When Annie ran away, Archie and Candy were still standing for some time without uttering a word. The man grew weak after his fiancé's departure, his shoulders sagged. Miss White was fingering her dress.
"I guess I'll go," Archibald said quietly and almost obediently; the man was so different from what he had just been. "I'm sorry," he whispered while closing the door.
Candy rushed to the door and locked it.
She's got to go to the Pony Home. Right now.
The Pony Home was a place of tranquility, her home… The girl picked up the scattered flowers, put them in other containers and cleared up the shards. The bear resumed its seat.
Tomorrow she's going to visit Doctor Leonard and ask for a week off. After Annie got engaged, everything has been moving so rapidly that she can't just catch up with it. She's got to calm down and think.
Having had dinner, miss White set an alarm-clock and went to bed.
…"So,you want to take a week off, right, miss White?" Doctor Leonard was looking so strictly at her sheet of paper, as if something awful had been written there.
"Yes!" Candy was standing beside the head doctor's table to attention, like a soldier before the general.
"I see, I see," the doctor murmured, and the nurse started to worry. What was wrong? She hadn't taken a vacation for the whole year and had often stayed overtime. Although, it was all before this vortex following Annie's failed engagement happened…
Finally, Leonard looked up at the girl gravely.
"Candice. You know that I can't refuse your application officially – you haven't had a vacation for a long time. Of course, I will give you this week off. But I must tell you, I'm very concerned about your discipline and the way you perform your duties…"
"But…" Candy opened her mouth, but the head doctor stopped her with a gesture.
"I know you're trying hard. Have been, at least. But the nurse's work is hard, and it should be perfect, either years ago, right now or years later. You didn't use to spare yourself. But now… You have become absent-minded and reckless… You're always, always being somewhere up in the clouds. Being in love is great, but these little notes, these phone-calls while you're on duty, this constant languishing state may lead to a disaster! And I can't risk my patients."
"Sir, I…"
"Please, I haven't finished. The next thing… Again, I repeat: I highly disapprove of your behavior in terms of discipline. How could you borrow so much money from other nurses, taking advantage of the fact that they couldn't refuse you, as a friend and as a colleague? What were you thinking of?"
The girl did not answer, fully understanding that Doctor Leonard's reprimands were more than fair.
"So, I give you a week off. Have some rest, settle your personal affairs. But in a week, I want to have Nurse Candice White on the staff, not just Candice White. I also suggest that you pay off your debts before you go on vacation."
"Of course, sir… I got it. Thank you, I…"
"And the last thing. When you get married, are you going to keep working? I should know it in advance."
"Married? Me?"
"Of course you, not me! I suppose you are going to get married soon and delight me with the news of your retirement. I hear your admirer is a rich person."
"No… Of course, not! I haven't thought about marriage yet, so…"
The head doctor tiredly closed his eyes.
"Spare me the details, please. I only want to know if you're going to keep working at our hospital, or should I start seeking replacement? And, ideally, you should have informed me of the changes in your life before I asked you myself. I reckon you should understand that you can't do whatever you want and not inform anybody, when the health and the lives of other people depend on your work!"
"Of course I'll keep working!" Candy shook her chin.
"Have you discussed it with him?"
"No, but…"
"Then do it. Discuss your plans during this week. I don't need lip service. You're free to go."
Miss White went out of the office, holding her application. She was overwhelmed by mixed emotions.
She really did forget about everything but her crush on Neil. It was all her fault.
Married! Why would everyone keep talking about this? On the other hand… If their relationship develops and eventually comes to this point, the thing that has always seemed so obvious – her work as a nurse – could be jeopardized!
And where can she get money to pay off her debts? Where?