Common Ground




Carter had to admit to himself that the rides at the carnival were actually pleasant. There was one called the Northern Lights, which brought you up to see the view only to swoop back down. He and Nathan found it hard not to laugh on the classic, Tilt-A-Whirl. They also went on the Scrambler. After the rides, Carter bought a rainbow sherbet ice-cream cone for himself and a powdered-sugar funnel cake for Nathan. While eating their treats, Carter and Nathan sat on a picnic table and watched the fireworks.

After the display had ended, Carter said that he did not want to rush out to the car and sit in the traffic. “Let’s sit out here a while longer,” he suggested.

Nathan had hoped to see his friends again, but he also wished Angie had shown up. He missed her! Almost reading his mind, Carter suddenly asked, “So Nathan, is there someone special in your life?”

Nathan looked surprised for a brief moment, then quickly said, “ There was…there is – you see we broke up, but we’ve been talking a lot lately. I talked to her on the phone right before I met you. Angie.”

“So there is a chance you might go out again?”

“I hope so. Was that your girlfriend you were talking to last night?”

“Nahh. Deb’s a co-worker. We go way back. We were in Med school together.”

“But no chemistry?”

“A little. But not enough for anything serious. She’s very sweet, though, and I hope she finds a guy that’s good to her.” Carter really meant that he wanted the best for Deb. He told Nathan that his last relationship, with Roxanne, had gradually gotten old. That he didn’t have enough in common with her.

“How old are you?” Nathan asked.

“I’ll be 30 in June. I know, I know. Over the hill compared to someone like you. But seriously, it goes by fast. How did it get to be May already?”

Nathan grinned. “No more Y2K horror stories… at least until next New Year’s.”

Suddenly, everything seemed rather quiet and they realized that almost all of the guests had left the park. The carnival workers were starting to shut off the lights. Carter and Nathan headed out to the car.

THE NEXT DAY

Boy, did morning come early. As Carter got ready for work around 8 a.m., there was no question he had been out late. Where is a sugar- or caffeine-high when you need one? he thought. His medication bottles were still sitting on the bathroom counter. He couldn’t decide what he wanted to do with the pills this morning. Actually, he knew what he wanted. He wanted to throw them all away. He wasn’t sure that would be a wise choice, though. He had seen Chase go through “withdrawal.” Carter couldn’t be positive that he would experience the same symptoms, but he couldn’t risk it.

He finally settled on reducing his muscle relaxant to half a pill and taking the same dose of pain medication that he had taken the previous day. He made some toast in the kitchen before leaving. Nathan was still in bed and Gamma was already outside working in one of the gardens. The evening before, Gamma had said that she’d bring “Josh” by the hospital later so that he and Carter could have lunch. She was planning to go to the airport to pick up Grandfather during that time. Nathan had been a little concerned that someone would recognize him, but he obviously couldn’t mention it to Gamma.

AT THE HOSPITAL

Chen checked the schedule on her way in and sure enough, she was starting the same time as Carter. He was at his locker when she reached the lounge. To her surprise, he smiled at her as she approached her own space. “I didn’t mean to be such a crab last night,” he said softly.

“John, I found out about your new schedule. I realize you were pretty bummed about it last night, but I think it will actually be nice for you.” She smiled in return.

“Well, I’ll be able to be at dinner to welcome my grandfather back,” he commented. “Are you working?”

Chen told him that she would actually be leaving at four, an hour past him.

Carter stared back at her. “You saw my schedule?”

“Ooops,” she said, blushing a little. “I was just curious.”

“Okay. Well anyway, I was wondering if you would like to come over.”

Chen’s mouth hung open in surprise.

“Come on, Gamma hasn’t seen you in a long time! Think about it.” He grinned and left the room before she could answer him.

Carter’s first patient was a teen who had injured her knee while jogging. She had fallen down and scraped her hands on the sidewalk as well. “It just gave out on me with no warning,” the patient, Meagan, explained to Carter.

Carter asked her how much she ran and whether she had had trouble with the knee before. He also looked around for Cleo, the pedes specialist, but did not see her. Meagan said she had experienced trouble with the knee before, but nothing this bad. Carter was concerned that her newest injury could have damaged some muscles. He prescribed some anti-inflammatory medication and ordered some tests that would help them determine the extent of the injury.

A few minutes later, he saw Kerry as he stopped near the admit desk to check up on some other charts.

“Carter, how are you doing?” she asked politely.

“I’m doing exactly what you asked me to do,” he replied. He hoped he did not sound bitter, as that was not his intention.

“Well, just let me know what’s up periodically,” Kerry told him as he nodded in agreement.

By 11 a.m. Carter was very much looking forward to his lunch with Nathan. A decent meal would give him some energy and help him concentrate better. Although he enjoyed seeing the patients with injuries that were less severe, he noticed that he still had some difficulty focusing on the work. Thank goodness I’m only working until 3, he thought.

………….

Riding in the car with Mrs. Carter on the way to meet John, Nathan was debating in his mind the possibility of telling her the truth. He didn’t know why he felt so guilty about lying to her. Maybe it was because he wanted to ask her about Carter.

“Umm, Mrs. Carter, I was just wondering. Did Carter just start having back problems or did he get hurt?”

“Oh, your uncle didn’t say anything about what happened at the hospital?” was Gamma’s response. Nathan was silent because he did not know what to say. Then he told her that she didn’t have to tell him.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, but my grandson almost died on Valentine’s Day. He was stabbed in the back by a patient,” Gamma said. She noticed it was hard for her to talk about it while driving. She remembered that horrible phone call from that night and it scared her to think about it.

“I’m sorry. I apologize to be asking you. I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong but he avoided the issue.” Nathan was feeling more and more guilty.

“He knew that you didn’t know what happened?” Gamma questioned him.

“Yeah.”

Gamma sighed. “Well, I suppose that makes sense. He’s having a hard time coming to terms with everything.”

“He seems to be sleeping okay since I came,” Nathan remarked. “I noticed you say that you were concerned about that.”

Gamma nodded in agreement while informing him that the hospital was just around the corner and that she would be dropping him off.



Part 8
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