Chapter 2
"Abby, can I talk to you for a minute?"
As soon as Abby saw the look on Paul's face, she knew that it was not good news. Please don't tell me they're not giving me a raise this year, she thought. If I don't get that extra money, I don't know how I'm gonna make it.
She followed her boss into the employee lounge and turned to face him, determined to accept whatever news he gave her as well as she could. She was not prepared, however, for the pink slip of paper he handed her.
"Abby, I'm sorry, but..."
His words were a blur. She felt like she was going to be sick. She tried to believe that it was something else, but she knew what a pink slip meant. They were firing her. She tried to gulp back tears as her boss's voice droned on, unheard. What was she going to do?
She realized that Paul had stopped talking, and it was her turn to say something. In a shrill voice that she barely recognized as her own, she said, "I have kids to feed, Paul! What am I supposed to do now?"
"I'm really sorry. I told everyone that we would probably be laying some people off-"
"Couldn't you have at least given me a little heads up? I probably won't be able to get another job for at least a month, and that's if I'm lucky!"
"I know, Abby. I tried to prevent this; I really thought we weren't going to have to lay anyone off, so I didn't say anything. I really hate to spring this on you like this. I'm sorry."
"Not nearly as sorry as I am!" Abby screeched, and she realized that she was crying. How pathetic. She could tell that Paul felt uncomfortable. "I'm really sorry," he repeated nervously.
She was too upset to answer him. Snatching out the contents of her locker, she stormed downstairs.
"Mommy, look at the picture I made!" Riley said, proudly holding up a crayon drawing of what appeared to be a giraffe.
"How nice, honey," Abby said, trying to keep her voice steady. She looked at her two wonderful children and thought, How am I going to feed them?
"I'm tired of coming to the playroom every day, Mommy. That lady doesn't like us. She told us that we're not sposta be here for a whole day."
Abby knew that was true. "Well, you won't be coming here anymore," she reassured her daughter.
Jill beamed. "Great!" she exclaimed. Then, in a more hesitant tone, she said, "Are we going back to daycare?"
"I don't know, honey. I'm not really sure what we're going to do now."
"Whaddya mean, Mommy?" Riley asked, his brow wrinkled.
"Nothing. Nothing, Riley." She kneeled down and gathered both of her children in her arms. "Don't you worry. Mommy's gonna take care of you."
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"Um, I'm looking for Dr. Carter?"
Chuni and Haleh both stopped what they were doing and turned to look at the short, brunette woman standing in from of them. "And who are you?" Chuni asked, a grin threatening to turn up the corners of her mouth.
"I'm Lara Donovan. I'm a medical student?" she said timidly, leaping out of the way of a patient who was puking on the floor five inches away from her feet. "Oh, my," she commented nervously.
"Oh," Chuni said, disappointed. "He's in Exam 1. Right over there," she said, pointing.
"Darn. I thought she was Carter's girlfriend," Chuni said as soon as Lara was out of earshot.
"And why are you so concerned about Carter's love life?" Haleh asked.
"He needs a woman to cheer him up. He's been in such a mood lately, it's bringing everybody in the ER down."
"You know it's because of Abby," Haleh decided.
"Why now? It's been what, like four years since she left?"
"Yeah, four years yesterday. You know Carter never really got over her."
"Got over who?" asked Macy, who had only been working at County for a year, and therefore didn't know all the gossip.
"Abby."
"Who's Abby?"
Chuni stared at her. "You mean I never told you about Abby?" she asked disbelievingly.
Macy shook her head. "No, not that I remember," she said.
Chuni dropped the supplies she was holding and settled into a comfortable position. "Well, four years ago Carter and Abby were-"
"DOCTOR CARTER, I have that chart you asked for," Haleh yelled. Carter looked confused. Why was Haleh yelling his name? Chuni gave Macy an I'll-tell-you-later look, and bustled off towards the supply closet.
What was up with everybody today, he wondered as Macy almost ran down the hall, a grin on her face. It seemed like everybody in the ER was on something.
"Um, Doctor Carter?"
He turned and saw a young, nervous-looking woman standing behind you. "Yeah?" he said, then realized he sounded like a gangster. What was HIS problem today? "Can I help you?" he corrected.
"I'm.....Lara Donovan..." it seemed that she was waiting for him to finish her statement.
"Oh yeah, the new med student. Well, welcome to County General. I'll give you a tour."
Lara smiled shyly. "Is it always like this here?" she asked, as they walked past a patient begging for prompt treatment.
"No, sometimes it gets REALLY busy." He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Ah, the innocence of youth. He remembered when he had been a lowly med student, following Benton around the ER and watching his every move. It seemed like so long ago.
He realized he was daydreaming, and told himself to snap out of it. He couldn't be spacing out in front of new med students; how would that look? Smiling apologetically at Lara, he said, "Well, back to the tour..."
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"I just need another week-"
"Sorry, no can do. If I let you go a week late, I'd have to let everybody go late, and how would I make any money?"
Abby felt like smacking him in the face. He was such a supercilious jerk, always condescending towards women, and she had never liked him. She stayed in the apartment because it was cheap, but now it appeared that it was too expensive for her.
After three weeks, Abby still hadn't found another job. She had been living from paycheck to paycheck, and now she was simply out of money. She had eight dollars in her pocket, $600 in debt, and now, she was about to be evicted. She tried to blink back tears as she walked up the stairs to her apartment. What was she going to do?
She hated groveling to her uncaring landlord, but she had thought that maybe it would buy her a little time. But it hadn't. She was already behind on the rent, and he wouldn't give her another week to pay him. So she had to leave. Today. She had no idea where she was going, but she couldn't stay here anymore.
She could hear Riley and Jill in the living room playing. Tears spilled onto the suitcase she was stuffing their meager possessions into. "What am I going to do?" she whispered. "How am I going to feed them?"
The apartment they lived in had come furnished, so there wasn't much to pack. Abby loaded the four suitcases onto the bed, and a wave of dizziness hit her. It had been a long time since she had eaten. There was so little food in the house, and how could she take any of it away from her children? She had stopped being hungry several days ago.
As if they were reading her thoughts, the twins walked in the room and Jill said, "I'm hungry!"
Abby stood up slowly, ignoring the lightheadedness that standing caused. "I'll make you guys some lunch."
"I don't want ramen noodles or sandwiches again. I'm tired of them," Jill complained.
"Me too," Riley chimed in.
"Could we get hot dogs and potato chips?"
"Yeah, Mommy, please?" Riley asked excitedly, looking up at her.
Abby looked at their hopeful faces and felt awful. There had been no food in the house but ramen noodles and sandwiches for almost two weeks, because she was trying to make the money stretch. She only had eight dollars; she couldn't afford luxuries like hot dogs and potato chips. But she hated to disappoint them.
"Maybe tomorrow." Ignoring the double sighs, she said, "Now, do you guys want beef or pork?"
Jill returned to the couch. "I don't want ramen noodles," she said stubbornly. "I'll just wait til we get the hot dogs."
Abby bit her lip. She had to come up with a plan.