Remember Me

REMEMBER ME | PROLOGUE SPRING 2019-2

MAGGIE MCGUIRE WAS returning from her supper break in the hospital cafeteria when she spotted the posting on the bulletin board advertising jobs in healthcare.

Employment with the United States Army

Registered Nurses wanted for an eighteen-month research opportunity to work and live in the United States.

Salary: One Hundred fifty thousand U.S. dollars.

The salary took her breath away, it would pay her university loans and help her buy a house. She wrote the contact information down on the paper she carried in her uniform pocket. Maggie was intrigued by the opportunity and put it in the back of her mind as she mentally switched her focus to her nursing duties. She returned to the ward to get her adult patients settled for shift change and complete her charting before she was done for the day.

As Maggie drove home from work that evening, spring was becoming evident with the melting snow, slush and water running along the streets. She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of a research project would pay so well. She loved this Alberta city where she had worked for almost three years after graduating from university with her nursing degree. Her job provided challenges, but not enough to keep her engaged right now. Lately she had been restless and was more than ready for a new adventure in her life.

Maggie had not had a steady boyfriend since she had ended her relationship with Ted when they finished university. She was not in love with him and he was ready to get married, which he promptly did to someone else as soon as Maggie was out of his life. She had dated, but a lasting romance that really meant something had not come along. Maggie was free for an adventure and something new in her life like the lucrative job posting and it certainly appealed to her.

Maggie’s father had passed away from cancer while she was in high school. Her mother died from a stroke when she was in her second year of university. Having had no siblings, Maggie had not had to share the small inheritance she had received from her parent’s estate. The money had been used for a car and living expenses while in university. The one hundred fifty thousand dollars in U.S. funds would pay off her student loans and help her buy a home and some real furniture. It would be great to have a yard and maybe even a dog. The one-bedroom apartment with a balcony on the second floor where she lived was in a decent neighbourhood. It had an outdoor parking spot in back of the complex for her car and her balcony looked out over a well-maintained park beside a high school football field. The two-storey high school was visible beyond the football field. The nice thing about a high school was that except for organized games and practices the area was quiet most of the time. Maggie appreciated the area when she was looking for silence while trying to sleep after gruelling night shifts at the hospital.

When Maggie arrived home, she took the paper out of her uniform pocket and set it on her kitchen table while she searched for writing paper, an envelope and a stamp to mail an application to the United States. Her excitement was overwhelming at the thought of something new and different. She decided to immediately write a letter indicating her interest now, before she had time to talk herself out of the idea. She wouldn’t really be missed by anyone. Eighteen months would go by quickly and her close friends would be happy for her. She could sub-let her apartment to someone else while she was gone and ask for a leave from her current nursing position. As she talked herself into the idea, she quickly wrote a concise cover letter and included a recent resume. Maggie mailed the letter on her way to work the next morning and quickly looked up to the sky and silently asked her parents to put in a good word for her if it was meant to be

CHAPTER ONE

FALL 2019

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