Make Time For Me

Chapter 3

Olivia was nearly dead on her feet by four – PM, not AM, and she had to check that for herself anyway. She’d been on her feet for about fifteen hours and she was dragging them. She’d started her shift at midnight and the hour she’d taken to sit down had been split over five different breaks.

Thank God it’s Friday had never felt more real.

“Leggett!”

Olivia winced, then smoothed her face out.

“Yes, Dr. Heart?”

“You’re on tomorrow from ten.”

“What?”

“The weekend clinic, Leggett. You can’t have forgotten, can you?”

Olivia swallowed.

“No, of course not. Ten. Yes, I’ll be there.

“Good. You’re off at six. Go home, get some sleep, and be there bright and chipper at ten in the morning.”

Olivia nodded, because what else could she do?

“Yes, Dr. Heart.”

“Good. Good work today. But you’re flagging, you’re on break unless there’s an emergency. Macintosh will cover for you.”

Oh, blessed Ellie!

“Thank you, Dr. Heart.”

“Next time you’re dead on your feet, don’t wait for me to come to you. You should tell me. I’ve already told you how I feel about exhausted doctors and the judgment errors they make, and how hand-eye coordination gets worse when you go for a certain period of time without rest?”

“Yes, Dr. Heart.”

“I’m not going to tell you again, Leggett. Break room, now.”

Olivia nodded, and set off gratefully.

Getting comfortable in the break room was one of the things you had to work at, when you started your residency. Olivia was quite literally dragging her feet by the time she got there, and she pretty much pitched forward onto the first empty bunk she saw.

“Hey! Olivia! Are you a zombie yet?”

Olivia managed to shake her head, buried as it was in the pillow. It was pure luck that she’d managed to aim for and hit the pillow.

“You’re coming to Paul’s tonight, right?”

“Go away, Jason.”

“You have got to come to Paul’s tonight. He’s doing a clambake. It’s going to be amazing. We’re all going to eat so much that we’ll sleep all weekend.”

“That’s great, Jason. I have to be at the clinic tomorrow, and possibly the day after, so I’m out.”

“You’re out of what?”

“Paul, Olivia says she’s not going to come to your place tonight.”

“What? No, Liv, you have to come! It won’t be the same without you, not even a little bit.”

Olivia was too tired to fight the nickname anymore. No hints she’d dropped had worked. Angela just kept at it, all wide-eyed and fairy-like, and Olivia had just given up.

“Guys, I just want to sleep.”

“Come on, we’ll get you caffeinated and then it’ll all be fine. Come on, Olivia! We won’t stop, you know. We’ll keep at it. You can take a nap now if you agree to come!”

Olivia sighed.

“Don’t you guys have clinic duty?”

“No, we volunteer one weekend a month.”

“Lucky bas*ards.”

“Come on, say yes, Liv! Come on.”

Angela sat down on the bed beside Olivia, and that was what made Olivia agree.

“Fine. Fine, I agree, if you’ll all leave me alone and let me take a nap now.”

“Done deal. You could’ve just said so without the fuss,” pointed out Jason, and to Olivia’s relief, they all shut up and kept up their end of the deal.

She was beginning to get a handle on most of the residents now. Jason was the playboy, both in the Casanova sense of the word and in the play sense of it. He seemed to play at everything, even if she’d seen him working with kids and knew that he was both good and good with them.

Ellie was cheerful and good-natured, and extremely friendly, but also level-headed and dependable. Having her as a roommate was such a pleasure that she hoped Ellie would want to keep that arrangement up. Olivia tried her best to keep those breakfasts coming. The fridge and pantry, too, stayed mysteriously stocked.

She hadn’t spent that much time with Paul yet. He was the busiest one out of all the residents, and that was saying something. They were all busy enough to reduce them to tears at times. Well, she would meet him that evening. She couldn’t wiggle out of it now. She had committed to going. It would be interesting, certainly, to meet a man who, despite being that busy and possibly as exhausted as she was, would choose to put on a clambake for his colleagues. It boggled her mind, frankly.

And then there was Angela. Angela seemed to have decided that they were great friends, and that she was Liv, and occasionally Livvy, but she meant no harm. Despite looking like she should be a bubbly, outgoing person, Olivia had the feeling that being friendly came at a cost to Angela. Maybe it was because she was so exquisite to look at. Maybe that made friendship more complicated.

She should be kinder to the young woman, she decided. She was younger, too, so she must be a prodigy and a genius to have made it that far that quickly.

She could respect that.

Olivia fell asleep having made that decision, resolutely refusing to think about how Jason had been creeping into her thoughts too often lately. But in her dreams, her refusal meant nothing. His striking blue eyes and his charming smile beguiled her as she slept.

“Wow, you look amazing, Olivia. I wish I could pull off something like that.”

Olivia looked at the rather fluttery, floaty top she had worn over her jeans, and she chuckled.

“Anybody could wear this. This is what I wear when I haven’t had time to work out.”

“That green looks so good on you. It would clash terribly with my hair.”

“You have a pink streak in your hair today, it would be the ideal contrast.”

“I’d look like a whale.”

“You would not,” insisted Olivia. “But I would never be able to wear those boots and that jacket. There isn’t enough space between where the jacket would end and the boots would begin. I’d look like one of those photos where one section was just sliced out.”

Ellie laughed. Olivia loved Ellie’s laugh. It was a sound of pure enjoyment, booming and delighted.

“I have to agree with you there, but there are other jackets and other boots. Anyway, are we ready? Are you sure you’re all right with walking?”

“Remember what I just said about the exercise? Anyway, we’re going down to the beach, aren’t we? A clambake, a real clambake. I didn’t even know people still did that, to be honest. I’m kind of excited.”

“That might be the four sodas you drank. Don’t forget your scarf and your coat.”

“I won’t,” said Olivia with a smile. Yes, Ellie was definitely the best roommate she’d ever had, other than Cara, of course. Cara would forever be the best. She should call Cara. She’d missed a couple of calls from her. She needed to catch up with her best friend.

Olivia was, perhaps, a bit hopped up on sugar and caffeine by the time she got to the beach with Ellie.

“Look at that, they’ve already got the fire going and everything! Come on!”

Olivia followed Ellie, feeling a little shy. There were more people than she had expected.

Jason, of course, was right in the middle of attention and enjoying every second of it. She thought she could see his eyes sparkle all the way over there. The sun was setting, and it was going to be a beautiful, clear night.