Deadly Dosage (27 page)

     He shrugged and took the offered pudding.

“Spoon?” I said holding one
out to him.

     He took it and I dug in the opened drawer for
another and followed him back to the couch. The movie started and I pulled the
foil back on the pudding cup. I felt his eyes on me, so I started eating the
pudding, fast.

The movie ended at eight-thirty. “Good movie,” I said
standing up. I started to clean up our mess and Lloyd pulled me back down on
the couch.

     “It can wait,” he said. “Why are you so nervous?”

     “I’m not nervous,” I lied. “Just trying to be
neat.”

I got up, started gathering up
the empty beer cans and took them to the trash. I changed the subject quickly.
“Your dad gave me another bottle of Mr. Schroeder’s orange juice today. Think
you can give it to your friend at the lab?”

     “Sure. I need to make some sales calls in
Illinois in the morning, so I’ll take it with me and drop it off. Don’t let me
forget.”

     He reached for me when I returned and pulled me
down on the couch again. “Afraid of me?”

     “Yes,” I said honestly.

     “Why?” he asked confused. “I’m not going to hurt
you?”

     He lowered his head and kissed me, using his
tongue. I inhaled deeply and instinctively his arms drew me closer and my arms
went around his neck. He pulled me so I was sitting in his lap and his kiss
became urgent. When he reached under my nightshirt, I stopped him.

     “What’s wrong?” he whispered, gazing into my
eyes, releasing my hand from his wrist.

     “I can’t go any further,” I said.

     “Why? Rufus isn’t watching this time.”

I laughed. “No. Um…”

“Is your roommate expected
home?”

“Not until 9:30. Um, I’m not
sure how to say this so I’ll just spit it out. I promised Sam I wouldn’t do it,
have sex while we we’re dating. He, we, didn’t think it was right.”

     Lloyd sat up straighter. “This guy just keeps
getting smarter.” He gave a short laugh and narrowed his eyes. “Let me guess,
he gave you the climax of a lifetime and then said sex was off limits.”

My silence answered his
question.

“Manipulative prick,” he
uttered to himself. “I’ve got to hand it to the guy; he’s got balls of steel.”

I had no idea what he meant by
that. I was about to ask when his mouth was on mine. He kissed me so completely
that I moaned. He carried me to my bedroom, lowered me to the bed, and ripped
off his shirt. I sat and turned on the bedside lamp.

     “Your dad said you should treat me right,” I said
defensively.

 He tossed his shirt over the
lampshade and climbed in bed with me. “Not to worry. I will,” he said seductively.
Before I knew what was happening, I heard myself begging him to take me. I
cried out in ecstasy and he covered my mouth with his.

When I lay panting beneath him,
he gave a mischievous little smile and said, “Tell Sam I evened the playing
field. No rules broken.” He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and put his shirt
back on. “Don’t get up, hon. I’ll let myself out. See you tomorrow night.”

     “Don’t forget the orange juice,” I said between
pants.

     “I won’t,” he said with a smile and he left.

     I heard the front door open and close as I caught
my breath. My breathing slowed steadily as I waited to hear Lloyd’s car start.
When it did, I closed my eyes and smiled.

Tonight, Lloyd defeated the
champ in the first round.

Chapter
34

Tuesday,
February 21st

For the second day in a row, I woke up to sleet
pelting against my bedroom window. I wanted to stay in bed but I had to turn
off the blasted alarm clock. I shot my pillow across the room and missed it by
a foot. Not much of a pitcher’s arm. I slipped into my slippers, walked to the
dresser, and turned it off.

     When I left my bedroom, I ran smack into Brandi.

     “What are you doing up?” I asked rubbing my
forehead. She was doing the same.

     “Sam’s taking me out for breakfast. I have to
work the morning shift today. Mind if I jump in the shower first?”

     I’m sure she excused my delayed response to my
just getting up, but I was in shock. He warned me he’d see her again, so I
should have expected it. “No, go ahead. I’ll eat first and make my lunch.”

     “Thanks, Sun.” She stepped into the bathroom and
closed the door.

     Sunny, grow up, I told myself. You were with
Lloyd last night and you’re seeing him tonight. Why should Sam stay home? I
couldn’t answer my own question, but I knew there was an answer out there somewhere,
darn it!

     I poured some honey-glazed, granola cereal in a
bowl and added milk. While I ate, I made out a check for the rent and another
for the utilities. Brandi could reimburse me when she got her first paycheck.

     She exited the bathroom before I finished the
cereal. My jaw ached from chewing all the nuts and raisins. No pizza leftovers,
so I made a peanut butter sandwich. Cabinet doors opened and closed as I
searched for cookies, chips or something better than just edible. I opened the
refrigerator and stood there, letting all the cold air out—per my dad— rifling
through the shelves and drawers. Let’s see, no pudding, no cheese, ah this
needs to be tossed, no carrots, eeew moldy cucumber, and? I found a stray apple
and added it to my lunch bag. I rubbed a hand over my face wondering when I’d
have time to go grocery shopping. At least I’d have dinner tonight. Maybe I
could order a big enough meal so there would be leftovers.

     I passed Brandi in the hallway. “So where’s Sam
taking you?”

     “Oh I don’t know, I didn’t ask,” she said turning
into her bedroom.

     None of my business, I suppose. Time to shower
and get ready to face the weather. I suddenly thought about Lloyd driving all
the way to Illinois this morning and I started to worry. Then I worried about
Autumn. Then I worried about Sam driving. If I didn’t stop worrying, I would
never get out the door.

     By the time I was dressed and ready to go, Brandi
was heading out the door. Sam made it here safely. I breathed a sigh of relief,
but silently cursed him for taking Brandi out instead of me.

     I bundled up and out I went to face another day.

A downed tree blocked my usual route to Ageless Grace,
so I took an alternate route. As I passed a mini-mall, some jerk pulled out in
front of me. I hit the brakes, and my car spun off the road into the ditch. The
jerk kept going but two HVAC guys in the van behind me got out and walked over.

     They both had white company jackets on, with
Jim’s Heating and Cooling embroidered in blue on the left-hand side. One wore a
camouflaged baseball cap and the other, a bright orange knit hat. Neither wore
gloves. Both were stocky men and looked quite capable to assist a female in
trouble.

     I powered my electric window open.

     “Put your car in neutral,” instructed the guy in
the baseball cap. “And steer. We’re going to push from behind.”

     “And don’t use the gas,” said his co-worker in a
tone that implied I was a stupid woman.

They pushed me back onto the
road. I thanked them several times, before I drove off, with shaky hands and
white knuckles.

     I arrived fifteen minutes late. The Hawk glared
at me from the front desk as I walked past her to the time clock. I took off my
coat as I went, trying to save a little time.

     She got up as soon as I returned.

     “Tree down,” I offered as my excuse. “I had to
take an alternate route.”

     “You need to leave earlier when the weather is
bad,” she said strictly. “We had a new admission this morning. Be sure to do a
verification check on her insurance and check the Medicare number for accuracy.
You failed to catch a numeral error on the last admission and our Medicare
payment got delayed a month.”

     When she turned her back, I saluted and brought
my feet together. I turned back and flipped on the computer. The seat was warm
when I sat down. The phones lines lit up and the ringing started and didn’t end
for ten minutes. I printed off a census form, stuck it in the copy machine,
pressed 3, hit enter and stopped for coffee. I retrieved the copies on my way
back, spilling coffee down my hand and onto the floor. I used Shantel’s tissues
to clean up my mess.

Donna walked in as I placed my
coffee on the desk. She walked over.

     “Bad out there,” she said removing her scarf.
“Five people in the ditch.”

     “I was one of them,” I replied dryly.

     “Glad you’re okay. Car okay?”

     “Yeah, it’s fine. Thanks for asking.”

     “I talked to Chuck last night. Sam called off our
double date for Friday. I’m bummed, because I wanted to see you. We haven’t
been out in a while.”

     “Tell Chuck to go bowling by himself. Then we can
go out Friday night. I’ll ask Autumn to join us if she’s free.”

     “Hey, that’s a good idea. I can’t stand wearing
those goofy half-blue, half-red, saddle shoes. I’ll tell him at lunch time.”

     The phone rang again and she left. I paged the
call over the intercom and started the census. Tuesday morning meeting today.
I’d have to have the numbers ready before it started.

     I worked steadily until Shantel arrived. She took
off her coat in the lobby and Gus gave her a wolf whistle. She waved him off
and smiled at me.

     “That’s some sexy sweater dress,” I told her.
“Hot lunch date?”

     “I’m meeting Leroy after work,” she said
adverting eye contact.

     “Why?” I said harshly. “The guy is bad news.”

     “Yeah, I know that. I ain’t getting back with the
damn fool Sunny; I just want him to see what he’s missing.”

     “Good for you. Watch your back though.”

     “Girl, I’ve been watching my back so long I got a
permanent kink in my neck.”

     I laughed. “Just don’t be tempted.” Like I was
one to talk.

     “Sheesh, you sound like my mama.” I stood and she
took my seat. “How come this seat ain’t ever warm? Girl, don’t you have any
blood flowing through you?”

     I shrugged my shoulders, grabbed my empty coffee
cup, and returned to my office.      

Snacks were provided for the morning meeting as was
standard operating procedures. Today we had an assortment of danish. More
healthy food. I wanted a big fat banana muffin. Still, I was hungry, so I took
a cheese danish off the tray. I refilled my coffee cup and ate, skimming my
notes before the room began filling up. I felt a bit anxious today, since I’d
find out if Lloyd’s dad would be discharged home. Over the weeks, I had grown
close to him and I would miss our daily chats.

     We were all were seated and done with our breakfast
treat by the time Phyllis entered the room. She never ate during the meeting,
so either she snuck something from the tray before the meeting or she was on a
strict diet.

     The meeting commenced with one of the RN’s
describing the severity of a resident’s wound. I could have done without the
detail and the picture was completely unnecessary.

     Next, Betty spoke in length on how her residents
were responding to their physical therapy. She set a discharge date of Friday
for Mr. Harper. Phyllis, however, suggested she keep working with Mr. Harper
since Medicare was still paying for his care.

Betty argued that he was close to reaching his goals,
but in the end, she agreed to abide by Phyllis’s wishes. She didn’t look at all
pleased. The Hawk’s expression remained blank, but she warned Betty to watch
her language in her notes. The Hawk did not want to lose money because of poor
word choice.

     Lloyd and his mother would be disappointed. They
would have to wait another week before he would be discharged home. I had mixed
emotions.

     Before the meeting was over, we were reminded
that the hand-washing seminar was at two this afternoon, followed by a quick
test. All were required to participate.

     At least it would eat up an hour of the day and
Donna and I could sit in the back and pass notes.

Donna ran out to the hospital before lunch, so I
purchased a soda from the vending machine and ate in my office with the door
closed. I pulled a book from my drawer that I read when I had the opportunity,
but today I didn’t feel like reading. I dialed Autumn’s cell phone and waited.

     “Hello, Sunny,” she said. “Boring lunch?”