Chapter2
1031 Words
Maya's Pov
I was his nurse.
There was no reasonable excuse I could give the charge nurse that wouldn't raise questions I didn't want to answer. So I did the only thing I could do. I clipped George Hale's chart under my arm, looked Dominic directly in the eye, and said, "I'll give you a few minutes with him before I come in to do his vitals."
Dominic said nothing. He just held my gaze for a second longer than was comfortable, then walked past me toward room 412.
I stood at the station and breathed.
I had six other patients. I had medications to administer and documentation to complete and a shift that ran until eleven. I was not going to let the events of this morning follow me onto this ward. I was a professional, and I was going to act like one.
I gave him ten minutes, then knocked and pushed the door open.
The man in the bed was nothing like what I expected. George Hale was small in the way that illness makes people small, but his eyes were sharp and bright and the smile he gave me when I walked in was genuinely warm. He looked like someone who had spent a lifetime being liked and had earned it honestly.
"You must be Maya," he said.
I paused mid-step.
Dominic was seated beside the bed, and the look he gave his grandfather was sharp enough to cut. "Grandfather."
"What?" George said, unbothered. "I asked the nurse at the front desk. I like to know who's taking care of me." He looked back at me with that easy smile. "He told me about you this morning. On the phone, before all this happened."
I set my expression to neutral and moved to check his monitors. "He mentioned me?"
"He told me he'd gotten married." George's voice carried real happiness in it. Uncomplicated, genuine happiness. "Said it was sudden. I told him the best things usually are."
I felt Dominic's eyes on the side of my face and refused to look at him. I noted George's blood pressure, checked the IV line, made small professional sounds that meant I was listening without committing to a response.
"You don't have to be shy," George said. "I'm not going to bite. I'm attached to three machines."
I smiled despite myself. "How's the pain level right now, on a scale of one to ten?"
"A four. But it goes up when I'm ignored." He was still smiling. "Dominic tells me almost nothing about his life. You can understand why I'm excited."
"Grandfather, she's here to do her job."
"And I'm letting her do it. I'm also talking to her. A man can do two things." George looked at me again. "How long have you two known each other?"
The question sat in the air like a small trap. I pressed the pulse oximeter onto his finger and watched the reading climb.
"Not long," I said. Which was technically true.
George nodded like that confirmed something he already suspected. "He moves fast when it matters. Gets that from me." He glanced at Dominic with something soft in it. "I used to worry about him. That he'd just keep working until there was nothing left of him but the company." He paused. "I'm glad he found someone."
I finished noting his readings and straightened up. "Everything looks stable. Doctor Reeves will be in this evening to review your results. Try to rest."
I made it to the door before George spoke again.
"Maya." I turned. His expression was quieter now, more sincere. "Thank you for taking care of me."
"It's my job," I said.
"Still," he said. "Thank you."
******************
Dominic caught me in the corridor three minutes later. He didn't grab my arm or raise his voice. He simply fell into step beside me and said, quietly, "We need to talk."
I kept walking. "I'm on shift."
"I know. I'm not asking for long." He matched my pace easily. "What he said in there, I didn't plan that. I called him this morning before I knew any of this had happened. He asked about my personal life and I said something vague. I didn't expect him to be admitted three hours later."
"You told him you got married."
"I told him I'd met someone. He filled in the rest himself." A pause. "He's been asking me to settle down for two years. I said something I shouldn't have. I didn't know he'd " He stopped. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that he's not well."
I stopped walking and turned to face him. "How not well?"
Something moved behind his eyes. "The doctors say his heart is very tired. This episode was a warning. He could have another one at any time." He said it evenly, like he'd already worked hard to say it that way. "He's been asking about my life for years. Today was the first time I've heard him sound genuinely happy about something."
I understood then where this was going and I wanted to shut it down before he got there. "Mr. Hale"
"Six months," he said. "That's all I'm asking."
"You're asking me to lie to a sick old man."
"I'm asking you to let him be happy while he still can." His voice didn't waver but something in it did. Something very small. "After six months, we cite irreconcilable differences and we go our separate ways. Quietly. You'll be compensated fairly. You'll want for nothing during that time."
I stared at him. "I don't need your money."
"Then do it because he has maybe one good year left and you've already seen how he looks at the idea of his grandson being loved." He held my gaze. "I'm not a man who asks for things. I'm asking for this."
The ward hummed around us. Somewhere down the hall, a monitor beeped steadily.
I thought about George's face when he said “I'm glad he found someone.”
I looked at Dominic and I already knew, before I opened my mouth, that I was going to regret what I said next.
"What exactly are the terms?"
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