Every day in December held a new adventure, mainly because every night after work I got a phone call from my friend Bubba, who was looking for some fun for him and Scott, a friend home from Iraq. Feeling quite lame and wanting to get out for the night I would agree and we would take off, looking for anything to do.
We saw all the Christmas lights possible, we went bowling, played pool, got food, we even went on a search to find the spirit of Christmas and found a Santa look-alike and a Jesus look-alike. They were fun to be around, and they both had broken 'give-a-damns', making it easier to be myself and live with my life as it was. Soon to find out Scott was an Army medic, and a damn good one as that, he was on their Air Ambulances.
I learned a lot from the two of them during that month. I learned that being a dumb ass in public had its benefits as well as its downsides. I learned that learning to laugh at myself was a must. That being a 'scrub*' was only a bad thing by someone higher than you, but that they always need scrubs to stay afloat. More than anything, I learned how a girl should be treated.
Work was going good, I was finally off of orientation and was finally feeling ready to do the job they had me do. I wasn't getting along with one of the nurses, and the other nurse I felt only was nice to me as a pity thing. I learned a lot, quickly. 12-Lead EKG's, the effects of Bupivicane and TIVA, even secrets on how total knees can get in and out of bed easier. The job was perfect and I was so happy with it.
Tim and I tried dating during the first of the month. Many times I got stood up, was forced to wait hours at a time for him to show up, and sometimes we would go a week without speaking. Bubba finally decided I needed an intervention and when Tim stood me up, he picked me up, let me cry on his shoulder, took me on a date and ended the night with a perfect first kiss.
Things got awkward. I liked Tim, but he was frankly an ass to me. Bubba was a good guy, a decent guy, and my best friend. Days passed and we didn't talk about the date or the kiss, but we both knew I had fallen for Bubba, hard. We just kept that our little secret for a little bit. I wanted to take it slow, and he just wanted to enjoy whatever we had.
As the month came to an end we finally had to say goodbye to what we had. We said goodbye to our crazy nightly adventures, our avoiding the truth and more than anything we had to say goodbye to Scott. The night he left I was given a gift from Scott, my first jump kit, complete with sterile bandages, tape, trauma shears and more odds and ends. Tucked up into the big pocket of this kit, was one of his t-shirts. I smiled as I studied all of this, unsure of what to think,let alone say. Finally I found a note. 'Hang in there. You'll get it.'
I never thought we would grow up so much in 31 days, but on New Year's Eve I took control of my young life, and returned that kiss from Bubba, leaving more awkwardness to be had. For some reason, I was okay with it, and more than anything, I came to find out I loved it.
*A scrub was Scott's term for a Nurse, CNA, or any other hospital person wearing 'scrubs', excluding doctors.
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