41. Crossing The Line

Stassi

S tassi sat in her car. She stared up front and dreaded crossing the line even one more time. The strike had been going on for a week, and it never got easier. But now, more staff members had joined the fight, and it was just one more time she’d have to barrel through the line, and hope no one tried to trip her. She felt like a traitor, but someone had to do it.

As she approached the line, she saw Sage standing in the front. She held her sign up the highest, and Stassi was quick not to look in her direction. On the other side, stood Lena. Lena glared at her, and she could only imagine the things that Sage told her. She missed Sage and longed to go to her, apologize, and even join the line, but it was impossible to make that leap. As devastating as that was. And the guilty feeling of crossing that line would never end, only go deeper into her gut.

She got inside and released a sigh. “Never easy, right?” Charlotte, who worked the front desk in the lobby, grimaced. She shook her head and stared outside the glass doors. “It’s not easy sitting here and being forced to watch it, then walking back out and doing it all over again. But when you have a family to support, you don’t have much choice. But I envy them. I do, indeed.” Charlotte looked down at her computer, and Stassi stared over her shoulder. In a way, she did, too. But it was tough knowing that with her dad as the main person behind the strike, she didn’t have much choice.

Stassi entered the elevator and took it the long way up several flights. When the doors opened, she was whisked into an even more chaotic mess. Just like the previous week, this week wasn’t starting out any better. People were running around, calling to try to find bodies who could assist wherever they could. Stassi sighed and dropped her purse in the drawer, then sat down at the computer. A line had already formed to be checked in.

“I’ll take the next one here,” she called, quickly attempting to get signed in on the computer. The phone rang. Blake, who is just an intern, was trying to man the phones and check patients in. She looked disheveled, her eyes bugging out as she tried to keep everything straight. Stassi gave a soft smile to the man in front of her. “Name and date of birth?”

“Ugh!” Blake moaned next to her, tossing the phone back into its cradle. “I can’t do this anymore,” she said. “This job is not for me. I quit.”

“You can’t quit,” Stassi gasped.

Blake turned to her, her cheeks red and her eyes not far behind. “Try me. Those picketers have the right idea. There’s too much chaos going on here.” She threw up her hands and stormed away. The phone started ringing, and Stassi turned to her patient. She was ready to start crying herself, not sure which direction she should go.

“Excuse me,” she mumbled. She moved over to the phone and answered it. “Please hold.” It rang again; in fact, it rang five times, with Stassi putting it on a different line each time. She quickly got back to the patient and checked in the line that had formed. But what would she do with all these patients who expected to see a therapist or nurse? She had no one to give them to. She took a deep breath and released it, the shakiness appearing. She reached for the phone and stared at all the flashing lights in front of her. She pushed the button to connect with the ER.

“Hello, this is Brooke.”

In a calm and quiet voice, Stassi said, “Brooke, it’s Stassi on Therapy. Do you have anyone? Doctor, nurse, MA, I really don’t care. I just need a body up here, to where they can at least pretend they know what they’re doing. I have a waiting room of patients and no idea where to put them and what to do with them.”

“I don’t know much. I work reception, but we’re doing okay down here, so I can come up. I can pretend with the best of them.”

“Great! I’ll take it.” Stassi thanked her and hung up, then turned back to the phone and began answering the calls. It wouldn’t be ideal, but it would have to do because there was nothing she could do differently. The elevator door opened while she continued to schedule patients, patients who expected to see someone qualified and would be sorely mistaken. Brooke came rushing in and immediately took the first patient. She had obviously been watching the doctors in the ER, to know what needed to be asked and done.

Stassi finished with the calls that were on hold, along with three additional calls, then went to the records room and pulled out several charts for upcoming appointments. It was a day that never had a chance of dragging on because she was way too busy for that. With no breaks and no lunch, the afternoon brought a little more breathing room. It also brought Missy stepping off the elevator. Stassi quickly attempted to put her hair back up in a ponytail, but Missy waved off Stassi’s concern of how she looked.

“How’s it going?”

“Rough,” Stassi admitted. “It’s been a hectic day, but these days should be expected, right?” Missy nodded.

She then leaned against the counter. “Smart move in getting Brooke, even if she’s only a receptionist. At least she was a body to take care of the patient load, and I heard that she didn’t do too bad. Perhaps she’ll have a calling as an Occupational Therapist.” She shrugged. “You just never know.”

“True,” Stassi mumbled. She wasn’t sure why Missy was there, as the conversation seemed flat, but she didn’t want to pry. Missy would get around to it, which she did.

“Just wanted to let you know that tomorrow should be better. I was able to get a Physical Therapist and Occupational Therapist brought into the department. They work at a neighboring hospital, and last year, they had a similar situation, and we were able to help them out. So, they’re returning the favor.”

“That’s great!” Stassi replied. Missy reached out and touched her shoulder, her face showing genuine warmth. “Just hang in there. We’ll get through this. We always do.” She turned and got back on the elevator. Stassi thought about those words. She wanted to believe that she, too, would get through it.

As she left the hospital at the end of the day, Sage glanced over and met her gaze. Stassi’s heart felt pulled toward her, and she cringed as she had to once again cross the line. She couldn’t keep the tears from falling as she got in the car. Her tears fell freely and rapidly now. She hit her palm against the steering wheel. She brought most of this on herself. She had to be strong.

She drove home, and when she entered her apartment, the quietness engulfed her. That was something she wasn’t confident she could ever get used to. The apartment was devoid of laughter, food, or warmth. All she wanted was to hear Sage call out her name just once more.