheekily.

"You know it doesn't work that way. We nurses have our designation floors. You doctors have patients on various floors. You go where you're needed. I see you have patients assigned already. That was fast."

"I'm still catching up," Caleb sighed. It was the first time Mellisa noticed how tired he looked.

"Fun weekend?"

"Yeah, sure. If you consider pouring over patient records incessantly for three days fun. I think I'll forget my name soon," Caleb whined.

"Is it that bad?" Mellisa asked, worry evident in her tone.

"Dr. Perez had a lot of patients. I don't know how he managed them along with running the department. The new head doesn't seem to be handling it well," Caleb said, nodding his head in the direction of Dr. Wilcox.

Mellisa thought Dr. Wilcox looked like he was ready to start crying. Vivian was talking in hushed tones with him. Her body language made it look like she was consoling him.

"Well, that's what happens when the board is made up of suits with deep pockets and no medical degrees. I think you should go help him. Who knows, maybe they'll make you head of the department."

"You know that's not how it works."

"Isn't it? Caleb, you're good at what you do."

"If skill is all it takes, you should be the one heading the department."

Mellisa froze. "Caleb, not this again."

"Mel, it's one exam. Are you really going to throw everything you worked so hard for away? Really? What was even the point?"

"I told you that in confidence, not to have you throw it back in my face," Mellisa said, hurt.

"Someone needs to knock some sense into you. Since no one else seems to know that you're capable of, the task falls on me. Do you realize how many people would kill to do the things you could do?"

"I'd be happy to teach them," she offered.

"Yeah, well. You can't without the exam now, can you?" She could tell Caleb was angry. Caleb was frustrated with her, in fact.

Deciding he didn't want to lose his head over the matter anymore, Caleb quickly said, "I'll see you later," and walked away. He continued to avoid Mellisa for the rest of the day, even when she went out of her way to find him and talk.

Resigned to giving him time, Mellisa went about her usual tasks. Emily had sent her a message in the afternoon saying that she was taking Amanda to stay with her overnight. Emily's cousin was in town with his family, and Emily reasoned that Amanda would have more children to play with.

Owing to her new-found confidence, Mellisa easily agreed. Deciding that there was nothing for her to do at home volunteered to man the clinic after her shift.

"Good evening, Ms. Butler. I see you're here for a pregnancy confirmation. My name is Mellisa and I am just going to draw some blood, if that's alright with you. The doctor will be in with you when your results are processed," Mellisa said walking into Exam Room 3, her eyes fixed on the file in front of her.