I awoke to the sound of the rain pelting the aluminum window sill, a dull thunking sound loud enough to make me wonder if it was hail. Wiping my eyes, I peeked through the blinds at the heavy rain from a tropical storm that was in the process of rolling ashore. If I had known that the storm would take a quick jog toward the north during the night and that the rains were much less severe than expected, I might not have spent the night at the hospital.
Looking over to the bed next to me, I could see my daughter was still asleep. On the tray by her bedside I noticed several small clear plastic cups, each with several pills. The nurses weren't supposed to leave the pills like this, but occasionally, when things got busy, they might leave them for my daughter. She had been in the hospital so long, she pretty well knew what each pill was, what each pill was for and what the side effects were.
I climbed out of the bed and looked over the cups. The pills had not been punched through the protective wrapper so I made a quick inventory. There was the DDAVP, something she really had to have, also some Methadone, and a few others I didn't immediately recognize. In the last cup I spotted what I was looking for, Oxycodone, pain pills available upon request. My daughter apparently had made it a habit to request these when she woke up and now the nurses simply brought them.
Looking down and confirming my daughter was still asleep, I grabbed the packet and slipped it into my pocket. I figured with the Methadone my daughter really wouldn't be in that much pain and if I could get her distracted she wouldn't remember to ask for the Oxycodone. She could always get a dose in another four hours if she really needed it.
With the pills safely tucked in my pocket, I began noisily unwrapping the other medications and dropping them in the cups. When she didn't wake up, I reached over and stroked her head, "Pumkin, wake up. Your medicine is here."
It took a few minutes but I was finally able to rouse her enough to take the pills. I told her what each up contained as I handed it to her and, to my delight, she didn't look in the cup to confirm what I told her. When the last cup came up, I simply added Oxycodone to the list of pills she was swallowing.
The room was quite dark because of the heavily overcast skies so my daughter turned her head to the side and slipped back to sleep. I quietly sat on my bed for a few minutes until she was breathing heavily. Getting up from the bed, I tiptoed to the door and quietly opened it. Glancing back, I made sure my daughter was still asleep and then slipped out into the hallway, easing the door closed behind me.
Looking down the long, white hallway, I spotted several wheelchairs, a food cart and one nurse pushing a portable machine for taking the patient's vitals. Although she was a young and very attractive black woman, she was not the person I was looking for, so I nodded and whispered, "Good morning."
"How are you this morning?" she asked.
"As good as can be expected considering the storm," I replied.
"Yeah, that rain gets so noisy against the windows. How's your daughter today."
"Sleeping right though the storm in spite of the banging of the windows."
"It's the pills, some of them can really knock you out. Let me know if you need anything," she replied, opening a door to a patient's room.
"Thanks," I whispered, heading down the hall toward the waiting room. It was really more of an elevator lobby with three uncomfortable hunter green chairs, two fake plants and a small table with a few magazines. There wasn't even a TV.
Of course I didn't go to the waiting room to watch TV or even read a magazine. I went to the waiting room to wait, to wait while I spied down the two long hallways. Glancing at my watch, I wondered if I was too early, certainly with the storm most people would be sleeping in, but, just like clockwork I noticed a patient slowly walking up the long hall.
Over the weeks in the hospital her appearance had changed considerably. The first few times I saw her, she was a mess with unkempt hair, a stained hospital gown and dragging an IV pump as she limped along. Now she wore some attractive pajamas with a robe, her hair was combed and looked freshly washed, and she walked without a limp.
She had a pretty face and although she didn't wear any makeup here in the hospital, I found her very attractive. Her skin had that alluring olive tone that many oriental women have and though I couldn't decide if she was Japanese or Chinese, I found her exotically alluring. Her jet black hair was short, but her bangs hung down her forehead and she had a way of peeking through the hair that seemed elusive, but very sexy.
As she approached me she paused, shrugging her shoulders. I nodded to her and watched as she slowly turned and began walking away from me. Quickly leaping up, I hurried to catch up, all the while watching how her hips moved. Even covered by the robe, she had a way of moving that was so sensuous.
When I caught up to her, I slowed down to her pace, following several steps behind her. She walked to a door, glanced up and then down the hall, entered a code in the lock and quickly opened it. I followed her into the room.
