The Noel Bridge

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

A licia and Evelyn hadn’t made it through their movie binge the night before. They were too worn out and both fell asleep on the sofa. Alicia had blindly walked to the guest room sometime in the middle of the night and then awoke with a fresh sense of anticipation. Today was her first day of volunteering at St. Francis West.

She showered, applied her makeup, and dug through her suitcase for a comfortable outfit. She hadn’t brought any scrubs. After settling on jeans and a sweatshirt, she got dressed and went out to the kitchen. Evelyn was already making pancakes and eggs.

“Want some?” she asked.

“Yes, thank you. Need any help?”

“I’ve got it.”

Alicia sat on the barstool. “I’m excited to go to the hospital today. It makes me feel useful.”

“The Fergusons will be so grateful for your help, I’m sure.” She stirred the eggs.

“Thank you for offering to drive me over there.”

“Of course.” Evelyn scooped two pancakes and some eggs on a plate and handed it over to Alicia, then scooted the syrup her way.

“What are your plans today?” Alicia asked.

“I’ll probably go shopping for something nice to wear for our date.”

Alicia drizzled syrup over the buttery pancakes. “That sounds fun.”

She hadn’t considered what she should wear tonight. Dating had been the furthest thing from her mind when she’d packed for the trip. Never in a million years would she have guessed she’d be double dating with Evelyn—and eager to go. Mentally cataloging her suitcase, she remembered a cute red sweater and a nice pair of jeans. That would probably work.

Evelyn joined her on the other barstool and they ate, quickly finishing their breakfast. Then they left for St. Francis West.

“I’ll be at my parents’ house if you need me, and I’ve got my cell. I’ll pick you up at five, unless you text me otherwise,” Evelyn said as she pulled up to the curb in front of the hospital.

“Sounds good.” Alicia opened the car door. “See you tonight.”

When she got inside, she told the front desk person she was there to volunteer. After checking her license and calling upstairs to Dr. Rose, the lady gave her a badge and code and Alicia was in the elevator and on her way up.

She approached the nurses’ station and introduced herself to the other nurses who told her the Fergusons were in their office down the hall. Alicia went to greet them.

When she walked in, Dr. Rose stood up from her desk, which was cluttered with files and paperwork. “Mitchell told me you were coming. He stepped out to see about a patient, but he’ll be right back. It’s lovely to see you.”

“It’s great to see you too. I’m so happy to have the opportunity to help out.”

Dr. Rose cleared a stack of files and more papers from one of the chairs and offered Alicia a seat. “Mitchell tells me you’re a nurse.”

Alicia sat down. “Yes, I work on orthopedics.”

“We could use you in more than orthopedics. We’re short-staffed.”

“I get it. I’ve been splitting my time between patient care and administrative duties back in Savannah.”

“How many hours are you planning to put in?”

“I’m in town until Friday.”

“How wonderful.” Dr. Rose’s gaze moved to the other desk that looked as if a bomb had been dropped on it—papers were scattered everywhere: admission forms, consent to treatment forms, inpatient data logs…

Noel was a small town, but was the hospital still keeping all their documentation in physical format?

“I know it’s not a long time, but I figured with the snow especially you might be able to use an extra pair of hands,” Alicia said. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she asked, “Do you have a computer system for patient file management?”

“Yes,” Dr. Rose said. “But Mitchell doesn’t know how to use it, so we’ve continued using paper forms.” She blew a breath through her lips, her cheeks puffing out.

“Do you mind if I ask what system it is? I assisted with the upgrade of ours in Savannah. I’m pretty quick with it.”

“We use VeraPro Health.”

“Okay, I did a training on that one when we piloted it, but we ended up going with a different one. I actually preferred VeraPro, but the hospital decided on another model. I could take a look and see if I can get anywhere with it.”

“I think Mitchell would actually pay you for that.”

“Well, he doesn’t have to. I’m yours for the week.”

Dr. Mitchell walked in.

“You’ll never believe what Alicia has offered to do for you,” Dr. Rose said as he dropped another file on top of his cluttered desk. “She can help with VeraPro. I know she’s not an employee, but we know her. Could we use her for that?”

The doctor’s eyes widened. “You know how to work it?”

“Yes. I’m getting promoted to the director of nursing position at work, and I’ve had training on it.”

He rubbed his chin. “If anyone asks, I could always document her time as a consultant visit from another hospital.”

“That works,” Dr. Rose said before turning back to Alicia. “Are you up for it?”

“Of course.” Alicia waggled a finger at the overflowing desks. “Would it be okay if I organized the filing system so I can enter the data?”

Dr. Mitchell threw back his head with a loud guffaw. “You’re welcome to it!”

While this hadn’t been exactly what Alicia had planned for when she’d thought of volunteering, she was eager to help solve an obvious need for the hospital.

Dr. Rose set in explaining their rudimentary filing system, showing Alicia where all the documents were located for each type of entry and giving her the file with the password information for the management system. Then she turned to the computer and opened the VeraPro program. To Alicia’s delight, it was the same version she’d trained on. She pulled up the online manual.

“So what information is in here already?” she asked, moving up her chair.

“Nothing,” Dr. Rose said. “We haven’t set up a thing.”

“Okay.” Alicia had her work cut out for her. This project could take more than a week, depending on the state of the data she had to enter, but she was determined to get it going for them. “Do any of the other nurses know how to use the system?”

“A couple have been through the training,” Dr. Mitchell said.

“Perfect. I’ll get everything loaded, and then we can tackle informing the staff.”

“We’ll leave you to it,” Dr. Rose said. “Let us know if you have any questions. We’ll be down the hall.”

Alicia scooted closer to the desk and began organizing the folders and papers. After a couple of hours, she had arranged stacks for each type of data entry, from outpatient and inpatient intake forms to vital logs on current patients. She opened the correct screen in the VeraPro system using the log-in information Dr. Rose had given her. Then she began entering the hospital’s general information. To her surprise, she’d nearly cleared Dr. Rose’s desk by the end of the day. She still had Dr. Mitchell’s to do and then some sorting and cleanup to get all the information labeled and organized.

Both doctors had popped in to check on her throughout the day, and they’d brought her lunch. The work was exhilarating. It was amazing how quickly she could get things done without the cloud of grief hanging over her. The sadness was still present, but the thrill of being around people who lifted her spirits overpowered it .

When five o’clock hit and Evelyn was outside waiting for her, Alicia grabbed her coat and met the doctors in the hallway.

“Will you be in tomorrow on Christmas Eve?” she asked.

“Yes,” Dr. Mitchell replied. “Office hours are shorter, but we’ll be here most of the day.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in the morning to work on this some more, and when I get it finished, I’ll show you how to use it.”

Dr. Rose patted her arm. “You are an angel.”

Mitchell came over and stood next to his wife. “Rose and I were wondering if you’d like to stay on with us as our primary nurse, a full-time position. You could see patients, but also help Rose with administrative tasks.”

“Oh, wow, thank you. But I have a job back home,” she said. “And I’m starting the director position in January.”

“All right. But we’d love to have you if you change your mind.”

“I’ll think about it,” she said.

He nodded with a sad look that told her he knew they couldn’t afford her.

She waved at the doctors and went outside to meet Evelyn.

“How was your day?” her friend asked when she got into the car.

“Productive.”

Evelyn put the car in gear and drove out of the parking lot. “That’s good to hear.”

Alicia spotted shopping bags in the back seat. “Did you find something to wear for our date?”

“Yes.” Evelyn looked over with a satisfied smile. “It was the perfect day of shopping. Everything fit, and I even got one shirt on sale.”

“I’m glad you found something.”

“Me too. I really want to have a good night with Andy.”

When they got to the road with the bridge, Evelyn made the turn toward it.

“Where are you going?” Alicia asked.

“I want to ask the bridge for a good date,” Evelyn replied, joining the line of cars waiting to go through it.

“I thought we decided the bridge didn’t have any power.”

“Well, it hasn’t had any negative effects, has it? It’s not hurting anything to go through. You should tell the bridge what you want too.”

“I already have.”

“And how’s that going? Have your wishes been granted?”

She began to say no, but she had to admit that her latest ask to feel whole again was actually starting to happen. And Leo had gotten his miracle.

“Well?”

“It’s too early to tell,” Alicia said, but she was hanging on to the idea that there might be something to this bridge folklore after all.

“It’s not hurting anything to ask,” Evelyn said again. “We could both use the good luck, right?”

“Sure.”

They made their way through the line of cars and entered the darkness of the bridge. Alicia tried to come up with her wish, but she struggled. She’d come to Noel to hear from Bo, but now she wasn’t sure what she wanted exactly. A part of her felt as if Bo was already with her somehow, and he was urging her to live her life. Bo wouldn’t want her to spend any more time grieving him or looking for comfort from him. He’d always encouraged her to go back to Noel, and now that she was here, she felt he would be happy for her.

Before she could come up with a request, they’d exited. But she didn’t mind. She didn’t need a miracle. She already felt lighter, unburdened.

As they made their way back to Evelyn’s apartment, Alicia continued to ponder what, exactly, she wanted now.