MY ART IS LOVING YOU

WHO IS THAT MAN?

Lucia

It has been a very tough shift. We have worked tirelessly since 4 p.m. from the previous day and it’s already 6 am today. There was no time for dinner the night before nor breakfast this morning. Our team consists of four people per shift. I was just coming out of the Operating Room. Last night a two-year-old boy was brought in after falling off his bunk bed and suffering a severe concussion.

Unfortunately, our hospital is not equipped to handle this type of injury. We received some assistance from the traumatology and neurology departments, but there was constant disagreement and arguments.

Being the only hospital located near San Pedro County, we try our best with the limited resources that we have. The child’s mother rushed in, holding the boy in her arms. Blood covered his head, neck, and thorax. At first glance, I knew I was looking at a craniocerebral trauma (trauma from blow to the head), so I instructed one of the interns to gather information from the mother while we attended to the child. We confirmed he had an open wound in the occipital zone (lower part of the skull). It is a small wound, but he is bleeding profusely.

We immediately started treatment, using a cannula. The intern informed us that the boy had fallen off a bunk bed and had been unconscious ever since. We decided to take a tomography to assess the extent of the damage. The machine doesn’t work too well but luckily, this time it did, and we discovered a hemorrhage. Although it was small, it could potentially grow and cause permanent damage. We quickly took him to the Operating Room for surgery. The procedure went relatively well, except hours later we were notified that he had developed a few complications and we had to cut him open again, realizing he had another hemorrhage which caused severe bleeding and he is now under observation.

I am frustrated and upset because of the situation. It breaks my heart to see children fighting for their lives and having to deliver bad news to their parents, having to look at their faces. I really hate that. It is now daytime; our shift is about to change, and I haven’t even had a chance to finish writing last night’s reports for all the patients that came in with critical conditions. I am stressed, worried and my mind is overwhelmed. But there he is in the midst of it all, my guardian angel: Santiago, once again he has come to my rescue. He completed the reports for me, plus he brought me my usual hot chocolate which helps me stay awake. I adore him, I don’t know what I would do without him. He knows I hate coffee.

“Thank you, my Angel. You didn’t have to do this for me,” I express my gratitude.

“It’s ok, my Sweet. I knew you were busy. By the way, how is the boy doing?” Santiago asks, showing his concern.

“Well, he has a hemorrhage. We managed to reduce it, but he is still not out of danger and is under observation. His parents are an emotional wreck.” I reply, my voice filled with worry.

“Don’t let it weigh you down. This is part of our job. There are good days and bad days. You can’t get too emotionally attached to the children. We have told you this before.” Santiago reminds me.

“It is not that easy. They are so fragile and helpless. I feel like if I can’t take care of them properly, I am not doing my job right.” I confess.

“You can’t save them all. Why don’t you go take a shower? I’ll hand in the reports. I am on call here.” Santiago suggests, winking an eye at me. I insist, I don’t know what I would do without him. We are so close; I understand why everyone thinks we are more than just friends. After taking a refreshing shower and changing into clean clothes, I felt like a brand new person. As I return to my work, exhaustion overwhelms me, and I find myself dozing off everywhere.

“Heidi, wake up,” Daina calls out. “We are almost done here, and you can go get some rest. My goodness, you look absolutely exhausted.”

“Last night was incredibly chaotic. I feel like a train wreck. I can’t keep my eyes open,” I admit, my voice barely audible.

“You know what you need, Heidi?” Daina asks. That’s the nickname she gave me because she says I look like the cartoon.

“Let me guess: a boyfriend,” I reply.

“Well, yes. Once you have s*x for the first time, all those worries and stress you have will vanish. But you are so picky that not even the holy ghost of Christmas can make that miracle happen, despite our group wish this year,” Daina teases.

“I am not picky. I just happen to know exactly what I want. Besides, most men don’t accept or understand our career. I don’t want a relationship right now. Men often expect us to be constantly available and cater to their needs. I am not cut out for any of that,” I explain.

“Who are you kidding?” She continues. ”If he doesn’t have blue, green or gray eyes, is not blonde or isn’t a millionaire, you won’t give him the time of day.”

“That’s not true. It is not my fault that I am attracted to men with light eyes. And he doesn’t have to be blonde, just someone I find attractive. He doesn’t need to be a millionaire, but I do expect him to have a steady income, be hardworking and supportive. Stop saying that, people will start to believe that I am a gold digger,” I defend myself.

“Well, you always say he has to be a millionaire,” Daina persists.

“No, what I mean is that I don’t want someone who makes less money than I do. I am a professional and I’ve worked really hard to achieve everything I have. The least I expect from a man is for him to be at my level and not beneath me. Now, if he comes with a lot more money and a fancy car, I won’t complain. However, I wouldn’t quit my job and depend on him. Besides, those rich guys are far more complicated. They don’t take women seriously, believe in love or any of that,” I clarify.

“Yeah, but you can’t just sit at home and expect a man to come knocking at your door saying: “I am here,” Daina points out.

“Oh well, I’ll find him when I find him. Off the subject, do you know who is at the hospital today?”

I told her to come to the window and together we observed two black SUVs parked in front of the hospital surrounded by a group of armed men. It seemed like an army down there, how exaggerated.

“Wow, look at that,” she teases. “Seems like we have some important visitors coming our way.”

“Maybe they are from the government. A minister or something. They are the only ones to have that level of security,“ I speculate.

“Or perhaps a millionaire. They also need all this security,” she adds.

“Yes Daina, but I don’t think a millionaire would come to a run-down hospital like this when they can go to a five-star facility, right?” I reason.

“You are right. Well, whoever it is, he is not coming to see us, so let’s finish up our shift so we can go,” Daina suggests.

“Yes, once we are done, will you come with me to the Observation Room, so I can check on the boy?” I ask.

An hour later, after dealing with conflictive parents, reporting laboratory tests, clashing with doctors from other departments, completing last night’s medical charts, and registering new patients, we were finally done for the day.

“All right Lucia. We are done. Let’s go before one of the vultures sees us and won’t let us leave,” Daina rushes me.

” I thought you always bragged about not being a slave to anybody,” I tease her. “Go ahead and I’ll meet you outside. I’ll quickly go check on the boy with the hemorrhage.”

“You are the only woman I know who’s practically a zombie after a long night shift and still wants to go and check on the patients instead of going home,” Daina remarks.

“I just want to see one patient in particular whom I personally attended to,” I explain.

I said goodbye to the nurses, and I headed to the Pediatric Care Unit to see how my patient is doing while I wait for Daina.

As I arrived on the floor, everything was chaotic. It felt like a crowded Congress meeting with an abundance of people I had never seen before. There were intimidating men in black suits and were armed. I felt like I was in a completely different world. I realize now, these are the same men we saw coming out of the SUV. I spotted the Hospital Director accompanied by two other men, who clearly held significant importance. It makes sense, I mean the Hospital Director wouldn’t waste his time with just anyone.

One of those men was a dirty blonde, elegant, and handsome. He looked familiar but I don’t recall where I’ve seen him before. The other gentleman had his back turned to me, preventing me from getting a good look at him, but I can tell he is a tall, impressive man with brown hair. He walks with such elegance and self-confidence, that it impressed me. It is weird but a chill suddenly ran down my spine. As I entered that room, Santiago, who was at the desk, appeared visibly unhappy with the crowd surrounding the children.

Standing beside Santiago, I saw this man approach my patient. This boy looks so fragile, with numerous wires connected to him, and his complexion pale. I tried to fight back tears right then and there, as we are not allowed to display our emotions in front of staff, patients, and family members. Yet, I couldn’t help but be moved when I saw the man gently kiss my little boy’s forehead and caress his head with such care and tenderness. It’s not every day you see a man like that with that kind of gesture. Not even the hospital directors, doctors, or nurses. I must admit, I am impressed. I wish I could take a better look at him, but he has his back towards me. I want to see the expression he has on his face to determine if his actions are merely for show or genuine. I am good at reading people.

“This is ridiculous,” I overheard Santiago say. “Can you believe it? He never sets foot in here. He doesn’t even care about this area. Suddenly, he shows up with his entourage pretending to be concerned about his patients. I’m tempted to punch him so bad, so he gets a grip of himself.”

“Calm down, Angel. You know him. He enjoys showing off in front of other people, bossing us around and making our lives miserable,” I reply. “Do you happen to know who those men are?”

“No. All I know is they came in last week, while the Operating Room was closed, to fix the pipelines. At least I saw one of them,” Santiago replies pointing at the dirty blonde who stood beside the director.

“Do you mean these are the guys from the Bank? That means they really are remodeling the hospital,” I exclaim.

“I guess so. What are you still doing here, my Sweet?” he reprimands me. “I thought you would be home by now, resting.”

“I just finished. There weren’t many patients hospitalized today and I am about to leave, but I wanted to see how my little boy is doing,” I explain.

“I should’ve known you would come down here to ask about him. Well, he is just as you left him. He isn’t better, but he hasn’t gotten any worse. We talked to Dr. Escalona to get a second opinion from a neurologist’s point of view. He says he will come here tomorrow. He wants to talk to you since you are the one who attended him,” Santiago informs me, while I am lost in the faceless man until a sudden pain in my arm makes me come back to reality.

” OUCH!” I interject, "What are you saying?”

“I am telling you that Dr. Escalona is coming tomorrow to evaluate the boy, and he wants you to be here because you know about his condition, where is your head at?”

“Nowhere. Let me know when he gets here and I ‘ll come down to talk to him,” I respond.

“What do you keep staring at?” Santiago asks.

“Do you see that guy who is standing next to the Hospital Director?” I say pointing at the blonde man.

“Of course, I do. They have been invading my space all morning. What about him?” He questions.

“I feel like I’ve seen him before, but I can’t remember where.” I keep trying to remember but I just can’t.

“Are you sure? Remember you had a late-night shift, you haven’t slept, and you are probably hallucinating,” Santiago suggests.

“No, silly. Of course, I am sure. I am terrible at remembering names, but I never forget a face,” I assure him.

Just then, Dr. Geller, Head of the Observation Area walked in. That woman is worse than Hitler. I think not even her husband can stand her, assuming she even has one. She went straight to where the gentlemen were and greeted them so politely that it took us by surprise.

The man who had his back towards me is now standing sideways. He is undeniably handsome, at least from his profile. I can’t fully trust my eyes. I’ve had vision trouble ever since I was a little girl, so maybe he isn’t that handsome, and my lack of sleep is starting to kick in. But one thing is certain- he is not ugly, because Dr. Geller had a grin on her face like never before. She went from being a bitter ogre to flirty and smiley, constantly rubbing his arms. And let me tell you, his arms are something to behold. She was crying out for his attention, some nerve she has. I hate to admit it, but she is very attractive.

And to make matters worse, he allows her to rub him. Unbelievable. Now I am upset over a complete stranger flirting with Hitler the Ogre. I'm telling you; I must be crazy.

“Well, I’m going now. I don’t want the Ogre to yell at me. I would wait for you Santi but…” I trailed off.

“Don’t worry go,” Santiago interrupts. “I am still not finished here, and I don’t know when they will let me go.”

I feel like someone is staring at me, but I don’t want to turn around in case the demons have already seen me. So, I get out of there as quickly as I can, but as Santiago is about to kiss me goodbye, curiosity got the better of me. I turn around one last time to look at my boy only to find myself face to face with this man that captivated me. He is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. His eyes are the lightest, brightest, most intense, beautiful, and perfect eyes I have ever seen. And he exudes such masculinity. I am completely trapped.