An Evergreen Christmas (2 page)

Clifford glanced at her and then at Noel.

“What are you looking at?” Holly asked.

Clifford grinned. “Nothing, Dr. Green.”

Holly handed him a surgical mask and then grabbed one. “Start scrubbing. And don't contaminate anything in there, including yourself.”

He nodded, a smile still on his lips. “Yes, Dr. Green.”

Holly peeked through the O.R. window as she scrubbed her arms. While Noel checked out the surgical equipment on the blue draped sterile table, she checked him out. Tall. Athletic looking. Certainly must have time to work out. Nice derriere, even in scrub pants. Noel turned to face the window and glimpsed at her, the corners of his eyes crinkling upward. Holly flicked her eyes to the stream of water from the silver faucet, averting his gaze, denying she'd been watching him, fighting the heat rising to her cheeks. Thank God she could hide behind her mask. Clifford continued to lather his forearms, saying nothing. Instead, he whistled.

“Don't you dare whistle in that O.R.,” she said.

“Yes, Dr. Green.”

Holly and Clifford stood opposite Noel at the operating table. They resected the young man's diseased bowel, forcing to give the 22 year-old a diverting ileostomy, his small intestinal contents to spill into a bag draped across his belly. She peered at Noel above her surgical mask. His eyes no longer lighthearted, he focused on his suturing. They taught Clifford throughout the case, even letting him throw some stitches.

“Good job,” they said at the same time.

“This stinks,” Clifford said. “He's younger than I and he has to wear this bag. What kind of Christmas is that?”

Holly laid her gloved hand over Clifford's hand. “Although it's an especially unfortunate time, it's temporary. Dr. Shepherd will reanastamose it later. He'll get better and have less pain.”

“Well said, Dr. Green. We're finished here. Now we'll cure Mrs. Shale.”

***

Holly stopped in the pre-op holding area to speak with Mrs. Shale. She rapped on her door.

“Sorry for the delay in your surgery. I know you're anxious. I ordered morphine to keep you comfortable. How are you feeling?”

Mrs. Shale gazed up at her with a smile.

Must be the morphine, Holly mused.

“Thank you for checking on me,” Mrs. Shale said. “I have minimal discomfort.”

“Whom shall I speak with after your surgery?”

“No one, dear. I mean doctor. Martin and I had no children, and the rest of my family live at quite a distance. I don’t want to bother them.”

Holly rested her hand on Mrs. Shale’s hand. She never got attached to patients, a stance ingrained into her from her surgical residency training, but there was something special about this woman. Perhaps she identified with Mrs. Shale, both avoiding the holidays. “I can call whoever you would like.”

“That's all right. I'm fine. Let me know how my surgery went once I'm awake.”

“How about when you go home. Do you need help?”

“No, dear. I'll make do. With the belly button surgery, I'm sure I'll be up in no time. I trust you, doctor.”

Ordinarily Holly disliked patients calling her dear but oddly enough she didn't mind Mrs. Shale addressing her as such.

“I'm confident that I can remove your gallbladder laparoscopically so your recovery will be faster. Dr. Shepherd, another surgeon, and Dr. Clifford Jackson, the intern you met on rounds today, will be assisting me. Dr. Shepherd will greet you before your surgery.”

 “Oh my, three surgeons. I feel so important.”

Holly tapped Mrs. Shale's hand. “You are important.”

“Thank you, dear. I mean Dr. Green.”

Noel Shepherd walked into the room, his surgical mask dangling from his broad neck. She wondered how many women had had their arms wrapped around it? Holly curled her toes beneath her O.R. clogs, but that didn’t work. Standing next to him, her pulse bumped anyway. Noel shook Mrs. Shale's hand
. Hmmm. Nice guy
. “Hello. I'm Dr. Noel Shepherd. I'll be assisting Dr. Green with your surgery.”

“Thank you. I'm glad to meet you and happy you'll be there. Hopefully my gallbladder won't give you two too much trouble. That way you can make it to the hospital party.”

“You're our priority. No rush job for you,” Holly said.

Noel smiled at Mrs. Shale. “You're in good hands with Dr. Green.”

“Yes, I know.”

“It's nice to meet you,” Noel said. “I have to check on one of my patients but I'll see you in the operating room before you go to sleep.”

Noel glanced at Holly and gave her a grin and a nod before he left the room.

Mrs. Shale nudged Holly. “He's a handsome man. I see no ring on either of your fingers.”

Holly knew where this was heading. “We remove all jewelry before performing surgery.”

Mrs. Shale smiled. “He reminds me of my Martin, of course when we were younger. You two have a great time at that party...and afterwards, who knows? Dear, will you hand me my purse before they check it away?”

“Sure.” Holly handed Mrs. Shale her black patent leather purse.

Mrs. Shale rooted through her bag. She took out a wad of tissues. “I want you to have this.”

Holly arched her eyebrows. “A wad of tissues?”

“It's not the tissues but what's inside.”

Holly peeled away the ball of fluff. Her mouth dropped open. “I can't take this.”

“Sure you can. I want you to have it. It suits you.”

She palmed the gold metallic ornament dotted with boughs of holly. Holly squeezed Mrs. Shale’s hand. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Just do a good job on my gallbladder.” She winked.

Holly winked back. “Will do.”

Cradling the ornament all the way to the women’s locker room, Holly set it on the top shelf of her locker, admiring it once more before easing the door closed. She’d add it to her private collection tonight. Holly paused before the mirror, fixing her scrub cap and wiping away the tiny dots of mascara peeking past her lower lashes, before joining Clifford and Noel in the O.R. She patted Mrs. Shale’s hand until the woman’s eyes flickered shut from the anesthesia.

Noel nudged between Holly and Clifford, scrubbing next to her.

“She’s a nice lady,” he said.

“Yes, she is.” Holly thought of the ornament safely stashed in her locker and smiled.

“That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile today. I can tell by your eyes,” Noel said.

She pressed her lips tight beneath her surgical mask. “Let’s get going.”

He leaned over the sink and stared into her eyes. “There it is again,” he teased.

Darn him! Why is he doing this? Unable to keep from grinning, she rolled her eyes. Holly flicked water from her fingertips. “Mrs. Shale’s gallbladder awaits us.”

They crowded around the O.R. table. The diseased organ put up a good fight, but Holly won, extracting it free, ridding Mrs. Shale’s pain. She let Clifford suture the small incisions, supervising his handiwork. They all shook hands after the case. Noel lingered at their grasp, holding Holly’s hand an extra few seconds. The warmth of his hand penetrated past the latex of his gloves and shot straight to her hand. For the first time, Dr. Holly Green was speechless.

“See you at the party,” he said.

“Uh, I have to dictate the surgery and do my post-op orders. And I want to wait until Mrs. Shale wakes up. She has no family here,” Holly stammered. Then she gritted her teeth. Why did she lose control when around him?”

“I’ll wait,” Noel said, mischief in his eyes.

Obviously he’s not picking up on my hint that I’d rather not attend
. “Please, go ahead. I don’t want to keep you.”

“It’s no problem. You dictate. I’ll do the post-op orders,” he countered.

Holly shifted her weight. “No really, go on.”

“I’ll stay.”

Clifford kept silent.

The anesthesiologist pulled out Mrs. Shale’s breathing tube. She coughed and sputtered. “She’s waking up.” He pointed to Holly. “You dictate. He does the orders. And that’s final.”

“See, Sid says that’s final.”

“Since when does Sid get a vote in this?”

“Since he and I are becoming fast friends. Right, Sid?”

“Right. Can we go now?”

They eased Mrs. Shale from the O.R. table onto a bed and wheeled her to the recovery room. Holly dictated the surgery while Noel sat with Clifford, entering the post-op orders into the computer.

“Dr. Green?” Mrs. Shale muttered.

Holly walked over to her. “I’m right here. Your surgery went well.”

“Thank you.”

Holly arranged Mrs. Shale’s bed covers, pulling the warm blanket past her shoulders.

“I’ll let the nurses take care of you, but I’ll check on you later.”

“Have fun at the party with that nice young doctor. Not the intern one. He’s just a baby. But you know whom. Then tell me all about it later.” She waved her hand at Holly. “Now scoot.”

“Your orders are done,” Noel announced. “I’ll walk you to the party.”

Panic rose in her throat. “I need to stop at the locker room.”

“Me, too. I’ll swing into the men’s locker room, change my clothes, and I’ll meet you outside.”

Dang, he was persistent, she thought. With him guarding the door, the chance she’d slip out unnoticed dwindled. She had no choice but to make an appearance at the hospital’s holiday celebration.

Holly took off her scrubs and changed back into her black and white outfit. She reached into the locker’s top shelf and inched the tissue wrapped ornament past her fingertips, rolling in into her palm, and gingerly depositing it into her tote. She glanced about the room. She was alone. Holly grabbed her cell phone from her bag and called her Aunt Mae, the woman who had raised her.

“Hi Aunt Mae. How are you?”

“I’m fine, sweetheart. Please tell me you’re coming for Christmas Dinner.”

“I’ll be there.” Holly drew a deep breath. “I need to ask a favor of you.”

“Anything, dear.”

“Page me on my beeper in about 20 minutes.”

She pressed the phone to her ear. Silence.

“Anything but that. Holly, go to the hospital party. It’s okay to have a good time. Call me when you get home.”

Holly sighed. “Okay.”

“Good girl. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

She slid the phone into the bag and slipped the tote into her locker, positioning it for a quick escape. After a few bites of appetizer and a sip of punch, she’d sneak back here, grab her belongings, and race home before anyone noticed. Holly paused. There was only one way out, and Noel was on the other side of that door. She pushed the locker room door open, wincing as it groaned on its hinges.

“Ah, there you are,” Noel said. “Ready to go?”

Yes, she was ready to go. Ready to go home. She pressed her lips into a smile. “Sure.”

Noel wore a white shirt and black trousers. They would have matched had he not sported a red tie dotted with tiny penguins and had that Santa sticker on his beeper. Not a speck of seasonal sparkle adorned her outfit.

They walked side-by-side to the hospital cafeteria, their collegial distance narrowing.

Holly glanced down at his beeper. “Nice pager.”

He grinned. “A little girl I operated on yesterday gave me that Santa sticker.”

Heat radiated from her cheeks. “That was nice of you. I bet that meant a lot to her.”

Hmmm. Double nice guy!

“Yeah. She got a kick out of it on rounds.” He fiddled with the pager clipped to the waistband of his trousers. “I like it.”

She smiled. “It suits you.”

Holly kept secret about the ornament her patient had given her. It would have sparked uneasy conversations about tree trimming. She had the perfect spot for it at home.

Muted music pulsed past the double cafeteria doors. Noel pushed them open, waving Holly inside. A crisp rendition of Dashing Through the Snow surrounded her. She passed beneath swags of evergreen draped along the wooden doorframe and entered the holiday bash she had avoided every year.

Noel rested his hand on Holly’s shoulder. Her breath hitched at his gentle squeeze as he guided her toward the buffet. Maybe she’d stay for a little while.

“Let’s get something to eat while there’s food left,” he said.

He handed her a plate and then took one for him. For every mini quiche Holly put on her plate, Noel added two more.

“That’s plenty,” she said.

“That’s not even a meal.”

He piled her plate with shrimp and cheeses despite her protests.

“I will blame you for an evening of indigestion.”

“It’s once a year.” He looked down at her with his pleading brown eyes. “I’ll share my antacids with you.”

“And I need you to share this plate with me. I can’t eat all this.”

“Done.” He tilted his head toward the tables. “Come on. I see two empty chairs.”

Holly followed him, balancing her overflowing plate. They passed a group of doctors and nurses who hushed their conversations and glanced sideways at her. They apparently were as stunned as she was to see her, she having succeeded in dodging the festivities every year, except for today.

“Merry Christmas, Holly,” they said, more in a question than a hearty salutation.

She nodded curtly. “Yes, uh, Merry Christmas to you too.”

Holly scooted closer to Noel, hiding behind him, her plate almost colliding with the back of his shirt. She halted before smacking into him. Her heart pounded. She cast her eyes toward the door, her discomfort palpable. Perhaps this was a bad idea, she thought, sure everyone was staring at her back, gossiping about her impromptu appearance. She peered around him to see who was sitting at the table. Clifford and Candice popped up from their seats.

Clifford cleared his throat. “I finished my work, and uh, I reviewed how to properly present patients with Candice.”

“Yes, he did,” Candice interjected. “And if you will please give me another chance, Dr. Green, I’m sure I won’t disappoint you.”

Holly waved her hand up and down. “Please sit, both of you, and enjoy the party. Candice, I was tough on you to make you better. I’m confident you’ll ace your surgical rotation.”

“Thank you, Dr. Green,” Candice gushed.

“That’s all right. Let’s sit and eat.”

“Good idea,” Noel said.

He pulled out Holly’s chair. She sat but before she could inch her way forward, he guided her to the table.
Triple nice guy!