I swear to God if I got one more patient who either was a lazy ass who won’t do anything to help themselves and whined the entire time, or the stoic “I’ll suffer in pain and push myself to do more than I should,” I was screaming and punching someone, which wouldn’t be at all good for my livelihood. Employers tended to frown on that and fire you, and the people you punched usually filed assault charges against you. However, it was good to dream sometimes.
Damn it, I needed a vacation. I hadn’t taken one well, ever. I worked even before becoming a PT. Lord knows I’ve worked more than full-time since becoming one. My fairy godmother better show up with her wand so I could make a wish. I wouldn’t ask for millions. I wasn’t greedy. Just enough to cover everything with enough left over for a tiny bit of fun every once in a while and for emergencies. If the bitch didn’t and I caught her, that wand was going somewhere she wouldn’t like.
Jesus, you’re losing your mind, Meadow. Stop thinking about physically assaulting everyone, real or imaginary. You might want to see someone about that , I chide myself. But it had the needed effect of lessening my tension a tad and making me smile. At least it allowed me to walk into my supervisor’s office without a thunderous expression. I wouldn’t promise her survival if she were about to chew me out about something. Decreasing my anger might help me resist hurting her.
Lately, I haven’t had good interactions with her. It wasn’t that my work ethic had changed, despite my thoughts. It was due to her bringing personal shit into our work relationship. All because the guy she liked had asked me out. She found out because he had told someone about it. Ever since she’d tried to find any reason to reprimand me, write me up, or fire me. I refused to quit or give her the satisfaction of thinking she had run me off. Besides, the last I checked, we didn’t live in middle school. I learned even before then that if the guy doesn’t like me, I should get over it. She hadn’t gotten the memo.
Sage and Aspen had learned the same thing early. The thought of bringing one of them in to lecture Joni on her lack of education and general cattiness made me smile. I took a seat across from her. I pasted on my professional face and started the ball rolling. I didn’t want to be here a second longer than necessary.
“Good afternoon, Joni. You wanted to see me,” I said calmly.
She gave me her I’m not pleased look morphed into a pissed-off, and I want to annihilate you expression.
“I did, but I expected you over an hour ago,” she replied.
I quietly sucked in a calming breath before I answered her. “When you called, I was halfway through a patient’s session and had another immediately after. Remember, I told you I’d be here at four-thirty, and it’s four-twenty.”
I loved reminding her of what I had already told her and that she agreed to. After all, she always harped on us about giving the patients whatever they wanted, no matter what. That was only because she didn’t want to risk them complaining to her boss. She waved her hand as if my explanation wasn’t worth her time.
“Still, it’s irritating. I’m a busy woman.”
I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t ask if she was busy applying more makeup and practicing her simpering so she could try and attract Scott Harrison’s attention. Nothing she said or did would get that man to like her and want to date her. I’d seen him roll his eyes behind her back and mutter under his breath numerous times.
The company had no policy against coworkers dating as long as one wasn’t in a supervisory role over the other. In Harrison’s case, he oversaw the nursing staff while Joni was over all the therapists. The two of them were equal-level peers. She felt I was beneath them, and it irked her to no end that he wanted to go out with me.
She sighed deeply when I didn’t react to her barb. “I called you in because Director Higgins called me about you.”
I tried not to stiffen or give away my alarm. Why would the director of our clinical division be calling her about me? He was her and Harrison’s boss. I was racking my brain to think why.
“The director has a special case he wants you to handle. The patient is somehow related to the requestor, a physician who sends a lot of referrals our way. Apparently, you were asked for by name.” She sniffed.
“Really? Wow, that’s great. Which doctor was it?” I asked. I was on good terms with several of them.
“I don’t know. He didn’t say. Anyway, you’re to see the director before you go home for the weekend. I’d hurry before you miss him. He said he wanted you to start ASAP.”
The fact it was almost quitting time and the end of the work week made her smirk. A lot of management bailed out early on Fridays. She was pleased she put me in a bad spot that I’d probably miss him. However, she had no clue I had the director’s direct number. He’d given it to me in case I ever needed him. It was about a year ago after a huge problem with a patient that got ugly. It wasn’t my fault, but I was the PT on the case. It had escalated to him getting involved because the patient had physically assaulted one of the nurses. Thankfully, he hadn’t raped her.
Director Higgins talked to everyone who provided care to the guy. I told the truth when asked if the patient had said or done anything to me. The patient had said sexual stuff at first to indicate he thought I was attractive, but I shut him down and made it clear I wouldn’t put up with any crap out of him, so he behaved. That was when I was given the director’s number. I didn’t tattle to him, but by the end of the investigation, it was known that the occupational therapist on the case reported to the director that the guy said things repeatedly to her. She’d told Joni, who told the OT there was nothing she could do about the patient’s behavior. The rumor mill said that incident got Joni written up. Too bad it wasn’t enough to fire her.
“I’ll make sure to speak to the director. Was there anything else you needed?” I asked as I smiled at her. I knew it would irritate her.
She glared at me for several heartbeats before she answered. “I guess not.” was her only response, so I stood and walked out. I’d try the director’s office first. If he’d left already, I’d send him a message and let him get back to me at his convenience.
Just my luck, his office was dark. Wanting to get in contact as soon as I could, I leaned against the wall and typed out a quick message.
Me: Director Higgins, this is Meadow Lefevre. Sorry that I missed you. I just got out of a meeting with Joni. I understand you have a patient you want to discuss with me. Feel free to call or email me with what you need anytime this weekend. Have a good few days off.
I was feeling lighter because it was the weekend. The girls and I hoped to do a few things together. It had been too long since we had. All three of us deserved some fun. I knew one thing we would definitely do was go Christmas shopping. We had most of our decorations up, but every year, we found together a new ornament for the tree. We wanted to put our tree up this weekend. It was two weeks until Christmas Day. I planned for it to be up sooner, but as usual, life got hectic.
As I passed my coworkers, I wished them a happy weekend, and they did the same. I drove home with the radio turned up and me singing Christmas songs the whole way. I was starting to be filled with holiday cheer.
???
It was Sunday already. Where had the weekend gone? Even though I wished we had more time before work and school demanded our return, I knew the girls would be on holiday break by the end of this week. As for me, I wasn’t taking anything but Christmas Eve and Day off. I had the time, but we were saving my vacation days to do something as a family later. I couldn’t complain.
Saturday, we went out to enjoy Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas. It never got old, no matter how often we did it. It wasn’t just for tourists. As part of it, we shopped and found our ornament. The weather wasn’t frigid, but cold enough that we enjoyed hot chocolate when it got dark.
Icicle and Blizzard went with us since they were family. They had to be bundled up in sweaters. That was one thing about pugs. Due to their flat faces, they had breathing issues and couldn’t tolerate extreme heat or cold well. When they were tired of walking, one of us would carry them. People loved to stop and give them attention. They lapped it up. We walked around and saw all the amazing lights and displays, with them staring right along with us.
Today, we put up the tree and decorated it, then made various cookies and other bars. I’d take some to work, and the girls would take some to school to share with their friends and teachers. Of course, we didn’t need to worry about cleaning anything we dropped on the floor because we had built-in floor mops in the form of dogs. We just made sure they didn’t get anything with chocolate or other ingredients that weren’t good for them.
It wasn’t until the four of them were in bed for the night that I took time to soak in our tub. It wasn’t deep enough to cover me from neck to toe, but it was better than nothing. As I lay there and relaxed, I tried to organize my week in my head. Higgins called me Friday, not long after I got home. He asked me to stop by his office sometime Monday to discuss the new patient.
I told him I’d be there first thing after the office opened. We agreed upon eight-thirty. It would bug me to wait until later in the day. Once I knew who I was to add and talked about the schedule, I would know who I might have to change around. He didn’t tell me anything about the patient, but he told me the doctor who’d asked for me was Dr. Zara Moretti. I loved her. I always enjoyed starting with new patients and determining the best plans to address their needs. I tried to picture what this new mystery one would require. I was excited to see what he or she was like.
???
I was at the office before eight. I planned to do a few things until it was time for my meeting. Most regular employees came in at eight. The managers, supervisors, and other higher-ups were typically not there until nine or even later, but not Higgins. He liked to be there and accessible to anyone who needed to speak to him, which I also respected. Joni grudgingly got there most of the time by nine.
I arrived at the director’s office door a few minutes before eight-thirty. It was open. When I knocked, he smiled and waved me inside. It wasn’t until I walked in that I noticed Zara was there. She didn’t insist on being called Dr. Moretti, but I chose to call her that in front of my director.
“Good morning, Mr. Higgins and Dr. Moretti. I hope I’m not too early and you both had a nice weekend.”
“Morning, Meadow. No, you’re not too early. Come in and take a seat. Would you close the door, please?” Higgins asked.
As I did, he added, “And thank you, yes I did. How was your weekend?”
“It was good. The family and I went shopping and enjoyed Dollywood. We got our tree up.”
Zara came to me, took my hands, and smiled at me. “It’s wonderful to see you, Meadow, and yes, I had a great weekend. So glad you had family time.”
All of us took a seat. “I know you both have a busy day ahead, so I won’t take up much of your time. Meadow, Dr. Moretti contacted me late on Friday to see if there is a possibility you might be able to take on another patient. I know you carry a heavy load, and it might not be doable, but if there’s a way you can, she’d appreciate it. I’ll let her tell you what she’s looking for.”
“Sure, I’d love to help if I can. What did you have in mind? Could you give me any details on the case? You know I would love to help you if possible.”
“I know you will, Meadow, and that’s one of the reasons I adore working with you. I hope you’ll be able to take this case. However, if you can’t, I’ll understand. First, let me tell you one of the main issues. This patient won’t be able to come into the office for his sessions. You would have to go to him. I know you typically don’t do that, but if you could, I think you’re the best person for this patient. He’s not going to be easy. I won’t lie. He’ll be challenging, but I know you can handle him.” She paused to give me an opportunity to say something.
“Can I ask, is there a reason he’s incapable of coming into the office? Is he confined to the home? Or is it that he has no one to transport him to and from his visits?” I asked.
“Well, he isn’t incapable of coming into the office. His issue is that if he has to do that, he won’t do his therapy. He’ll only willingly participate if it’s done at home in the gym he has there. And he really needs to have this therapy, even though he’ll tell you that he doesn’t. Honestly, I don’t think it’ll take long to rehabilitate him, but how do I say this? It may feel like forever for you. He’s stubborn and used to working out extensively himself. He had a couple of setbacks, making him even more impatient to return to his old routine in every way.”
What she was saying wasn’t new or scary. I’d dealt with several hard-as-nails patients. “May I ask what kind of setbacks and get some details on his diagnosis?”
Zara smiled and looked at Higgins. “I knew she wouldn’t be afraid. He ended up with an infection that was hard to treat after surgery, and then, about three weeks after the initial surgery, he had to go back in and be opened up again. He’s two months post-original injury. He was shot in the chest. He’s lucky to be alive. It came close to his heart. Health-wise, he’s in excellent health. He’s young and fit. The second surgery was to remove a bullet fragment that they couldn’t get originally that began to migrate.”
“You said he’s part of your family,” the director interjected.
“He is. As many know, my husband is a member of the Archangel’s Warriors motorcycle club here in Hunters Creek. The patient is one of his club brothers. We’re all one big family, so Iceman is like a brother to me. I’ve taken over his care, and that’s why I came to you. I’ll warn you of one other thing, Meadow. He wasn’t crazy to do this, to begin with, and he’s less so now. He wasted three PT visits last week with a therapist who did nothing for him. I originally called and asked for you but was told you weren’t accepting new patients, so I went with another company. I was praying this time I’d catch you with availability.”
“I appreciate you telling me all this and that you think so much of my skills. I wish I’d known you called. I would make the time. It may require me to do his visits either early before I start seeing others, or I can do it in the evening. Which do you think will work best for him?”
I brought my tablet with me. I was typing in notes for myself. It was where I charted all my patients and kept information.
“Dr. Moretti, I have to ask. When you called the first time, did you tell whomever you spoke to that it was your family member?” the director asked.
“I did.”
“Then I have to ask, who did you speak with?”
“It was her supervisor, Joni. I explained why I was calling. She tried to get me to take someone else, but the truth is, I know Meadow can handle Iceman. I’m not sure the rest can. I went to the other agency when Joni said it wouldn’t be possible. I didn’t know their staff as well, so I had to rely on their recommendation.”
She was polite about it, but I saw the upset look on my director’s face when he heard it was Joni. She should’ve asked me and not told someone I wasn’t taking more patients. I was convinced she would’ve asked them directly if it had been anyone else.
He responded, “If Meadow is willing to do it, I’ll leave it to you ladies to work out the details.”
“I’d love to help. Would it be okay if I call you later, and we can chat about any specifics you want me to know? If I can get his chart sent to me by the end of the day, that would be wonderful. Are you scheduling for him, or should I talk to him directly?”
“Call me, and I’ll give it all to you. I have lunch from one to two, or you can call after work if that’s better.”
“I can do it on your lunch hour.”
There were a few more minutes of pleasantries between us, and then she left. I was planning to do the same when Higgins stopped me.
“Meadow, stay if you can. I need to ask you something.”
“Sure, Director Higgins.”
“I’ve been sensing for a while that there’s a problem between you and your supervisor. I need to know what it is. I stayed out of it, hoping I was wrong or you’d work it out between yourselves, but if this is happening, then it’s a bigger issue.”
I didn’t want to be seen as tattling, but he asked, and I was one for honesty, so I went for it. “It started early this year after Scott Harrison, the nurse manager, asked me out. I turned him down, but it’s common knowledge Joni likes him. He told others that I said no and that he would try again. It made its way to her ears. Since then, she has treated me differently.”
He frowned but didn’t say anything for a good minute or two. When he finally did, he asked, “Why didn’t you come to me with this?”
“Because it sounds like a bunch of teenage drama. We’re adults. I don’t condone or engage in sophomoric behavior. I hoped if she were truly upset due to that, she’d get over it. I have no concrete evidence of what caused the change, so it would be ridiculous to come to you for that.”
He sighed. “Ordinarily, I’d agree, but it’s becoming an issue. This situation with Dr. Moretti is an example. She’s a well-respected physician who we want to continue to support using us. You should’ve been consulted. I’ll have a talk with Joni. If you experience backlash, I want you to let me know immediately.”
I wanted to groan. It would only cause more trouble. I wasn’t sure it was worth it, but he was the boss, so I only nodded and said, “Yes, sir.”
“Thank you. Okay, I know you have a full day. I’d better let you get to work. We’ll talk soon.”
I told him to have a good day and got out of there as fast as possible. I wanted to prepare for my first patient, so I prayed that I wouldn’t be called on the carpet for this newest development. I wasn’t very hopeful. Please, don’t let it tip her over the edge.
???
Hours later, I was sailing through my patients. I had all established ones, and we had our routines down. I’d talked to Zara over lunch. She said she’d set me up with the initial evaluation visit with Iceman, and then going forward, he and I could do it between us. I was fine with that. Also, she’d sent over the access I needed to read his file. I’d do that tonight at home.
I remarked it was entertaining that bikers seemed to have nicknames, which were fun and unusual. She informed me that her husband’s club name was Demon. I wondered how the names were chosen, but I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to take up too much of her lunch break.
I had a fifteen-minute break between my last patient and my next. I was using it to gulp down a yogurt in the breakroom. Just these last two visits, and I’d be headed home. It had been a great day. That was impressive, especially for a Monday.
I should’ve kept those thoughts out of the universe because I jinxed it. I was two bites into my yogurt when Joni stormed into the breakroom. I knew, based on her expression, she was about to yell at me, and it was all due to her being called on her shit. I thought I was safe because it had been almost six hours since I left the director.
She pointed her finger at me and hissed. There was a nurse in the breakroom who was witness to it. I didn’t believe Joni saw her in the corner. “I won’t have you going behind my back and whining to the director about how badly I treat you and then making up lies about me.”
“Joni, I did not go to Director Higgins and whine to him or make up lies.”
“Liar. You were in his office this morning.”
“I was. I met with him and Dr. Moretti about a patient you didn’t bother to ask me to take on. You said I wasn’t taking new ones. I don’t believe this is the time or place for this conversation. I can—”
My attempt to be professional was rebuffed before I could point out we weren’t alone.
“You think you’re so smart and that you’re untouchable. You might have the director fooled, just like you have Scott Harrison and others fooled, but not me. How dare you tell Higgins I’m jealous of you because I want Scott. And that he asked you out, which made me treat you unfairly,” she snapped.
Rather than argue in front of a peer, I threw my yogurt in the trash and walked out without a word. I refused to fight like high schoolers in the locker room. That’s what her attitude reminded me of.
Joni chased after me. “You come back here! Don’t you dare walk out on me,” she shrieked. Thankfully, we were in an area only for employees, not patients or visitors. But it still wasn’t right.
When I didn’t reply and kept walking, she added more. “If you don’t answer me, I’ll write you up for insubordination.”
It took everything in me not to turn around and tell her to do it and to kiss my ass. As I opened the door that would take me to the main care area, Scott Harrison almost ran into me. He reached out and grasped my upper arms lightly.
“Whoa, sorry. I didn’t mean to run you over, Meadow. Are you alright?” His tone was concerned, way more than his almost bumping me warranted. Had the break room nurse or someone else called him to say what was happening? Before I could say anything, Joni was calling out to him.
“Scott, would you come with me, please? We need to talk about scheduling conflicts. Meadow, we’ll finish our talk later,” she said barely civilly.
“Of course,” I muttered. Scott was studying me for several moments before he acknowledged her.
He muttered as he went to her, so I only heard him say, “Talk later.”
I didn’t acknowledge him. It would only make her worse. It was hard not to let my mood be spoiled for my last two patients, but it wasn’t fair to them, so I covered it up. I was out the door as soon as the last one was finished. I’d finish my charting at home. If I stuck around, Joni would probably confront me again. If she did, I’d be hard-pressed not to knock her on her fat ass.
Tonight was a splurge night, which meant I was bringing in dinner for us. The vote went for pizza, so I swung by to get it on my way home. Don’t get caught in her ugliness. You’re better than that. I kept repeating it until I believed it enough not to bring the negativity home to Aspen and Sage.