Read Online Beyond Broken by Kristin Vayden - Free Book Online

it.” He answered my smile with one of his own.
    “Exactly. How was yours?” I asked.
    “Fine, fine. We have a new patient coming in this afternoon. Depending on her condition, I might ask for your assistance since you’ve proven yourself an exceptional talent at IV insertion. I know you’ve been hired for the intern position, but after reviewing your file I know I’m quite comfortable with giving you quite bit of freedom.”
    “Yeah, I’m not so sure I’m worthy of that high of praise, but I’ll help however I can. What’s her detox?”
    “Heroin.”
    “Oh.” All nurses knew that Heroin detox was bad, the hallucinations, fever and other symptoms made it one of the few detox situations that required us to wean the patient from their addiction by giving them other narcotics till they can handle life without them.
    “Yeah, oh.” Dr. Solomon gave me a sympathetic expression, full of compassion.
    I continued to fill my tray in silence. After paying for my meal I turned and evaluated the cafeteria seating. There were plenty of empty seats and I walked over to an empty table by the window. The blue sky went on forever past the treetops with only a few scattered clouds. The warmth of the sun on my skin made me smile.
    “May I sit with you?” Dr. Solomon asked, balancing his tray with one hand and large dish of ice cream in the other.
    “Of course.”
    He sat and slid his tray onto the table. The motion caused a large glob of hot fudge sauce to drip off his bowl and splatter on the tray. Raising my hand to cover my mouth, I hid a smile.
    “What? I’ll share.” Dr. Solomon dug in, not wasting time with the small salad or chicken sandwich he still had on his tray.
    “Dessert first?” I raised an eyebrow.
    “Yes.”
    “You don’t strike me as the type that eats supersized bowls of ice cream, let alone eats them before the healthy stuff.” I tilted my head and regarded him as I took as long drink of icy water from the straw.
    He shrugged and licked his lips clean of the chocolate sauce. I glanced down, a warm tingling in my cheeks.
    “It’s Wednesday. Wednesday is the only day I let myself eat ice cream. Because it’s such a controlled substance in my life…” He gave me a lopsided smile. “I always, always eat it first.” He took a big bite and closed his eyes in reverence.
    I couldn’t help it, but began to giggle at his expression.
    “You think it’s funny?” He gave me a mocking glare.
    “Yeah, basically,” I said, eating a bite of my salad.
    “And to think I offered to share. See if that happens again.” He smiled and took another bite.
    “I wouldn’t want to take away from Holy Wednesday,” I teased, feeling more at ease than I had all day.
    “Holy Wednesday?” The spoon paused halfway to his mouth, dripping melted ice cream onto the table.
    “Yeah, you’re practically worshiping the ice cream as you eat it. It’s clearly a deeply moving experience for you.” I took a bite of my turkey sandwich and chewed, trying to not to smile at his obvious enjoyment of the treat.
    “Holy Wednesday… I like it. Good work.” He saluted me with his spoon then finished his ice cream. “You know the best part about Holy Wednesday?” he asked as he took a bite of his salad.
    “Ice cream?” The words were muffled by my hand as I replied with a mouth full.
    “Nope, the anticipation and then the ice cream.”
    “Ahh.”
    “You know what the worst part is?” He leaned forward.
    “What is that?” I wiped my face with my napkin.
    “Waiting the other six days of the week, knowing it’s there but I can’t have it.”
    “But at least you get it again,” I offered.
    “There are few things more painful, more desperate than wanting something and knowing you cannot have it, Miss Holton.” His crystal gaze regarded me, warming me yet conveying a change in subject. We weren’t talking about ice cream any more.
    I blinked, unable to respond, not knowing how to respond.
    The rest of lunch passed