Human Blend (3 page)

“Miller,” Julie finished for him. “But, that
won't be necessary. I enjoy walking and it is such a lovely day,”
she said. “Could you give me directions?”

“Certainly, Miss Miller,” he said, trying to
keep his hand steady as he wrote down the directions for her. Julie
waited patiently. She still had trouble understanding the different
reactions she got from people. Either they were over confident to
the point of being cocky when they approached her, or extremely shy
and timid. Then you had poor Anthony who seemed beside himself. She
accepted the paper from his shaking hand.

“Thank you for your help,” she said and left
the hotel. She didn't wait for a reply from the clerk. She was
anxious to see the hospital.

The pleasantness of the town, once again,
filled her with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Walking along the streets,
she observed the people coming and going. Everyone living out their
daily lives. Julie felt a yearning to be a part of it. The walk
actually took her closer to an hour, as she stopped along the way,
trying to absorb all of the town's flavor.

The hospital was bigger than she expected for
such a small town. She entered the building and went to the welcome
desk that was staffed by an elderly person.

“Hello,” Julie greeted the elderly woman.
“Could you direct me to Human Resources? I'd like to inquire about
doing some volunteer hospice work,” Julie explained.

Before the woman could respond, a nurse, who
was dressed in uniform, arriving for work, stopped over. “I'll help
her out Gladi,” she told the woman behind the counter.

“Did I hear you say you were looking for
volunteer hospice work?” she asked, hopefully.

“Yes, I am,” she answered.

“Oh, thank God, we are very understaffed on
volunteers and could really use the help,” the nurse said. “Follow
me on up, I'll show you to Human Resources. I'm Joy, by the way,”
the nurse said, walking.

Julie kept pace, “I'm Julie. It's nice to
meet you,”

The two walked quickly up toward the
elevator. “Do you have experience?” Joy asked, as the elevator
doors closed.

“Yes. I used to volunteer in New Orleans,
before Katrina. The hospital has since closed permanently,” Julie
said. She had done her research on closed hospitals, therefore
eliminating the ability to check references.

“Oh wow. Were you there when it hit?” Joy
asked, as the elevator doors opened on the 3
^rd
floor.

“No, actually,” Julie said. “I was on
vacation in Florida,” she stated her self-rehearsed line.

Joy knocked on the door of the Human Resource
Manager before opening it up. “Kathy, you in?” she asked, as she
entered. A woman stood behind a desk on the phone and held up her
finger towards Joy.

“Yes, I am aware, I'm working on it. I can't
pull them out of thin air,” the woman said into the phone. Joy
pointed toward Julie and shook her head up and down. “I'll call you
back,” the woman said into the phone.

“Look what I found,” Joy sang. “If you hire
her, I want her on my floor since I saw her first,” Julie
laughed.

“Did you see the ad?” the woman asked
Julie.

“Um. No actually. I just stopped in to see if
you needed any volunteers,” Julie said.

“Damn, that was lucky,” the woman said. “Do
you have experience?”

“She worked in one of the New Orleans
hospitals that closed,” Joy explained.

“Which one?” the woman asked Julie.

“Lindy Boggs Medical,” Julie answered.

The woman nodded her head, “Shame, I heard
that was a fine hospital.”

“Mine,” Joy re-iterated.

“Aren't you supposed to be working?” the
woman asked.

Joy stuck her tongue out at the woman behind
the desk and turned to leave. “Tell her you want 5
^th
floor,” Joy said, before leaving Julie alone with the woman.

“I'm Kathy Krandell,” the woman said, holding
her hand out for Julie.

“Julie Miller,” Julie introduced herself. The
momentary contact told Julie a lot about the stress Kathy was
under. The woman had a stomach ulcer. It was something that could
be healed easily if she sought medical help for the condition.

“Have a seat, Julie,” Kathy gestured to the
chair in front of the desk.

“What were your duties at Boggs?” Kathy asked
her.

“I did patient visits and transportation at
time of discharge. I've been trained to read charts to determine if
a patient can have water or juice, based on their medical or
dietary needs. I am trained in first aid and CPR. I've played with
the children in pediatrics and got medication that was requested by
the doctors or nurses on duty,” Julie explained. She left out the
part where she actually healed patients.

“Are you local?” Kathy asked.

“I just moved to the area,” Julie said. “I'm
currently in a hotel until the apartment is ready in a few
weeks,”

“How old are you?” Kathy asked.

“I'm eighteen,” Julie answered.

“Okay, good. You do know that this is a
non-paying position. I know some hospitals pay...” The woman
started to explain.

“I am aware, I just want to be here and help
anyway I can,” Julie interrupted.

“Can I clone you?” the woman laughed. Julie
laughed too. She liked this woman.

Kathy opened a drawer and pulled out a form
and handed it to Julie. “Put your information on here and I will
have you start on Monday. You can be with Joy first. She'll be
thrilled. I'll have her assess your abilities and then we will work
on a schedule for you,”

Julie stood and took the paper and pen.
“Thank you,” she said.

“My pleasure,” Kathy replied and put on her
coat. “Just leave it on my desk and come to my office on Monday at
9 and we'll get you started. Oh, what size are you?” Kathy asked,
opening up a closet to the right of her desk.

“Two,” Julie replied. Kathy pulled out a
striped jumper. “Sorry, we are still behind the times when it comes
to these for the girls. Just wear a white collared blouse
underneath,” she said, handing Julie the old fashioned candy
striped uniform.

“Oh, okay.” Julie tried not to cringe.

“I've petitioned the board a hundred times to
change it, but they don't want to spend the money on new uniforms,”
Kathy explained, apologetically.

“It's fine,” Julie said quickly.

“Alrighty, my dear, I have to run. Doctor's
appointment,” Kathy laughed.

“Thank you, again,” Julie called after the
woman who waved as she hurried off.

Julie finished filling out the paperwork as
best she could, giving the hotel as her address. She would decide
after a few days if this was the place for her before looking for
an actual apartment and setting down roots. Julie gave a small
chuckle as she placed the paper on Kathy's desk.
Roots,
Hmph
.
Sounds strange, having roots
.

Chapter Two--Guided Tour

Julie felt satisfied that she had started
down a new path. A path that would hopefully bring her the peace
and tranquility she yearned for.

It was getting darker as it approached the
dinner hour in the small town.

The night was as warm as the day had been.
The walk back was quicker as Julie was now focused on her growling
stomach. “I feed you once,” Julie talked to her stomach. There were
several interesting food choices along the way back to the hotel,
but Julie remembered the hotel had a restaurant as well. She
decided she would order room service so she could have some quiet
time.

She entered the lobby and had almost made it
to the stairs, “Miss Miller,” she heard her name called. She turned
to see Anthony. He was trying really hard to not look like he was
going to pass out. She waited while he made his way over to
her.

“Did you find the hospital okay?” he asked,
trying to control the pitch of his voice.

“I did, thank you for your help,” Julie
answered, politely.

“Wonderful. I am here most afternoons and
early evenings. If I could, um, be of assistance in any way, please
do not hesitate to call on me,” Anthony stammered out the
sentence.

“I shall, and thanks again,” Julie said,
turning and escaping up the stairs.

“Note to self, avoid the hotel lobby most
afternoons and early evenings,” she said, as she unlocked her door.
She had nothing against the man, personally, it just made her
uncomfortable when people where uneasy around her.

She climbed onto the bed, suddenly very
tired. Lying on her stomach she kicked off her shoes before rolling
over. She reached for the room service menu on the night stand
beside the bed. She scanned the menu and her eyes widened at her
favorite. “Bacon cheeseburger!” Julie stretched for the phone.

After calling in the order, she relaxed for a
few minutes. She let her mind drift to the day's events. She had
accomplished a lot in her first day here. Her thoughts did not
travel much further. Julie's eyelids drooped and closed. She did
not know how long she had been asleep, when a loud rapping awakened
her.

“Room service,” a voice called through the
door.

Julie stumbled out of bed to the door. She
looked through the peep hole. She assured it was, in fact, room
service, and opened the door.

The attendant began pushing in the cart with
her food on it inside the room, but paused when he looked at her.
“You're that chick from the marketplace,” he said, breaking into a
big grin. “Is Austin here?” he asked, pushing the cart all the way
in and looking around.

Julie closed the door. “Do I know you?” she
asked.

“You took off with my buddy, Austin,” the boy
said.

Then it clicked, “You were one of Austin's
friends at the market,” Julie confirmed. “He's not here. He had to
help his mom,” she told him.

“Damn, sucks for him,” the boy replied,
stepping closer to Julie.

The room felt like it was getting smaller.
Julie took five dollars from her pocket and held it out to him.
“You can go now,” she said curtly.

The boy reached for the money, but instead of
taking it, grabbed Julie's wrist and pulled her to him. “I can stay
if you want me to,” the boy said, moving his face closer to
hers.

“Let go of me, Julie seethed.

He did just the opposite. He slipped an arm
around her waist and held her against him. She felt the hardness of
his body. “C'mon, a beautiful girl like you, all alo...” the boy
could not finish his idea. He released her and doubled over in
pain. Julie's knee had hit the mark.

Julie remained calm. This was not the first
time she had to fight off unwanted advances and it wouldn't be the
last. “As soon as you are able, you are going to pick yourself up
off the floor, and leave my room... and if you ever try that again,
I will tell your boss and you will be fired,” she informed him.

After a few minutes the boy struggled to his
feet. Julie saw the tears in his eyes and felt a pang of guilt.
Even though he had it coming, she still felt bad for inflicting
pain.

“You didn't give me a choice,” Julie
stated.

“I... know. I'm sorry,” the boy choked out.
She could hear the remorsefulness in his voice.

“Do you treat all women this way?” she
asked.

“No, not really. Not all. I'm a jerk,” he
said, as he swayed, still in pain.

“I won't argue that analysis,” Julie
said.

Julie walked over to him and eased him into a
sitting position on the bed. “What's your name?” Julie asked.

“Rick,” the boy answered.

“Well, Rick, I hope you learned something
from all this,” she said, hating how cliché it sounded. She placed
her hand on Rick's arm feeling his pain.

“I did,” Rick said, suddenly pain free.

Julie fought to maintain composure as she
dealt with the pain she had taken from Rick. She removed her hand
from his arm. Over the years, she had mastered how to quickly rid
herself of the more minor injuries. Less than a minute later, she
too, was pain free.

She stood up and looked down at Rick. “You
should leave now. I want to eat my dinner,” Julie said. Rick
stood.

“You're not gonna tell Austin, are you?” he
asked.

“No,” Julie replied, “but you should,” she
added.

Julie walked over to the door and opened it.
Rick walked out a different boy than he had been when he walked in.
“I'm really sorry,” he said.

“Apology accepted,” Julie said, then closed
the door.

She sighed heavily. The whole encounter had
left her drained. She went over to the cart and lifted the silver
tray. The smell of the burger wafted up to her. One bite told her,
this town knew how to make a great bacon cheeseburger. “Mmm,” Julie
groaned, savoring the tasty morsel.

She took the plate to a nearby chair to enjoy
the rest of it. She went over the things she liked and didn't like
in her head. She had met three really nice people, Austin, Joy, and
Kathy. She also met two people she was not overly fond of, Anthony
and Rick. They were minor players, and she didn't focus too much on
them. She left out two unremarkable people, Patricia and the cook
at the marketplace.

The town itself already felt like home. The
only thing stopping her from committing to this place was the
hospital. Monday would be the deciding day. If the hospital proved
to be a viable place to do what she loved, her decision would be
made. Perfect. She had the room until Tuesday morning. Either she
would be extending her stay or moving on. Satisfied she had a plan
and a full tummy, she stood to wheel the cart into the hallway.

The next morning, Julie awoke before the
alarm she had set. She readied herself for her breakfast plans with
Austin. The day promised to be another warm and sunny one,
according to the weather forecasters.

The digital clock next to the bed read 8am on
the nose when there was a knock at her door.
Punctual. Damn does
this kid have any faults?
Julie checked through the peep hole
and then opened the door.