The phone rings as I'm nearing my primary residence. I answer through my hands free system, "hello, Dr. Teton here."
"Wam, what the fuck is that little girl doing driving your car?" I heard Dr. Kelly Adams's shrill voice come through the car audio system. I hear her laugh before she continues, "is this why you are no longer interested in me? You wanted some younger tail that would let you be in control, let you lead? I can role play just for you Wam, if that's what you're into."
"Kelly, what the hell are you talking about? Back up here... 'little girl driving my car'? You mean Kynlee Knutson? We are friends. Her only living relative, is in a medically induced coma. Have some empathy. Show some kindness." I take a deep breath to keep from losing my temper completely, and loosen my white knuckles from the steering wheel. "The fact you called me, accusing me of sleeping with a patient's family member is precisely why I have refused a repeat performance from you. We had fun Kelly, but it's done. We have no future. I'm sorry. I thought you of all people would understand that."
"What's THAT suppose to mean, me 'of all people'?" She asked with a sarcastic tone.
I shook my head. Did she really need me to spell it out for her? "Kelly, do you really need me to explain? I'd think your smart enough to know what I mean."
"Well I don't, so please Wam.. spell it out for me."
No wonder this woman has never been married. Talk about a strong, slightly crazy personality. Completely different than the professional persona she displays on the job. If only that would stay with her when she leaves the hospital. Instead she turns into this jealous, possessive, slightly psycho bitch that accuses and jumps to conclusions. Yes, I need to be very careful with this woman. I'm sure she would love nothing more than than to ruin my career if I gave her the ammunition to do so. "Look Kelly, I'm simply saying that I know you've enjoyed the company of many of the other doctors and nurses within the hospital. I have no issue with that if it makes you happy. I'm simply saying that's not typically what I do. In fact, I rarely date or enjoy the company of anyone. The night we spent together was a fluke. There are plenty of others that would likely enjoy more of your company, but WE cannot happen again," I said softly but in a stern manner. "Was there a work related reason you called, or can I let you go and focus on my driving?"
"Huh...you are funny Wam. You know damn well we had a connection, but I'll let it go for now. The main reason I called was to tell you that Ms. Knutson should not be parking in the VIP section since she does not work here. Those spots are mainly for practitioners, and since she isn't one..." Kelly's voice drifted off after she made her point.
I thought how to put this to get my point across, not make an enemy of Kelly Adams, and not send her in Kynlee's direction. Kynlee had enough to deal with, she didn't need Kelly giving her a hard time as well. "Doesn't my white car have a 'physician' sticker on it?"
"Yes it does, but SHE is not a physician!" Kelly said with venom in her voice.
This was the biggest issue working with popular doctors and specialists. The longer their list of accolades, generally the larger their egos became. Every once in a while, someone had to remind them that their were always bigger dogs in the yard. You pee on the wrong tree, and those bigger dogs may just bite your damn head off. There is a reason that people discuss 'doctors' and the 'God complex' many times in the same breath. Many seem to forget that being a physician doesn't change the fact that we are still humans. Humans just the same as the ones we treat. The only difference is we have the training and they are down on their luck enough to be in need of our services.
Kelly remained silent, likely waiting for me to concede my position. "I'll tell you what Kelly, you show me a policy barring my car parking in the VIP lot, and I'll ask Kynlee to park elsewhere. Until then, I expect you to leave her alone unless it's an issue with her brother's care. You hear me Dr. Adams?" I asked in a very serious tone.
"I hear you Dr. Teton. Have a good week," she said rather snippily and hung up.
I simply shook my head and said to an empty car, "goodbye to you too."
I knew the morning after when I woke to Kelly with her head on my chest and her body snuggled into my side, that sleeping with her had been a mistake. She was a decent lay, but a completely different kind of crazy than I preferred in the bedroom. Yeah, that was NOT happening again. Honestly, had I not had one of the toughest days of my life and been drunk beyond compare, we likely never would have slept together. Kelly knew what kind of day I'd had, and had followed me to the bar. She hadn't showed up immediately though, she had waited until I was at least six to ten shots of tequila in before making an appearance. Initially I had felt taken advantage of, because I'd always turned her down in the past. That night however, she had found me, gave me a shoulder to cry on, then removed our clothes and made both of us feel good. I had to admit I was a willing participant and I was very cooperative that night when she offered to go home with me. Well, no good will ever come of rehashing that night, so I need to let it go.
Kelly Adams could have never trained under my Shaman Grandmother. As well as teaching me medicine, she drilled the Ten Native American Commandments into my head. I'm a better man for it, but it certainly wasn't easy. I smiled a little as I remembered.
My phone rang again, breaking from my reverie. This time I looked before answering. The screen displayed, 'Red Wing Hospital' so I moved to answer. Pushing the blue tooth, I said, "Dr. Teton, how may I help you?"
The voice on the other end sounded rather frazzled, "Dr. Teton, this is Dr. Yankton from Red Wing hospital. I could use a consult on a pediatric trauma patient please. The child is ten years of age and had unbuckled his seatbelt to grab something out of the back seat when a car pulled out in front of his mom. He is in critical condition and the pediatric neurosurgeon is already in another surgery. I'm not sure this boy will survive long enough for Dr. Howel to get to him. Could you please come assess him and direct us how to save him? Please Dr. Teton." The poor resident sounded so helpless I felt like I had to help if possible.
I told the resident, "Of course doctor. I'll be there in about fifteen or twenty minutes. Room number?" I put on my blinker and made a u-turn as soon as traffic allowed. Pulling into the parking lot, I took one of the 'Trauma Physician' parking spots to speed up my response time. It sounded like time was of the essence.
I raced into the locker room, donned scrubs, a lab coat from my locker, attached my badge, and raced to Trauma Bay 3. If this poor child was ejected, him injuries were likely serious. Kids always hit me hard because I like kids and have six nieces and nephews amongst my younger siblings. Unlike me, most of them got married and started families. I tried to live vicariously through them and their children.
As I pushed back the curtain and entered Trauma Bay 3, my stomach sunk. Why hadn't they called me instead of having the hospital do so? "Mona, what are you doing here? I was called for a consult on an accident. Who's hurt?"