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You know how much I love you, right?
Yes.
“Dr. Morgan,” the ER nurse shook Evee awake.
“What’s wrong?” Evee groggily asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. It felt as if she has just closed her eyes for a minute but looking at her wristwatch displaying 3:30 a.m. against the light green back light, she realized she’s been asleep for over an hour.
The nurse quickly rushed outside as she said, “We have a MASCAL on the way. Code 20.”
“What?” Evee immediately stood up and rummaged around the hospital bed searching for her stethoscope. Twenty people involved in a mass casualty incident? Just how deep of a sleeper is she not to notice the ER staff around her was already in an organized commotion? Damn, this would be one long night. When she caught up with the nurse, “What happened?”
“Plane crash. We can only afford to take twenty. The rest are sent to Sacred Heart Hospital.” The nurse ushered the patients in gurneys to different trauma rooms.
“Have they been triaged?”
An ER staff confirmed that Dr. Given already segregated the patients at the crash site. Evee ran to attend to the red flagged patients.
As the last patient was being transferred to the ICU after being stabilized, Evee again remembered her dream. Jordan, she unconsciously associated. Days like these when she wished she could go home and find Jordan waiting to give her a hug that could dispel the exhaustion from her body.
(Flashback)
“Hey, you.” Jordan smiled at her. He sat at the stairs outside her building, a bag of Chinese takeout beside him keeping him company.
Evee weakly smiled back, “Hi. We’re still on for tonight right?”
Jordan pulled her to sit with him and softly rubbed his thumbs under her tired eyes. “Rough day?” he asked. With his large hands, he framed her face and kissed her sweetly.
“Pretty much,” immersing herself with his warmth as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She buried her head at the junction of his neck and shoulder and sighed contentedly still unable to believe that this man sitting beside her is all hers. She made it work. Somehow in the span of four months she was able to juggle her relationship and job. Lucky for her, Jordan is a very patient and persistent man. It was usually difficult for a doctor to date someone outside her profession due to the lack of understanding of its demands. When she realized he was there to stay she decided, “This one’s a keeper.”
He kissed the top of Evee’s head before saying, “Let’s just stay in and pig out. I got Chinese.”
She groaned, “Is that a bribe to get me in bed?”
“Is it working?”
“Yes,” and laughed. “Do you know that I’m so in love with you right now?” letting him haul her to her feet.
He pressed her against the door, feigning an Elvis accent, “Baby, that’s what all the girls say.” Evee was giggling like a schoolgirl before she was thoroughly kissed.
-0-
Outside her apartment building, Evee noticed Seth standing outside flipping through his mail. She opted to ignore him as she was bound for the stairs.
“Hey, did you and Jordan have a fight?”
Not that it’s any of his business, Evee shook her head, “I haven’t seen him since he left for Tokyo.”
Seth’s brows knit together. “Oh. Okay,” and resumed sorting. It’s their problem anyway, no need for him to butt in.
There was something how he said it that made her go back. “What made you think that?”
“I saw him putting something in your mailbox and he looked like shit. I figured you guys might not be talking. He even said to tell you he’s sorry.”
“He was here?” That was odd, Jordan told her, he won’t be back until next week. It would be impossible for Seth to see him now.
Seth sarcastically replied, “Well, duh. Isn’t that what I said? Open your mailbox and tell me I’m wrong.”
Evee did just that and saw a black velvet ring box resting on top of her other mail as Seth was busy trying to get a closer look. Evee, annoyed with his pushing elbowed him in the ribs, “Quit shoving.”
Her neighbor took it in a very manly way, yelping in pain and rubbing the affected spot. “No need to get violent!” he grunted. “So what did he give you?” Evee showed him a platinum diamond ring resting against black velvet. “Holy sh—“ he stopped himself. “Is that what I think it is?”
Evee frowned. If it was what she also thought it was, then Jordan Wakefield has a lot of explaining to do proposing to her by mail. Seth was about to touch the ring when she closed the box almost trapping Seth’s finger in the process. Reaching for her phone in her back pocket, she dialed her boyfriend’s number.
The person you’re calling is not available. Please try your call later.Where could he be?
-0-
The next day, still no word from Jordan. Evee was becoming worried. He usually doesn’t shut his phone off particularly if he’s really back home. Why didn’t he tell her that he left Tokyo earlier than expected? Something was not right and it’s eating her alive. She refused to put the ring on her finger before she gets a chance to talk to Jordan personally. Yet still she carried it with her by chaining the ring around her neck. Evee looked at it, admiring the exquisite cut of the stone but at the same time, incredulous that he would give her something this expensive. If her estimate is correct, the price of this ring might be at around four to five figures.
She was on her way home when an older woman called her, she turned around and saw Jordan’s mother. “Emma?” Evee noticed she looked tired as if she had been crying all night. “Are you all right?”
The other woman winced. The glitter of Evee’s ring hanging around her neck made her gasp. “W-where did you get that ring?”
“I found this in my mail last night. My neighbor said he found Jordan putting this inside. Have you seen Jordan by the way? He didn’t tell me he’d be back a week earlier,” then touched the ring.
Emma reached for the doctor’s hands while trying to hold back the tears, “Evee, Jordan was on the plane that crashed yesterday. His body was found just this morning.”
To be continued
MASCAL – mass casualty
Code 20 – ten to twenty patients from a mass casualty accident are expected to arrive in the ER Department
Gurney – another name for stretcher
Triage – in cases such as mass casualties, a color-coded medical system is implemented where patients are sorted according to the need to be treated when resources are insufficient.
Example: Black - patients that are so severely injured that they are unlikely to survive even with medical support
Red - patients that require immediate medical attention and are likely to survive with immediate treatment
Yellow - patients that are stable for the moment but must still be under medical observation
Green - patients that do not need immediate medical attention and can wait for several hours or can be told to go home and come back the next day
White - patients with injuries like, minor scrapes or cuts; first aid treatment would suffice
