The alarm went off with a loud annoying buzz. Carla Peterson groaned and looked at the clock sitting on her nightstand. The numbers read 6:00 a.m. She reached over and hit the snooze button then snuggled under the covers. She was just starting to drift off to sleep again when the alarm went off again. This time she threw the covers off and made herself sit up before turning the alarm off. She didn't dare hit the snooze button again or else she would be late for work. She walked into the bathroom, splashed some cold water on her face, and brushed her long sandy brown hair into a ponytail. Then she grabbed the jogging shorts, t-shirt, and running shoes she had laid out the night before and got dressed.
From her apartment at the complex to the running track was an eighth of a mile. Three times around the track equaled three quarters of a mile, and adding the last eighth of a mile home, totaled one mile exactly. This was the route she jogged every morning, weather permitting. And the weather was beautiful this morning.
After a cold and dreary winter, spring had finally arrived in Colorado. Getting used to seasons was quite an adjustment for this California girl. She was used to mild winters and warm weather most of the year so she welcomed the warmer weather coming. However, she did have to admit that her present location was much prettier than the California desert where Edwards Air Force base was located. Waterfalls and streams swelled from melting snow runoff and flowers had sprung up everywhere.
A mile jog every morning wasn't going to qualify her for any marathon, but it did help to keep her in shape and gave her time to think. Jogging was the latest fitness craze and at this time of the morning there were always at least a couple of dozen other employees also trying to get a jog in before work. Carla didn't notice but, since she had started jogging, the number of male joggers had also increased. Apparently, word had gotten around among the single males in the complex that a pretty brunette with knock-out legs had been seen jogging at the track every morning.
But this was Carla's time to think and right now she was wondering if she had made the right decision in taking this job. It had been four weeks since Steve's pelvic surgery and with him still being catatonic and her only patient, the monotony was starting to get to her. It was the same thing every day. Give him a sponge bath. Change his IV. Feed him three times a day through the feeding tube. Change his urinary catheter and drainage bag. Take his vitals. Change his bandages. This wasn't quite what she thought the job would be. She was used to being very busy with multiple patients to care for and converse with. Chatting with her patients was one of the more enjoyable aspects of her job. But with Steve there was no conversation. He just lay there on the bed, unmoving and staring at the same thing for hours on end. She felt bad for him and a little guilty. She had taken his hope away from him. Of course, there was no way she could have allowed him to call his parents, but she still felt responsible for the condition he was now in. She only wanted to help her patients, not hurt them.
"Hi, there, mind if I join you." A male voice interrupted her thoughts.
Carla looked up to a tall good-looking man with blonde hair and blue eyes jogging next to her.
The man didn't wait for an answer. "Hi, I'm Jason."
Carla was surprised. All she could manage to say was, "Hi."
"Your name?"
"Oh, Carla."
"Nice to meet you, Carla," Jason said. "I'm an engineer and work in building D on stuff that I can't talk about. What about you?"
Carla smiled. "I'm a nurse and work in building A on stuff that I can't talk about."
"Well, I can see that having a conversation about our jobs is something that will never happen."
They both laughed.
"So how long have you been into jogging?" asked Jason.
"About a year. And you?"
"About a day," Jason replied. He was starting to breathe heavily.
"A day?"
"Yeah, do you think we could stop for a moment before I keel over?" Jason stopped and tried to catch his breath.
Carla also stopped. She was quite amused. "Yeah, it's not a good idea to overdo it on your first day."
"Is that your medical opinion?"
"Yes, and everyone else's medical opinion," she replied nodding her head.
"Well, I figured this was the only way I could meet you."
Carla was surprised at how direct this handsome young man was. Suddenly things were becoming interesting again and she was thinking that taking this job might not have been such a bad idea after all.
Jason walked Carla home and they chatted the whole way.
The clock struck 8 a.m. just as Carla entered the hospital wing. She breathed a sigh of relief at having made it to work on time. Her encounter this morning had left her a little off balance. She was a bit harried from having to scramble to make it to work on time, and yet she couldn't wipe the grin off her face.
But it was time to face the reality of her job again. She pushed open the door to Steve's room. Steve was motionless and his head was turned toward the window. The silence in the room was deafening. Carla sighed and grabbed his chart to see what his vitals had been during the night shift. Satisfied that they were normal, she noticed that the morning light coming in through the window was shining right in Steve's eyes. She walked over to the window and adjusted the blinds.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Carla turned around, startled, to see Steve looking at her.
It took a moment for Carla to find her voice. "Yes…this time of the year is beautiful in Colorado."
"That's right. I'm in Colorado." Steve searched his memory. "How long have I been here?"
"Four months."
"Four mo—!" He tried to digest the loss of so much time.
Carla gave him a few moments then, "What do you last remember?"
Steve thought for a moment. "I had heart surgery. I think." He pulled the sheet away and grunted as he pushed himself up on his elbow. He looked down at his naked torso. An eight-inch long scar ran down the middle of his chest. "Yeah, there it is." He continued to look over his body. Several scars ran across his ribcage. Further down, scars ran down his hip bones and toward his groin. "I don't remember those. What happened?"
"I think Dr. Wells should be the one to discuss that with you."
Steve's face started going white. "I'm weaker than I thought…whew. Dizzy. That came on quick."
Carla was by his head immediately, cradling it in her hand, and pressing him down with her other hand. "Lie back. Please. It will take a while before you regain your strength."
Steve didn't fight her. He let his head sink back against the pillow.
Carla pulled the sheet back over him. "I'll go get Dr. Wells now."
