The Happiest Day of Her Life Ch. 08

"Ms. Lee?" asked the male as he showed his badge.

"What's this about?" Dori asked impatiently.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Ms. Lee. My name is Detective Alvarez and this is Detective Cho. We're just asking questions about a cyclist who'd been hit by a car not far from here on Hoffman Avenue."

Dori suddenly remembered driving the other day and hearing a loud thump as she sent a text to her friend, Janet, to let her know she was on the way. Dori didn't think much about it at the time. Later, when she saw the big dent on the front of her car, she wondered if maybe she'd hit something.

"When was this?" asked Dori.

"This would have been Wednesday," said Detective Alvarez.

"And you're just asking questions about it now?" asked Dori.

"It's been a busy week. May we come in?" Detective Alvarez asked.

Dori stepped back and the detectives entered her apartment. Dori kept stepping back until she reached the table where her keys were. She reached back discretely and pocketed her keys without being seen. She finished her beer as the detectives walked up to her. Dori smashed the bottle on Alvarez' head and shoved him into Cho, knocking them both to the floor. She locked her door and pulled it closed behind her as she ran to her car. It seemed to work. It took the detectives almost a full minute to get her door unlocked and chase after her. Dori started her car and gunned it down the road. She listened carefully for sirens as she made her way west towards Copiague. Dori was sure she'd be safe if she could make it to Amityville.

=================================

Marie drove home feeling very drowsy. She lowered the windows of her car and blasted the car stereo with music she hated in an effort to stay awake. It worked. She pulled into her driveway and let out a long sigh. This house had been home for her for so long, but the time to leave was swiftly approaching. She wondered if Tarabella would ever feel like home or if it was just going to be a very large house with a paid staff taking care of it. Marie felt sad but she wasn't crying. She knew it wasn't going to take much to set her off, though.

Tomorrow, she thought, will be the last working day of the job that defines me. Who will I be on Monday? Will I be able to adjust to not having to rush around taking care of other people? I have to learn to take care of myself. That can't be too hard. I just have to figure out who I am and what I need.

Marie entered the house and immediately went to the kitchen. If there was a single sensation in her body more overpowering than sadness or exhaustion it was hunger. She made up a plate of leftovers and popped it in the microwave. She chuckled to herself that this would probably be that last time she made food for herself. Tarabella had a kitchen staff. They would probably stop her from making her own coffee, she mused.

As she waited for her food to heat up, Marie noticed the lights were on in the backyard. Frank, apparently, was in the hot tub. Marie went to the glass sliding door and poked her head out.

"Hey, there, stranger," she said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm great," said Frank with a smile on his face. "I also happen to be naked."

"It's nothing I haven't seen before."

"This is true," agreed Frank.

Marie asked, "Are you planning on getting out soon?"

"No," replied Frank. "I just got in."

Marie nodded. She noticed the outdoor space heaters were on. She said, "I have some food in the microwave. I'll be right back."

"I'm not going anywhere," said Frank. "This feels too good."

Marie went back into the kitchen and stared at the microwave like a predator stalking prey. She didn't know what she was feeling. Hunger was still the strongest feeling. She had no idea what would replace it once the hunger was sated. There was still sadness. There was also something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. It wasn't a dark emotion. It was akin to happiness, although not that strong. Marie knew she didn't want to be alone at that particular moment and there was enough familiarity with Frank to make eating in his presence comfortable.

Marie liked Frank. Somewhere along the lines he had evolved from being the kid brother-in-law into her friend. Perhaps he was even more than a friend. She had recently let him listen in as she and five other women had sex. This was not generally something she did with a resident of the Friend Zone. Of course, she really couldn't spend too much time thinking about her sex life. Her memories were causing her a great deal of pain lately and generally made her sob uncontrollably. That fact made her present actions seem inane. She was rushing to cook food so she could talk to Frank, who was naked in the hot tub, while she ate.

After what felt like a century, the microwave beeped and the tasty leftovers were quickly removed. Marie grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and a fork from the drawer and went outside to talk to Frank.

"Why are you spending so much time naked in my home?" she asked him.

"I'm comfortable here," Frank replied.

"So I've gathered. Well, I'm glad you can relax here," Marie said with a hint of a smile.

"It's not a problem for you that I'm staying here, is it?" Frank asked.

"Oh, if I had a dollar for every time a naked man was concerned with my comfort, I would have a dollar.... Just now."

Frank asked, "The students Jenn brought home for you weren't worried about your comfort?"

"Oh, a few were," Marie admitted. "The thing is, they weren't naked. All those guys kept their socks on. Don't ever do that. It's really gross. If you're getting anything more than a blowjob, you should be naked."

Marie ate her dinner in relative silence. She would speak to answer questions Frank posed to her, but did not go out of her way to keep the conversation going. Frank made that observation and decided to carry the conversation himself. He told her about taking a cab to the hospital to visit Chloe. He spoke about all the fast food restaurants clumped together on that small stretch of Montauk Highway he had to pass to get to the hospital. It seemed so odd to him that all the food joints were lumped together like that. He told her about seeing Jenn kiss the inside of Chloe's elbow as he entered the hospital room. Chloe had been panting like crazy, but all Jenn had done was kiss Chloe's arm. Marie broke her silence to explain to Frank how erotic a kiss on the inside of the arm could be.When Marie finished eating, she stood up from the table.

"Care to join me?" asked Frank.

"I don't know," said Marie. "All of my bathing suits are upstairs in my luggage."

"Why do you need a suit?" asked Frank. "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

"Actually, there's at least one thing you haven't seen before. I didn't go out of my way to cover up, but I was sitting."

Frank grinned and said, "I have seen vaginal regions before."

"'Vaginal regions'?" asked Marie in a mocking tone. "You've gotten play calling them 'vaginal regions'?"

"No," said Frank. "I call them 'pussies'. I was trying to think of a term that wouldn't offend you."

"Oh, please," said Marie. "Just offend me, if you can. It's easier for both of us in the long run."

"Why'd they all keep their socks on?" asked Frank.

"Do I know?" replied Marie with another question. "I was too nervous to say anything but it was really fucking gross. Anyway, stay in the moment. I told you about that like fifteen minutes ago."

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't get the visual out of my head," said Frank.

"I know how you feel," said Marie. "You want the number to my shrink?"

"No, thanks. I don't need to commute from Miami-Dade to Huntington Township... Speaking of which, did you want me to fly you to Tarabella?"

"Excuse me?" asked Marie. She kicked off her sneakers and stepped on the toes of her socks to pull them off without bending over.

"Well," Frank said, "you don't want to go straight to Bridgehampton after work. You'll be sweaty and uncomfortable. So come here. Change clothes. Have a shower. When you're comfortable, I'll fly you out there and you'll get there earlier than you would have by car."

"That sounds very nice, but how will I get around Bridgehampton if I don't bring my car?" asked Marie. She walked closer to the hot tub and removed her scrub top. It pulled right over her head and she let it drop to the deck. She was wearing a black bra that lovingly cradled her pert breasts. Marie hooked her thumbs into her scrub pants.

Frank was almost too dumbfounded to answer Marie's question. He was staring at Marie's bra and he knew that Marie was watching him as he stared. He cleared his throat loudly.

"One of the employees on staff at Tarabella is James, the driver, unless you fired him without telling me."

"No," Marie said with a smile as she slid the pants down her legs. "He's still there. He picks some of the renters up at the train station and takes them into town for shopping from time to time." Marie stepped out of her scrub pants and stood, facing Frank, wearing only her black bra and a black thong. "I would feel weird about using a chauffeur."

"Why would you feel weird?" asked Frank. "You're paying him whether he drives you or not. You might as well let him drive you."

Marie pulled the scrunchie out of her hair as she said, "That's very true. Ok. I'll let you fly me there. How are we getting to your plane?" She shook out her long, dark, hair. She ran her fingers through her tresses to make it less obvious it had been in a ponytail all day.

"W-wha-wha-what d-duh-do you mean?" stammered Frank as he took in the sight of the beautiful nurse.

"I'm asking you, Frank," Marie began to say as she reached behind to unclasp her bra, "do we need to swim to your plane?" She shrugged the straps off her shoulders and let the bra fall. "If so, I'll need to unpack a bathing suit." Marie pulled down her thong to her shins before letting go and allowing it fall on her feet. "I certainly couldn't swim in the bay like this." Marie stood back up and stepped out of her thong. She paused for a moment, letting Frank drink in her naked body. "Now, could I? I still can't believe you haven't gotten any shit for abandoning it there."

"Are you teasing me right now?" Frank asked.

"Absolutely," answered Marie. Marie climbed gracefully into the hot tub and slowly lowered herself into the wonderful water. "MMMMMM. That feels really nice." She sat on the other side of the tub from Frank and positioned herself so that one of the gets was pulsing on her spine.

"You are teasing me," said Frank. "Good to know."

They sat and talked for thirty minutes or so before Marie slowly emerged from the tub and Frank looked over every inch of her body. Marie did not bother to dry herself. She walked in the house wet. She went directly to her bathroom and showered. She dried herself after the shower and went right to sleep in her bed. Frank was eventually able to pull himself from the hot tub. He dried himself off and locked up the house for the night. He went to his guest room and masturbated. When Frank came, he called out Marie's name loudly enough for her to hear it in her room. She smiled when she heard it, closed her eyes, and fell back to sleep.

Sunday did not start off as a special day. There were no fireworks. There was no remarkable feeling tingling through Marie. She went through her normal routine to get ready for work Frank's snoring could be heard in the hall as she passed his room to reach the stairs. She ate a light breakfast of toast and coffee before leaving for work for the very last time.

Marie went to check on Traci but was informed that Traci had left AMA with her parents during the night. Marie went to the night nurse and got report. For the most part, it had been a slow night. Marie knew that meant a shit storm was coming. There had been one incident, the night nurse reported.

There was a new admit who was in police custody. This was something that happened from time to time. The police would bring in a suspect who was injured during pursuit. This meant there would always be at least one uniformed officer with the suspect at all times. If the suspect had to go to X-Ray, the police officer went also. The suspect would not have any privacy. All bathroom breaks would be supervised.

The night nurse told Marie the suspect's name was Midori Lee. Two detectives had gone to the suspect's apartment to ask her some questions. She assaulted the detectives, violently, and fled the scene. Apparently, the suspect was sending a text while driving. She ran a red light and her car was smashed by a truck. Even though the suspect was severely injured, she was considered dangerous and violent.

Marie did not look forward to having a patient who was in custody. Cops loved to hit on nurses. It was just one of those things. Cops knew that nurses understood most of the things cops complained about. Nurses knew all about uniforms, working long hours in a thankless job and repeating a mind-numbing routine day after day. ED nurses even knew about putting their lives on the line every shift. Unfortunately, instead of treating nurses like kindred spirits, most cops treated nurses like a mat to wipe their feet on. Marie never cared to be an emotional diaper for a cop. The police officer sitting with the patient was a woman, Marie was happy to notice. The problem was that the officer would be relieved in a few hours.

Marie didn't have much time to worry about cops or prisoners. As expected, the ED became very busy very quickly. The good thing about an incredibly busy day is that the time goes by incredibly quickly. The sucky part was there was almost no time for charting. Marie was running from trauma to trauma with practiced ease. She stabilized her patients and got them all off to their tests without delay. Marie understood how hard it was for the ED Techs. The testing departments put the Techs under a lot of pressure to get patients to their diagnostic tests on time. Most nurses usually didn't give a fuck how long the testing departments waited for the patients. Marie did her best to get everything she needed done before the departments called for her patients.

Marie did not take a lunch break. She slipped into the pantry, made herself a PB&J, stuffed it down her throat, and went back to work. The bustle of the day kept her distracted from sadness, as it always did. That was part of the problem. It was the reason she needed to leave here.

The prisoner, Midori Lee, tried to escape the hospital when the police officer guarding her was relieved. She was in Ultrasound and asked the Ultrasound Technician to go to the bathroom. The police officer coming on guard duty was receiving a pass down from the officer who was leaving and so the Ultrasound Tech escorted the prisoner to the bathroom. The prisoner beat up the UST and stole her lab coat and ID badge. The prisoner was walking towards the exit when a security guard noticed she was wearing slipper socks instead of shoes. The prisoner was apprehended and returned to police custody. From that point on, the prisoner had two police officers watching her at all times. For the remainder of Marie's shift, there was one male and one female cop. The men inevitably hit on Marie, as did one of the women.

Marie did not know what time it was until Erin, the night nurse, came up to her and asked for report. She had kept herself so busy, the end of her last shift had snuck up on her. Marie went to the patient roster and gave a room by room report to Erin, the night shift nurse. Marie walked to the exit to the main hospital for the last time. Carol was standing there holding a cupcake. Marie stared at the confection.

"What? Too much?" asked Carole.

"Nope," said Marie with a weary smile. "Just enough. Thank you, Carole."

"You're welcome, kiddo. You are an amazing nurse. Spend some time healing yourself."

Marie and Carole hugged. This was a very comfortable hug for Marie. Most hugs left her feeling uneasy or, depending on the circumstances, horny. This was neither of those things. This was a hug of platonic love. Marie was thankful for the solace she found briefly in her boss' arms. The long hug comforted Marie so much that she made the decision to go up to the Med/Surg unit.

The prisoner, Midori Lee, was being admitted to the Medical/Surgical unit. She, her two police escorts, and Jessie the Emergency Department Tech shared the elevator up with Marie. As the elevator doors opened to the unit, Marie saw Jenn pushing Chloe's wheelchair. The ladies were wandering down the hall with Frank. Marie smiled a bit as she saw the three of them together. This was her family, really. Chloe's face went from a huge smile to a paled, horrific, expression. Marie had no idea what set the beautiful redhead off. Chloe was no longer looking at Marie, Marie noticed. Her eyes were following the stretcher that came off the elevator with Marie. Chloe, it seemed to Marie, was looking at the prisoner, Midori Lee.

Marie looked at the Asian woman with the dyed blonde hair and wondered why Chloe would be so instantly frightened. Marie walked up to the wheelchair bound ginger.

"C, are you ok?"

"Of course not, Ree," answered Chloe. "That's the woman who ran me over!"

Marie walked towards Jessie. She was heading towards the high numbered rooms on the unit. Marie decided to wait until they were all settled. Marie saw Jessie leaving with an empty stretcher and made her move. She knocked on the door and asked to speak to the female police officer. It was the officer who had hit on Marie earlier.

"Officer, I need to report something," Marie said calmly.

"What's that, Sweetheart?"

"My friend down the hall over there, the redhead in the wheelchair? She says that the patient you're guarding ran over her in a hit and run."

"Uh huh," said the cop. "Was your friend walking? Was this yesterday?"

"This was Wednesday," said Marie. "She was riding her bicycle. The bike was destroyed."

"She was the cyclist?" asked the cop. "I should get a statement from her."

"She spoke, already, to two police officers. She talked to them yesterday," said Marie.

"Follow up questions never hurt anyone," said the brown haired cop. The cop poked her head into Ms. Lee's room and told her partner she needed to speak to a potential witness. Once her partner acknowledged, The tall cop took long strides to reach Chloe. Chloe smiled at the police officer. Introductions were quickly exchanged and Jenn pushed Chloe's chair back to the room. The police officer was about to say something about conducting the interview privately, but was cut off by both Jenn and Chloe. The officer relented and the three of them disappeared behind the door to Chloe's room.

Frank walked up behind Marie and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"No," said Marie. "I need to hug them goodbye first."

"Oh, sure, you can hug them," said Frank sarcastically but not cruelly.

Of the three of you, which one has the penis?" asked Marie.

Frank's shoulders slumped and he answered with a sigh, "That would be me."

"Precisely," said Marie. "No hugs for you."

Frank and Marie made several laps around the unit. Marie glanced up at the clock by the nurses' station. She decided she couldn't wait any longer. With well practiced ease, Marie slipped silently into Chloe's room. The police officer laid on the bed. Jenn was in a chair facing Marie and Chloe was in her wheelchair with her back to Marie. The police officer's shirt and hat were missing. Her left wrist was handcuffed to the bed. Her gun belt was draped over Jen's lap. Her shoes and socks were still on. Her pants and panties were pulled down to her shoes. Jenn and Chloe were kissing and nibbling on her upper arms. The police officer gasped and moaned as her sports bra rose and fell in a spellbinding pattern. Jenn looked up at Marie, which caused Chloe to turn her head.