The Time of Her Life by Jeanie London Page B

and inheriting the job is
different than choosing the job.”
    Yet he didn’t want to abandon the people in his care. That said
so much about the man Jay was. Walter’s comments hadn’t left Susanna any polite
way to ask how Jay’s parents had died without conducting an interrogation, and
Susanna didn’t want Walter to think she was gunning for inside information. But
understanding his sense of obligation to The Arbors certainly explained his
rigid and sometimes unrealistic expectations.
    Trying to understand Jay was becoming a full-time
preoccupation. She could never quite tell how he would react to some procedural
suggestion she might make to bring operations more in line with what Northstar
would require. He seemed to bounce between cooperation and stubbornness without
any consistency. At least any that she could pinpoint yet.
    There was still time. And the more she managed her stress, the
clearer she could think. A positive step that suggested she was finally settling
into her new position.
    Sleep helped, too, and she’d almost managed to sleep through the nights with some help from melatonin, a natural
mineral Karan’s husband, Charles, had recommended.
    Feeling rested would definitely come in handy, because she
faced a demanding day. Today’s meetings would implement a transfer of
information into Northstar’s systems for daily, weekly and monthly reports from
all departments.
    She wanted to check in with the duty manager first before
sequestering herself in her office to go over her notes for the meetings.
Reaching for the radio, she flipped the switch and said, “Good morning, Pete.
This is Susanna. Where are you?”
    The radio crackled and his voice shot back, “Outside Kimberly’s
office. Mr. Jankowski had a rough night.”
    “On my way.”
    Susanna found Pete outside the office at the CareCharter,
previewing the display. “So what’s up with Mr. Jankowski?”
    Pete had a boyish face that made him appear younger than his
mid-forties until one got close enough to realize what appeared to be blond hair
was gray. “Trouble breathing.”
    “He started a new medication.” Kimberly turned to the display
where Mr. Jankowski’s medical chart was visible. “He had his second dose after
dinner then rang for the PCT around two o’clock this morning. I took a baseline
and have been monitoring him since.”
    “A lot of trouble?” Susanna asked.
    “I’m administering oxygen.”
    “What did Jay say?”
    “Haven’t called him,” Pete said.
    Susanna naturally assumed they’d notified Jay since they hadn’t
contacted her. There were specific procedures in place to handle emergency
situations with the residents.
    She was missing something. “Then where are we on this?”
    “Debating whether or not to wait for the doctor to make
rounds.” Pete met her gaze.
    Susanna saw the indecision in his expression, which offered
only one solution. “Mr. Jankowski should go to the emergency room.”
    Pete frowned. “Actually, we were thinking of calling the doctor
to advise us.”
    Following Kimberly’s gaze, Susanna scanned the display to
assess the extent of Mr. Jankowski’s respiratory distress. “You think waiting
for the doctor to make rounds is adequate?”
    “Dr. Smith is usually in before nine, so it won’t be much
longer.”
    She glanced at the time on the display: 6:15 a.m. “When do you
think you’ll see a change in his condition if the problem is the medication?
When the effects of the last dose wear off?”
    “The side effects might linger,” Kimberly explained. “He might
need another medication to counter those effects. This also might be an episode
relating to his heart condition if the new medication the doctor prescribed
isn’t working. Only the doctor can make that determination.”
    “Mr. Jankowski really hasn’t been here long enough to evaluate
with any certainty,” Pete added. “He arrived a little before you did. We’re
still in the process of getting to know him and