Chapter 2
Upon reaching the hospital's underground car park, I parked the vehicle in my space and went to the elevator, which took me to reception. When the doors opened, I started walking, noting the number of patients seated, waiting to be seen by the doctors.
As I looked, I noticed that the ages of the people were quite varied. I passed by the clerk greeting and she answered me with a brief smile, I did the same with the security guards. When I finished my courses at the university and came to work at the teaching hospital, it didn't take me long to make friends, most people were kind and friendly. Although some of the doctors are arrogant and unfriendly, I never let that get in the way of me, or make me less happy to be there. Arriving at the locker room where we kept our belongings, each in their respective locker, just like at school, I found some of the doctors who were not part of the nice people at the hospital. Always appearing to be petty and thinking they are better than everyone else.
They looked me up and down with complete disdain and left, without even saying good morning, but I didn't let that get to me. In six months, if we exchanged a few words, it was just the essentials for us to do some work. One of them worked in the field of neurology, and the other in cardiology. Many entered here with the specialties already chosen, I, on the other hand, persisted in not choosing, although my superiors called my attention. Even though it was not an obligation, I could have chosen general practice. It was something to think about. Doctor Vladmir, in addition to being the hospital's general physician, was head and also a teacher. He was the one who recommended me to this hospital and he was always present at the appointments. His experience helped in several ways.
I put the bag on the shelf of my closet, opened it, took off my lab coat and put it on, then I left that room and walked to the painting, looking for my name. That day, I would perform in my favorite ward, the best of them all. I took out my notebook, copying the information from the board. Thanks to that notebook, I didn't get lost in my duties.
My shift would start the minute I finished my notes and headed to OB, where a second-time mom was waiting. Although I thought it was the most beautiful area to work on, being able to hold a newborn life in my arms and receive all the motherly feelings, and comforting patients was always a struggle. But, I did my best to make the delivery, even when difficult, comfortable. It was nine o'clock in the morning and I was still waiting for full dilation.
"Dope me, please!" I can't take this pain anymore! the patient screamed.
Although I took too many painkillers to keep her pain to a minimum, she kept complaining.
" I can't medicate her again, ma'am" I informed her, seeing her breathing heavily, repressing the pain " in her body, there are very high amounts of ..."
"IT DOESN'T MATTER, FUCK!" she screamed, writhing and gripping the corners of the bed with all her might."
Her husband, beside her, tried to calm her down.
"That baby won't come out, HELL!"
I instructed her to do the breathing exercises to help with dilation, and she did, with great difficulty. I also advised her husband to help her stay calm, with love and care. Watching him help her was beautiful. The patient was giving birth to a girl, but she didn't look very happy about having a second baby, on the other hand, her husband was overjoyed.
" My ladybug, hold on a little longer!" He encouraged "Our baby girl is going to be born!"
'"JOANINHA IS A FUCKING, YOU BIG HEAD!"
She cursed and screamed. I checked the dilation and made sure the baby was going to be born.
" I am suffering to give birth to your daughter!"
" Mr. please help your wife. The dilation is complete and is sufficient for the birth,” I informed her without delay.
"Oh! THANK GOD!" The woman was euphoric when she heard the news, but then she took a deep breath, controlling her anxiety.
"Come on Dylan! It helps me!"
The contraction came harder and she cried out in pain. Her husband gave her his hand, as a form of support, and I began to instruct:
"Come on, push!"
“R-right!
We began the procedure as calmly as possible. This was my third birth in six months, yet nervousness always got to me. I took a deep breath to calm myself and not run the risk of making the patient worry.
It didn't take long for the patient to push. During the process, she cried and breathed heavily and I realized that her husband had become a perfect model shop window mannequin.
Heavens! May that man not faint now! I thought, worried
"That's it, Mom!" - I encouraged, when I saw something similar to a large lump appear in the middle of the blood from her vagina.
"I can see the head!" Push!
I heard a loud noise in the room. As I had predicted, the husband fainted, but he was quickly helped by the nurses who accompanied me.
"You piece of shit!" Oh!
She raged with rage, applying more force. I was startled by the baby slipping out of her vagina. I blinked three times to compose myself and cut the umbilical cord. I wrapped her in a blanket and handed her to her mother, who was catching her breath.
"Your baby is beautiful" I praised the little newborn and the mother smiled "Congratulations, mommy!"
She grabbed the small package and kissed the top of her forehead. Even tired, she didn't stop smiling and hugging her daughter.
At 11 am the delivery was completed and I was able to go about my day, according to the notes in the notebook. Before lunchtime, I went to visit the mother I helped with the birth and I noticed that her husband was beside her, he had woken up. The wife slept and would spend a night in the hospital, recovering, until she was discharged the next morning.
Back in the locker room, I took my cell phone out of my purse and called Noah, my friend who works and lives here in Los Angeles, with Giovana. They shared an apartment, not for financial reasons, but because it was something they had planned during their high school years. Noah was a stylist and many times that saved me. He was the one who made my clothes for graduation from school. Falling into the stereotype of men in the fashion world, Noah was gay and, for me, it was gratifying to have a friend with no ulterior motives.
"Little one, how are you?" I was waiting for your call.
“Noah! I am great and you?"
" I am fine. I'm glad you called me,” he replied.
"I called you to have lunch together." It's free? I asked, expecting a positive answer.
“For you, I'm always free. Know this."
"I ask politely." I smiled, speaking with a convinced tone.
"shall I call Giovana? She's a wreck, like she always is on her days off!"
"Clear! You know how much she values sleep" I took a breath, thinking where we could go "how about the Maccheroni Republic?"
"Perfect! Until then,” he said, hanging up.
I put away my cell phone and, without delay, headed to the parking lot, getting in the car and heading towards the food, and, of course, my friends. For God! Work made me hungry! I parked in the agreed spot and entered the restaurant. I saw Noah and Giovana sitting at a table and I went over to them, noting the expressions on each one of them when they looked at me.
"For God! What dark circles under your eyes... " Giovana commented without delay.
"Don't expect a medical resident to sleep regularly," I replied as I pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Is it just for that reason?" Noah asked, with a questioning look.
"You know... I'm always woken up by my father's screams and, also, I live quite far from here, so there's not the slightest possibility of a good night's sleep."
" I don't understand. Why don't you come live here? It would be much easier and healthier,” he suggests.
"in our apartment there is one room available, it would be really nice if the three of us lived together."
"Leave your father to fend for himself!" You're of legal age and you're building your career, you have no obligation to support that baba...
“Noah!" Giovana intervened, before her friend concluded the offense.
- What?! I'm just speaking the truth. Roberto does not deserve the daughter he has!
“I'll think about it.
"Are you still thinking?" That drunk doesn't deserve your efforts. You are a diamond in the midst of...
“Noah! Hold your fucking tongue! " Giovana scolded him, once more.
"Okay, okay!" - Noah looked at me steadily, but his eyebrows were lowered, in a pleading manner - just think fondly, but think well.
"So..." Giovana changed the subject and, smiling at me, asked " how was your day at work?"
I rested my back against the wooden chair and took a deep breath as I remembered what I had done before going to the restaurant to meet them.
" I had a delivery today" I revealed, still remembering the fateful moment.
"Our! Ariel performing deliveries. It must have been exhausting,” Noah said.
“Exhausting? The patient is the one who had her pussy ripped open,” said Giovana, exaggeratedly.
“It was either that or a C-section, but the patient didn't want to.
"What if it was necessary?" Like, if there were complications? Noah asked.
“Then I would explain the situation and convince her.
“What an adrenaline rush.
"Don't even tell me," I said.
We closed that subject and called the waiter to take the order. The food would still take a while and we would have more time to catch up. When lunch arrived we sat in silence until we were done, everything was delicious. We still had a lot of time left, so we ordered dessert and talked about Giovana's work. She worked at her father's famous company and worked very hard so that they wouldn't think she was there out of nepotism, because besides that, she was a very hardworking woman. Besides, she had disagreements with her father. They hadn't gotten along very well since she found out he was cheating on his mother. Even with this discord, Giovana continued to live with her parents, only moving when her mother died.
We've known each other since high school. We are practically the three musketeers or the three spies.