31. The Hard Road

Stassi

Stassi

What sounds good to eat tonight?

Sage

Anything. I’m famished. Your choice.

Stassi

I’ll figure something out. What time should I expect you?

Sage

10. I know, so late. I’m sorry. I’ll be home ASAP. I can warm up anything.

S tassi wasn’t surprised. Two weeks into the budget cuts, her hours had already been drastically slashed. Sage’s, however, they had no choice but to keep her. They had laid off two of the Occupational Therapists, and there weren’t any other employees to treat the patients. The patient count hadn’t decreased despite the budget cuts, so the workload increased. Ten o’clock was actually early for Sage.

Over those two weeks, Sage and Stassi had gotten closer. It was nice to be the one who was there to help Sage whenever she needed it, fixing her food or whatever. And with not working as many hours, she was able to stay at Sage’s apartment and handle those certain tasks. Plus, Sage appreciated it. Her last girlfriend was more into the money Stassi could spend on her, so it was a nice change to have Sage appreciative.

Stassi also made sure that whenever she came home from work late, she had the apartment spotless; she didn’t want Sage to feel like she had to come home and pick everything up, as well. It was a unique experience for her, but Stassi had no problems taking care of Sage and being the woman of the house, even when they weren’t living together.

Stassi’s phone rang, and she grabbed it before it reached ring number two. “Hey there. Long time no talk.”

“That’s because you’ve been stuck with Sage every night.” Ariel’s tone was one of disgust. Stassi knew that Ariel felt she was neglecting their friendship, but while Sage needed her, she had to make her the priority. This is something Ariel should understand, especially when she had been spending most of her nights with Natalia. Life should be about the people who are important in your life, and Sage was that for Stassi.

“So, what you up to?” Stassi asked, hoping that the obvious switch of the subject would tell Ariel what she wanted to hear.

“Headed out to the club. Thought you might want to join me. If you can tear yourself away from Sage for two minutes.”

Stassi rolled her eyes. “I can,” she began. “But I already promised Sage that I would have supper waiting for her, and I haven’t even started. I’ll have to take a rain check.”

“Again?” Ariel muttered. She heaved a sigh. “You know, we haven’t even gotten together to celebrate your spread in the magazine. I just saw it this morning. It looks great.”

“Oh? Is that out? Completely slipped my mind.”

It wasn’t entirely the case, but she didn’t want to rub it in Sage’s nose when it was clear that was one thing that they were still separated by. “I got something from Kelly yesterday but haven’t even opened it.”

The phone went silent. She checked it to make sure that Ariel hadn’t hung up on her, then brought it back to her ear. “You certainly aren’t the same Stassi. You would have been in line the night before to grab all the copies you could.”

“You aren’t wrong,” Stassi mumbled. She leaned back on the couch. But in all fairness, what kind of woman is that? If someone can’t show some humility in their life, then all they are is a beautiful cover, and I want to be more than that. Ariel didn’t immediately reply. “But I’m the same person you knew, Ariel. I just have grown up a bit.” Again, Ariel didn’t reply. “Are you there?”

“I’m here. Just wondering if your new lifestyle has room for me.” Her voice was so low that Stassi had to hold her breath while pressing her phone into her ear. “Guess I’m a bit worried that we’ll drift apart. If we haven’t already.”

“Ariel don’t say that,” Stassi argued. “Changing and growing isn’t a bad thing. I just wish that you could see that Sage is a good woman, and we work well together. If you weren’t worried that I would move on and forget our friendship, I think you would see that.”

“Maybe.”

Stassi cleared her throat, the silence deafening. She opened her mouth, but Ariel was already speaking.

“I have to go. I’ll chat with you later.” She disconnected the call, leaving Stassi staring at the phone. She groaned and fell back against the couch. She shouldn’t have to favor one over the other. Ariel and Sage were both important to her. And she had to believe that Ariel would eventually accept that Sage wasn’t trying to replace her. She would make sure Ariel believed that.

She got up from the couch and went to the kitchen to look up something good for supper. She was perusing through her phone for a recipe when her phone rang. She was a tad apprehensive about answering it until she saw Sage’s name.

“Hey, Babe. This is a pleasant surprise. How does chicken mozzarella sound for tonight? I just saw a great recipe, and I believe you have all the ingredients. I can whip it up in no time.”

“Sure.” Sage was quiet, and she stated her response. Stassi leaned back against the counter.

“What’s wrong?”

“Just found out two more nurses were laid off in the ER and another one in Peds. That means Marcus and Lena are the only ones in that department. I don’t know how much longer this can go on. This weekend, I’m going to have to spend time with Lena finishing up the paperwork. There’s so little time, and I’m exhausted, but it has to be done.”

“Babe, I’m sorry to hear that.” Stassi’s heart cried out for her. It was hard to see everyone suffering, especially Sage. She wanted to do something but felt her hands were tied, and it was frustrating.

“I just really needed to hear your voice. I can’t wait to get home to see you.” Stassi smiled at those warm words from Sage. They were moving in the right direction, and Stassi only saw them going forward from there. “I have to get to a patient. I’ll see you soon. Love you.”

The call disconnected as Stassi’s jaw dropped. Was that out of habit, something a person just said to disconnect the line? It came out so easily for Sage, but Stassi wasn’t sure Sage even meant the words like that. The words tugged at her heart, though. They felt nice, as if she was wrapped into a nice warm towel when she was a child.

She pulled up her father’s number and let it ring. After three rings went by, the call was answered.

“I was just thinking about you,” he said.

“You were?” Maybe this was his redeeming grace, and he was going to assure her that all would be alright.

“I was flipping through channels and a movie came on that you used to watch all the time when you were a kid. Don’t remember the title.” He snickered on the end of the line. “Guess it doesn’t really matter. Just a fleeting thought.”

He had his chance to redeem himself and help her figure everything out, but he only had a fleeting thought of who she was when she was little. Maybe it was too far gone for redemption.

“Why are unions so bad?”

“Huh?”

“The other day when we talked, and I mentioned a union. You got all huffy, but the way I see it, it might be the only way the hospital is saved. At this rate, more people are losing their jobs and frankly I can’t stomach it. So maybe a union is exactly what they should form.”

“It’s not that simple,” he argued.

“Well, it never is, is it? The employees left are exhausted, and my hours were cut.”

“That shouldn’t have happened. I’ll go to them and demand that you get your full-time hours reinstated. You’re my daughter, after all, and if I can’t do that much then there’s no hope.”

“No!” The words came out loud, and she clamped down on her tongue. “I don’t want you doing anything that will show favoritism to me. That wouldn’t help anyone, and certainly not me.”

From the other end, he snickered. “Stassi, I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

“Well, that makes two of us,” she retorted. Her stomach clenched, and she shook her head. “I can’t talk with you right now.” Without even saying goodbye, she hung up the call, tears threatening to roll down her cheeks. He didn’t get it, and that alone crushed her.

“Stassi, are you awake?” She felt Sage softly move her shoulder, seeing if she would make a sound. Stassi opened her eyes, and Sage looked down upon her. “You should get to bed. This looks like you tried to wait up for me.”

Sage stretched out and shifted on the couch, before pulling herself up. “What time is it?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

“Midnight.”

“I thought,” Stassi began. Sage quieted her by placing her finger along Stassi’s lips. Stassi sighed. “Should have known. I have supper and can warm it up for you.”

“You don’t need to do that, Stassi. You’re exhausted. Go to bed, and I’ll eat and then join you.”

“I'm not even tired now.” Stassi shrugged and reached for Sage’s hand. They walked to the kitchen, and she grabbed the plate from the fridge, then covered it and put it in the microwave. She turned to Sage, and Sage looked even more tired than Stassi expected. “You should go get in bed, and I’ll bring supper to you.”

“I’m fine.” Sage released a yawn, and Stassi shook her head. “Let’s focus on you. What’d you do this evening?”

Oh, let’s see, besides argue with my father? She turned away. She wanted to tell Sage everything, especially with them getting so close, but the more she considered it, the harder she’d believe it would be. “Spoke with Ariel a bit.”

“Oh yeah? Did she try to talk you out of being with me again?”

Stassi snickered, but then shook her head. “I wish you guys could get along.”

Sage held out her hands. “I have no beef with her, but I did get the distinct impression that she really didn’t like me and really didn’t want to put in any effort to like me. Maybe she was jealous because she still has the hots for you. I mean, who could blame her?”

The microwave dinged, and Sage turned to grab it. She carefully pulled it out and placed it on the kitchen table, with Sage’s eyes following her. “I can assure you that this has nothing to do with her having the hots for me. I’ve spoken with her, and it seems like Natalia and her are heating up quite nicely.” Sage shrugged, and Stassi continued. “Maybe she’s a bit intimidated by you, thinking that she’ll lose me as a friend.”

Sage arched an eyebrow and then took a bite of her food. She nodded, grinning. “Delicious,” but then contemplated that. “I mean, it’s possible. But she should know that I have no intention of keeping you away from her. I’m not a bully.”

Stassi reached out and trailed her finger over Sage’s. “Maybe someday we could all get together again, and you could tell her that.” Stassi tilted her head. “Ya think?”

Sage nodded. “If that’s what you would like, then that’s what will happen.” She continued to eat as she spoke about Lena and how she was worried that the union would not even make a difference. “We still need so many names, and I just think that maybe Lena is in a little over her head with this project. I don’t think she even knew what she was getting into.”

“I definitely don’t think she should give up; that’s truly the only way to fail.” Stassi’s mind went to her dad and the conversation. If he knew that she was pushing Lena to continue, he would really be surprised, but she didn’t care. She had to take a side, and right now, she wasn’t going to be able to accept his take on it. The way the hospital was treating the employees was wrong, and she wasn’t going to allow that to continue without knowing she had done something to assist the cause.

“You’re right. Maybe you should tell her that, so she doesn’t think that I’m the only one giving her a hard time and trying to push her to continue this.”

Stassi nodded and grinned. “The next time I see her.”

Sage held her stomach and stared at the food. “I’m stuffed, but that was amazing. You are such a wonderful cook, and I can’t thank you enough for being here and taking care of me while I’m off working the extra shifts. It means the world to me.”

“I wouldn’t be anywhere else.” Stassi leaned in and kissed Sage. The three-letter word came fluttering back into her mind, but she had to press it back down. She stood up and grabbed the dishes, then put them in the sink to soak overnight.

“I may need help to bed,” Sage teased, holding out her hand. “My legs might not carry me all that way.”

“Lean on me,” Stassi beamed as she grabbed Sage’s hand and pulled her closer to her. They walked down the hallway and reached Sage’s bedroom. Sage went to the dresser, while Stassi grabbed her clothes from her suitcase. When she turned around, Sage had her eyes on her. Stassi grinned. “You’re staring,” Stassi whispered.

Sage snickered. “Sue me. I can’t help it.” Sage walked over and cupped Stassi’s chin in her palm. She lifted her head and brought her into a kiss. Stassi relaxed in her arms and stayed in that position, relishing the way Sage enveloped her.

“Sage?” Stassi whispered, breaking from the kiss. Sage’s eyes narrowed in on her. “Never mind.” She fell back against Sage and kissed her again, until her arms snaked around Sage, holding her to her. “We should get you to bed,” Stassi mumbled, wishing the night didn’t have to end like that, but Sage had to be back at the hospital in just a few hours, and she’d be no use for the patients if she didn’t have her strength. She pressed her hands against Sage’s chest to push herself away, not realizing how hard that’d be.

“I meant those words, you know.”

Stassi turned, and Sage’s lips quirked up into a small smile. “They came out quickly, I know. Perhaps you didn’t even hear them.”

“I heard them, at least I think I did,” Stassi smirked. “You meant that?”

“With all my heart. I love you, Stassi. There’s no denying that.” She nibbled on her lower lip. “You don’t have to say them, just because I was the first. I can wait, and I certainly don’t want you to say anything to them if you don’t believe them. I just couldn’t stop myself.”

Stassi moved in and placed her hand on Sage’s lips. “Will you let me get a word in? I love you, Sage. And I’m not saying that because you said it first. I’m saying it because it’s the truth. I have been falling in love with you every single day we’ve spent together, and I would shout it from the roof if I could.

Sage snaked her hand around Stassi’s neck and pulled her to her. Stassi was overjoyed that Sage meant the words, and she didn’t have to go on wondering, questioning, or hoping. It was out in the open, and every day after this would be their next adventure together.