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Authors: Fern Michaels

Sara's Song (12 page)

BOOK: Sara's Song
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“Call me on the house phone. I plugged them all back in. Those cell phones are a pain in the neck. I have a lot of decisions to make, Sandi. Adam's forcing me to take over more of the responsibilities of the band. I'll think about everything you said.”
“Do you want me to send up my friend? He's tops, Dallas. He's been a fan for twenty years. He's clean so Adam would approve of that. He just needs an advance for some new threads, a class styling job on his hair, and some new wheels. He's got the same kind of wonderful personality Billy had. He's got red hair and three zillion freckles. How about Monday afternoon? I'll bring him up, and we can audition him. Trust me, Dallas, this is a good thing.”
“Okay, but call first.”
Sandi stood on her toes. She kissed him lightly on the tip of his nose. “Do you still love me, just a little.”
Dallas felt so uncomfortable he backed up. “We've been all through this, Sandi. I'm in love with Sara. Whatever was between us is over and done with.”
“Keep working on that song and try my name when you get stuck. Record it, Dallas, and then play it back. You'll see what I'm talking about. Promise.”
“I'll think about it.”
“See you, sweetie.”
Dallas stood in the driveway watching the small blue car until it was out of sight. Somehow Sandi had wiped away his horrendous headache. He would not think about the mess in his bedroom. He absolutely would not think about anything but the song he was writing.
 
 
Sara stepped from the elevator, her eyes searching for Nellie Pulaski. When she spotted her she smiled. “I have this strange feeling, Nellie, that I won't be back. You know me and my intuition. Have you heard anything?”
“Plenty,” the older nurse blustered. “I know everything that goes on in this hospital. Most of the time I know it before the muckety-mucks know it. And if what I heard is true, I'm outta here.”
Sara's heart took on an extra beat. “That sounds pretty ominous, Nellie. Do you care to share, or is it gossip that shouldn't be repeated?”
“There was some kind of meeting in Heinrick's office around ten-thirty. I got it straight from Tessie, Heinrick's secretary. The board voted against renewing your contract. She said they talked, using words like ‘downsizing,' ‘cost efficiency,' and ‘limited donations.' Salary raises are out of the question. Just for the record, Tisdale and Granger got raises when their contracts were renewed. That goes for everyone, not just you. Tessie actually heard Harry say that. I have an appointment with Heinrick when I go off duty. I'm going to ask him point-blank if it's true. If it is, I'm giving my notice.”
Sara felt like she'd been kicked in the stomach. “I guess they have to do what they have to do. I'm sure Mrs. Osborne played a part in this somewhere. I'm not sorry for what I did, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Please, Nellie, don't quit because of me. This hospital needs you. I better go back and get the plants in my office.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Did they say anything specific about my work? ‘Downsizing' and ‘cost efficiency' are the only words Harry knows. They were supposed to counter and we'd negotiate. Are you sure Tessie got it straight? I'm a damn good doctor, Nellie.”
The old nurse's face was grim. “Not just damn good. You are the best. Tessie said she's sure and she repeated the conversation word for word. She said Heinrick looked
elated
. I meant it, Sara, I'm leaving. Steven McGuire offered me a job. It's part-time. I think I'm going to take him up on his offer. I'm of retirement age anyway. Working with animals opposed to people has its perks. The animals don't complain. All they do is love you for taking care of them and making them well. I don't want you to panic now. Listen to me, Sara, you can get a job anywhere. And you'll probably make more than what you asked for in your new contract. My advice would be to send out your résumés to every hospital in town. Take the month off just the way you planned. Start the new year right. By the fifteenth of January the offers will be rolling in.”
Sara blew her nose. “I haven't even walked out of here. They certainly made the decision quickly. Everything happens for a reason I suppose. Why is it, Nellie, when you care, when you give 110 percent, they kick you in the gut. If I was a lousy doctor like some people around here whose names I won't mention, I might be able to understand it. Do you think it's that good-old-boy thing?”
“It's this whole place. Mostly it's the money-hungry owners.”
“Nellie, tell me the truth, do you think Billy Sweet's death or Sadie Osborne have anything to do with this?”
“I don't know, Sara. I truly don't know. I go off duty in ten minutes. Wait for me in the parking lot, and we'll go for coffee.”
“I was supposed to go up to Dallas's house this evening. Now I don't feel like it. Sure, I'll meet you in the lot. You can have my plants, Nellie. Monty's café?”
“Sounds good. You can go ahead, and I'll meet you there. I don't want to see any more tears either. These people aren't worth your little finger.”
Sara did her best to smile for Nellie's benefit.
Nellie Pulaski yanked at her starched uniform before she settled her cap more firmly on her springy curls. She then stomped her way to Harry Heinrick's office. She knocked as she opened the door. “Harry!” she called. Being of an age with the administrator and years of familiarity allowed for personal names in private. On the floor she was always careful to address the administrator as Mr. Heinrick.
“What is it, Nellie. I'm pretty busy right now.”
“I quit.”
“What?”
“You heard me. I quit. How dare you not renew Sara Killian's contract. How dare you, Harry!”
“Where did you hear that?”
“You know I know everything that goes on in this hospital. You also know that I know you know, so don't pretend with me. Sara is one of the best things this hospital has going for it and you know it. Why didn't you fire Granger? Twice this week he came in here with liquor on his breath. I smelled it on him, Harry. He's a drunk. You renewed his contract last month. Tisdale dispenses medication on the golf course and treats patients on his cell phone. He hasn't been in here in a month, and you renewed his contract two months ago. With hefty raises for both of them. Sara has been doing their jobs, and all the nurses cover for them. I'm going to file a report with the AMA and everyone else I can think of. What do you think of that, Harry?”
“Do you think I don't know all of that, Nellie? What you have to realize is I can't control the board.” His stomach started to churn. If there was one thing Benton Memorial needed, it was Nellie Pulaski. He wished he had a dozen curmudgeons like Nellie. “This job is the end of the line for me. I'm close to retirement age. What's more, Nellie, I need this job because I, like you, make a difference around here. I live with that the way you do. The end sometimes does justify the means.”
“I guess that means you sacrificed Sara for the betterment of Benton. In your mind, Harry. You are a . . .
wuss
, Harry Heinrick. You're afraid of your own shadow. Did you hear me, I quit?”
“You quit three times a week, Nellie. Benton Memorial is your life just the way it's my life and everyone's life who works here.”
“Was
my life, Harry. I'm quitting because of what you're doing to Sara. I want to make sure you understand that. I am not giving notice either. When I walk out of here it's for the last time. Carly Killian will be the next one to go. You better shore up your personnel files. I can see the malpractice suits flying all over the place. You're turning green, Harry. God help the lot of you. Good-bye,
Mister
Heinrick. Have a nice Thanksgiving. I'm sure you'll find
something
to give thanks for.”
“Nellie, wait. You better than anyone should know things aren't always black or white. There are reasons for everything, extenuating circumstances . . . things I'm not at liberty to discuss. What about the patients? You can't just walk out of here.”
“Watch me, Harry. I already have a new job. Yes, I'm leaving you. However, I am not leaving you without ER coverage. Therein lies the difference. That's what I call professionalism. What you just did to Sara was not professional. Couldn't you at least have waited until she was gone? See you around, Harry.”
Nellie looked up and down the hushed, pristine white corridor. Would she miss this place? Maybe. Then again, maybe not. What she'd just done felt right and good. She hoped she had the courage to follow through on her threats about Granger and Tisdale. She squared her pudgy shoulders. Already they felt lighter now that she knew she didn't have to pull double shifts so that she could keep her eyes on the two young doctors who, in her opinion, weren't fit to practice medicine. In a pique of something she couldn't define, she opened Harry's office door and bellowed, “Make sure you send my gold watch by overnight mail!” She slammed the door so hard the knob came loose under her hand. For spite she gave the door a good kick before she marched her way out of the hospital to the parking lot.
Nellie Pulaski took one last, long look at the hospital she'd worked in for so many years. “Life goes on,” she muttered. “You get a cat, you plant some rosebushes, and you learn more ways to cook hamburger. My reward will be that I sleep at night and the knowledge that I stood by a damn fine doctor.”
 
 
Monty's Café was the home of every white-collar professional within a seven-mile radius. It was one of the last bastions for smokers, and it was jammed to capacity twenty-four hours a day. The costly, intricate ventilation system allowed smokers and nonsmokers to eat and smoke in peaceful coexistence. It was Nellie Pulaski's favorite eatery.
She spotted Sara sitting at her favorite table. She waved the hostess aside, muttering, “I'm sorry I ever told your boss to serve Starbucks coffee. I'm even sorrier he listened to me. You can't hear yourself think in here.”
“Bad day, huh, Nellie?” The young hostess grinned.
“Six of one and a half dozen of the other. I quit today. I am officially retired from Benton Memorial as of,” Nellie looked at her watch, “fourteen minutes ago. Don't broadcast the news, honey.”
Nellie weaved her way across the room to where Sara was sitting and lowered her bulky figure gingerly into the comfortable captain's chair. She immediately fired up a cigarette and proceeded to blow three perfect smoke rings in succession. “Congratulate me, Sara. I told Harry what he could do with his job. I also told him to, send me my gold watch by overnight mail. I didn't even give notice. What do you think of that?”
“If you did it for yourself, okay. If you did it for me, then you were wrong. I've been sitting here wailing to myself. I don't understand. Are you sure you told me everything?”
“Absolutely. Don't you dare start to question your profession or your abilities. You are not at fault here. Both of us gave quality care. I stayed because I knew I made a difference. I think you stayed for the same reasons.”
“God, Nellie, when I think of all the years of study, my specialty training, my student loans . . . That's most of my life. I gave up everything to be a doctor and that . . . that money jockey tells me I'm not worth it. Sure I can send out resumes by the dozen but how do I explain the fact that a second-rate private hospital didn't renew my contract. I can't even give them a reason why other than money. Should I go further in debt and strike out on my own? I feel like an old sweater that's starting to unravel. My parents sacrificed everything for Carly's and my educations and it still wasn't enough. I've been sitting here thinking about going to some third-world country for a couple of years to wipe out my loans. You can do that you know. I have two mortgages on the house, my car is on time payments. We had to buy new kitchen appliances, and they're on time, too. There's no money left at the end of the month. There should be, but there isn't. I know I'm worth more than I'm paid. It was stupid of me to buy that expensive car. Every time I get behind the wheel I think about the $710 a month payment. It's obscene the way that car guzzles gas. Neither Carly nor I have much in the way of savings. I'm really going to need the unemployment insurance. Nellie, I'm going to be forty. I should have a family of my own and be comfortable in my profession. I need to know, Nellie, where did I go wrong? I bought into that myth that doctors make megabucks. That's got to be the biggest joke of the year. The malpractice insurance alone can wipe you out.”
“You didn't go wrong. Let's drink this delicious coffee and talk about other things. I'd really like to know what's going on with you and Mr. Dallas Lord, popular rock star. Is it serious? What do you have planned for Thanksgiving?”
“I was planning on going up to Dallas's house this evening. We were going to do a big Thanksgiving dinner. Carly's going to Hank's house. I really don't feel like going now. All I want to do is go home, crawl into a corner, and suck my thumb.”
BOOK: Sara's Song
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