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“Not much anyway,” I told her, opening the bag and setting it on the floor beside me as I rounded the desk. I would have no more placed the bag on her desk than walked into her house without a stitch of clothing on. Sophia was notorious for being very particular about what she considered her personal space, and her desk was sacred. The only reason I was allowed in her room was because it was where she preferred to be at that time of night. Otherwise, I had no doubt she would have kept me out.
“You will be absent on the thirty-first, correct?” she asked, though I wondered why she bothered. It wasn’t like I’d told anyone in the house I was taking Halloween off, so she’d already asked or seen the schedule.
“That’s correct. It was confirmed this afternoon,” I said, seeing no point in telling her it had been Sheila who passed the information along. “I’ll also have the first of November off.”
“No doubt to sleep off whatever drinking you put yourself through the night before,” she scoffed.
“No doubt,” I said, wrapping the cuff around her arm after lifting the sleeve of her blouse. “I would no sooner work hungover than I would drunk.”
“Well, at least you have some measure of professionalism,” she said with a sniff. “If only to spare your job. If you came into this house reeking of cheap alcohol and looking as though you’d been up all night, I would send you home and never see you again.”
“I already stay up all night,” I said absently as I pumped up the cuff.
She flicked her gaze toward me. “Apparently, like the previous nurses, I need to work to keep my son away from you.”
It was only by focusing on my job I managed not to flinch at the implication. “I don’t spend much time with your son, Miss Perkins. So I don’t think that’s anything you need to worry about.”
“Apparently, it’s more than enough. You’re already picking up his bad habit of thinking he’s clever rather than just tiresome,” she said curtly.
“I wouldn’t worry too much,” I repeated, waiting until I was done and pulling off the cuff before continuing. “As I said, I see very little of your son.”
“So you say,” she said, but I didn’t dare ask for clarification. For all I knew, she had somehow become privy to the conversations he and I had. Hell, I didn’t know where all the security cameras on the property were. Perhaps she had listened to the recording of my conversation with him on the porch and suspected something was going on.
If that was the case, it was better to let her bring it up rather than risk putting the idea in her head myself. If she had a problem, I had complete confidence she would say something. Otherwise, I was content to let her think I was picking up a ‘bad habit’ that I’d had long before I stepped into her home.
“In any case, on the fifth, which you’ll be working,” she said, and I was beginning to wonder if I should just use her as my schedule instead of the one they sent me. “I will need you to show up with something formal. Please tell me you have something.”
“I’m not sure I have anything up to your standards,” I admitted without shame.
“I have a charity gala I must attend,” she said in the same tone someone used to clear shit off a bathroom wall. “I will have to be there for hours. Much of that time will be during your standard operating hours.”
That was an interesting way of saying those were when I did check-ups and gave her her medication. “I could wait outside and give you everything in private.”
“Oh, you’ll already be administering everything in private. I’ve discussed it with Meredith, and she’s ensured I’ll have privacy. However, I will not have someone dressed in nurse’s scrubs showing up shortly before I disappear. Everyone already knows about this irritating diagnosis. They don’t need a spectacle,” Sophia explained curtly.
Yes, because Sophia Perkins did not want to suffer the indignity of being seen going through cancer treatment. Then again, I suppose so much of her identity was built upon the idea of this stern, fierce woman. She’d probably never allowed a moment of weakness slip out in front of anyone outside the house, or in it for that matter.
“I’ve never been a guest to something so,” I had to force myself not to say the word ‘boujee,’ “high class.”
“I’m sure you can manage. You have decent enough manners. Just don’t shovel food into your mouth, start from the outside with the silverware and work your way in, and try not to insult anyone,” she said with a snort, adjusting her sleeves. “And you are not to drink while you’re there. Not until after you have administered my treatment. I won’t have you botching the job. Afterward, I won’t begrudge you a drink or two. Lord knows I wouldn’t mind a couple by that time.”
“And if my attire does not fit your standards?” I asked, placing the oxygen meter on her finger and waiting.
“Clearly, I will have to take care of everything but holding your hand during the night,” she said, reaching over to check her phone with her free hand. “You just show up here and let the people who know what they’re doing deal with everything. Once you’re there, I’m expecting the bare minimum, which is that you do not embarrass me.”
“I’m sure I can manage that much.”
“Your confidence for such a low bar does not instill any confidence in me.”
I made a note of the readings on the pad I kept with me. “I’m sure I’ll manage just fine. In fact, I’m sure I’ll even manage to surpass your incredibly low expectations before the night is over. Now, since we’re going through this whole thing, I imagine I won’t be calling myself your nurse, so what shall I call myself?”
“An intern I’ve taken on as an assistant through the local college,” she said without hesitation. “I occasionally pick one up for a few weeks at a time, most don’t make it that long. It is, however, good experience for those with the spine to stick through its entirety.”
I imagined there was a great deal they could learn if they could deal with her. Even I wasn’t sure I could endure being around her that much. Still, watching someone like her at work would probably impart a raft of knowledge, if only how to lose your human warmth if you became married to the job.
“Right,” she said after I backed away. “That will be all. Keep what I said in mind.”
“Of course,” I said, tucking everything away. “Be sure to ring if you need anything.”
