Wait, what? The man turned and stared at her. Oh, great.
Usually she envied nurses, their ability to sympathize with so many patients, make such a difference in lives. Now was not one of those times.
Elisa squashed the urge to bolt. Never ended well when she tried it. Better to hold very still, wait till the anger in front of her burned itself out and pull herself together afterward.
But the expected explosion, shouting, other things…never happened. Instead, the man had quieted. All of the frustrated aggression had been stuffed away somewhere.
She swallowed hard. Leaving remained the best idea she had at the moment.
But he stepped away from the counter, motioning with a wrapped hand for her to step forward, and incidentally blocked her escape route toward the doors. He couldn’t have done it on purpose, could he? But Elisa took a step up to the reception counter and away from him anyway.
“Yes, dear?” The nurse’s gentle prompt made Elisa jump.
Damn it. Elisa’s heart beat loudly in her ears.
The nurse gave her an encouraging smile. “Don’t mind him. I’ve already asked another nurse to bring ice packs as fast as possible. I don’t mind if he blows off some hot air in my direction in the meantime. I would be upset too.”
Elisa bit her lip. She could still feel the man standing behind her, his presence looming at her back. He couldn’t possibly appreciate the nurse sharing some of his private information. And he didn’t seem to need ice packs or any other medical attention. He appeared very able-bodied. “It’s none of my business.”
The nurse placed a clipboard on the counter and wrinkled her nose. “Oh trust me, the entire waiting room knows what his concern is. Tell me what brought you here.”
This might be the most relaxed, and personable, emergency room reception Elisa had been to in years, not counting the extremely angry man standing behind her. But the waiting area wasn’t packed and no one there seemed to be in dire agony. They were either not very busy—not likely if all the examination rooms were filled up—or extremely efficient.
Efficiency meant she could get in and out and decide what her next steps would be.
“My wrist.” Elisa held out her left arm, the wrist obviously swollen. “I thought it was just a bad sprain, but it’s been more than a few days and has only gotten worse, not better. I can barely move it now.”
And, if she could, she definitely wouldn’t have stopped in to get it treated. An emergency room visit, even with the help of her soon to be nonexistent insurance, was still an expense she didn’t need.
“Is that your dominant arm, dear?” The nurse held up a pen.
Elisa shook her head.
“Oh, good. Leave your ID and insurance card with me so I can make copies. Take a seat over there to fill out this form and bring it back to me.”
Okay then. Elisa took the items and made her way toward the seating area, thankful the nurse hadn’t asked her to give her name and pertinent information verbally. It was always a risk to share those things out loud. There was the slightest chance someone would overhear and take note.
She’d learned over and over again. There was always a chance a slip of information in the unlikeliest of places would find its way to exactly the person she didn’t want to have it.
It might not be crowded but just about everyone in the room had decided to sit with at least a chair or two buffer between them and the next person. The buffer seats were all that was left and most of the other people waiting to be seen were either men or women sitting with men.
Of course, Elisa wasn’t feeling all too sociable either.
Then she caught sight of a little girl sitting with her legs crossed in the seat next to the big planter in the corner. The seat next to her was open, and she was waiting quietly hugging a big blue plush…round thing. Whatever it was.
Elisa walked quickly over and when the girl looked up at her with big blue eyes, Elisa gave her the friendliest smile she could dig up. “Mind if I sit next to you?”
The girl looked around, her gaze lingering on the reception area behind Elisa for a moment before saying, “Sure.”
Elisa took a seat.
After a few silent moments, the little girl stirred next to her. “Are you sick?”
Well, paperwork didn’t take much of her attention and it’d been a while since Elisa had been outside her own head in a lot of ways. Conversation would be a welcome change as she finished the forms, and a good distraction from the constant worry running in the back of her mind. “Not sick so much as hurt. I won’t give you the plague.”
A soft, strained laugh. “Same here.”
Elisa glanced, then took a harder look. The girl wasn’t hugging the big plush toy as she’d first thought. It was supporting the girl’s slender left arm, which was bent at an impossible angle.
“Oh my god.” Why was she sitting here alone?