Vital Signs by Bobby Hutchinson Page A

October.”
    â€œI’ll bet you’ll be home long before that, Josh. You’re getting better and better every day.” She checked him carefully. His temperature and pulse were consistent with what had been marked on the chart that morning, and as far as she could tell, he was feeling fine.
    She checked and double-checked his IV, and Karen came in just as she finished.
    â€œIt’s my coffee break—walk me down to the kitchen,” Karen suggested with a wink.
    As soon as they were out of earshot of the kids, Karen said in an undertone, “Did Margaret talk to you?”
    â€œYeah, she sure did. I feel terrible about what happened.”
    â€œ Nothing happened.” Karen blew out an exasperated breath and rolled her eyes. “That woman’s trying to turn a molehill into a mountain.”
    â€œShe’s threatening to go to the association.”
    â€œNo way.” Karen was horrified. “She has it in for you, you know that, but she’s just grasping at straws. She’d never get to first base with a formal complaint.” Karen shook her head in disgust. “It’s obvious she doesn’t enjoy her job, so why the heck does she stay?”
    â€œYou got me.” It was a question Hailey had asked herself numerous times, with no clear answer.
    â€œAnyway, don’t let her get to you. I was there. I saw exactly what happened, and I don’t know one person on this floor who’d support her. Hailey, we all know what a great nurse you are.” Karen reached out and gave Hailey’s arm a little squeeze before she disappeared into the coffee room.
    Hailey felt marginally better, but the rest of her shift was still a struggle. Margaret had gone home, and it was a relief not to have her around. Hailey did her best not to let the kids see how down she was, but of course they knew, anyway. There was no fooling kids. The older ones did their best to cheer her up, telling her jokes and funny stories. The tiny ones offered comfort just by snuggling against her as she got them into fresh pajamas and administered their bedtime meds. As usual, she spent an extra half hour with David, reading him a book he especially liked about a farm.
    By the time she got home, she was both exhausted and too nerved up to sleep. She’d bought a kit to replace the innards of the contrary toilet. The flushing mechanism had never worked properly. She got it out now and read the instructions, and for an hour, she struggled with it. The instructions were so complicated that her mind couldn’t concentrate on anything else.
    At last she turned the water back on and flushed the thing four or five times, thrilled when it worked perfectly. It was the only thing in the bathroom that did work. She looked around at the peeling wallpaper, the rusted old claw-footed, cast-iron tub, the drooping, water-stained ceiling. It was a disgrace, this bathroom. She’d have to fix it, and sooner rather than later.
    She put away her tools and checked her phone messages. There was one from her mother, asking again if she’d called her sister. She’d totally forgotten, and for a moment she felt guilty.
    What was it with Jean and Laura? Had they had a spat of some sort? They were so alike Hailey couldn’t really see that happening, but she couldn’t figure out any other reason for this thing her mother had about phoning Laura.
    Hailey erased the message from the machine, but there was no way of getting it off her mind. Her mother was nothing if not persistent, Hailey thought despondently, and Jean would never give up on this until she made the call. It was ten past eleven, far too late tonight, and anyway, she was too upset from work to be objective.
    She’d call first thing in the morning, she decided. She also had to buy some groceries. The weekend was coming up, and Nicole and Roy would be here Sunday for brunch.
    After a bath, Hailey padded into the bedroom and pulled on her