Page 16 of In My Hockey Era (Must Love Hockey #1)
BUBBLE BATHS & BOLD DECISIONS
Lucy
I hate this nursing home. Hate the smell of death that clings to the walls, and the blank looks of the elderly people sitting in wheelchairs in the main living room. I hope I never end up in a place like this—wasting away, waiting for death.
Those are my thoughts as Ethan and I hurry down the tiled corridor, rushing past a series of rooms with TVs playing soap operas and daytime game shows.
“This is Marta,” a nurse tells us when we reach room 204. “She hasn’t woken up today.”
A frail woman with a halo of white hair lies motionless in her bed. She’s dressed in a pink nightgown with a lace border.
“Marta, can you hear me?” I ask, my voice loud and firm.
No response.
I take her blood pressure—it’s alarmingly low, and count her pulse—which is fast. Her eyes are closed, her fists loosely clenched. The smell of a soiled diaper fills the air.
A medical assistant in orthopedic shoes hovers near her bed and an assortment of prescription bottles litters her bedside table.
The hum of the florescent lights overhead is the only sound.
I get the earie feeling that today will be Marta’s last day on planet Earth. Sometimes I’m wrong about these things, but more often than not, I tend to be right.
“Let’s move her,” Ethan says, readying a sheet we’ll use to lift her onto our stretcher.
We transport her to the hospital and I sit with her in the back, watching her the whole way.
Her pale eyelids and her wrinkled skin. She’s someone’s mom, probably a grandmother…
I wonder about the life she’s lived. I usually don’t let myself think about our patients as people—its easier to detach that way.
But here in the back of the ambulance, it’s so quiet and still, it’s hard not to.
She doesn’t wake up.
Not every day has the excitement of a tick, tick, boom adrenaline rush… some days, death is quiet. Hovering in the background. Lingering there until someone, like Marta—age eight-six—just slips away.
At home after my shift, I run myself a bubble bath, dumping in copious amounts of lavender-scented mineral salt which promises relaxation. Which I need—badly.
I’ve always loved my job, love helping people, but lately it’s been a grind.
I’m worn out. Exhausted.
After stripping down, I test the water with my big toe—too hot—but I force myself into the water anyway, sinking in slowly.
I inhale the scent of lavender and try to clear my head. Once the tub is full, I turn off the faucet with my foot. The hot water soothes my aching shoulders and I close my eyes. My head has been a mess lately. Too little sleep, too much trauma.
For the first time, possibly ever, I wonder if I’m cut out for this long term, or if my time in emergency medicine has an expiration date. I always rejected the commonly held knowledge that a medic’s career has a short lifespan. A few years usually. I’ve been at it for seven.
Max noses his way through the door and plops down beside me.
He rests his head on the edge of the tub and gazes at me with what can only be described as puppy dog eyes.
He’s extremely perceptive—he’s always been able to read my moods.
If I’m happy, his tail is wagging and he’s filled with joy, times like this, he seems toalmost mope around.
“It’s okay, Maxie boy. I’m alright—just torn out.”
His tail gives a half-hearted thump at my words.
My phone pings with a notification, and I reach for it on the edge of the tub.
It’s an email from Vivian Carter with the subject line: All-Star Weekend Invitation – Exclusive Event Coverage Opportunity
I stare at my inbox, blinking at the subject line. My heart picks up speed as I click it open, and start scanning the contents.
Lucy,
We’d love for you to attend this year’s All-Star Weekend as part of the exclusive coverage team. A special charity game is being hosted, featuring a mix of players from around the league. We’d like you to co-cover this event alongside Bennett Wilder—details to follow. Let me know if you’re in!
–Viv
I reread it. Then reread it again, my stomach doing this weird little flip.
Cover an event with Bennett.
Spend an entire weekend in the middle of All-Star chaos with him, at a charity game featuring some of the biggest names in hockey.
I’d read about the All-Star game, actually talked about it on my podcast. It was the league’s response to a mid-season slump.
It was being held in Nashville, Tennesseethis year and eachplayer selected represented a charity that’s important to them.
Everything from pediatric cancer funding to Alzheimer’s research to animal rescue.
The winning team will receive extra money toward their chosen causes.
I rise from the now tepid bathwater and wrap myself in a towel.
Pulling on my fluffy pink bathrobe, I go through the motions of spreading serum on my face and neck—a girl approaching thirty can never be too careful about her skincare—and pretend I’m carefully considering my options instead of already picturing it.
Sideline access, the buzz of the arena, Bennett cracking some joke while I roll my eyes. Some much needed time off from work.
I like the idea.
Way more than I probably should.
A weekend away might be exactly what I need.
And before I can overthink it, I grab my phone and type out a response.
Viv,
Count me in.
–Lucy
I hit send, and a second later, my phone buzzes with a new text.
Bennett: Heard we’re working together, Quinn. Try not to fall in love with me over All-Star Weekend.
I snort, shaking my head before typing back.
Me: Try not to embarrass yourself on national TV, Wilder.
The three little dots appear almost immediately.
Bennett: No promises.
Vivian’s assistant had sent me the rough itineraryfor the weekend. We’d fly in on Friday afternoon, and that evening there’s a welcome party/mixer for players, media, and VIP guests with live music, whiskey tastings, and Southern food.
Saturday morning is a charity fan event with a Q&A, and a fun skills competition. Bennett and I will have some free time in the afternoon, and that evening is the All-Star game.
There’s a brunch on Sunday and PR wants us to debrief our experience, and then we’re scheduled for an early afternoon flight back home to Dallas.
This entire weekend will be gold for the podcast, and I’m excited.
And the best part? It’s all for a good cause.