“Excuse me,” Kim said. “I’m looking…”
Mrs. Benson motioned to Kim that she was busy. Kim thought about complaining that his time was more valuable than the housekeepers, but he didn’t. Instead he rose up on his toes to look again for his patient.
“What can I do for you, Dr. Reggis?” Mrs. Benson said as soon as the housekeepers headed off toward the recently vacated bed.
“I don’t see Mr. Glick.” Kim said. He was still scanning the room, certain he was overlooking the man.
“Mr. Glick was sent to his floor,” Mrs. Benson said curtly. She pulled out the controlled-substance log and opened it to the appropriate page.
Kim looked at the nurse and blinked. “But I specifically asked he be kept here until I finished my final case.”
“The patient was stable,” Mrs. Benson added. “There was no need for him to remain and tie up a bed.”
Kim sighed. “But you have tons of beds. It was a matter of…”
“Excuse me, Dr. Reggis,” Mrs. Benson said. “The point is Mr. Glick was clinically ready to go.”
“But I had requested he be kept,” Kim said. “It would have saved me time.”
“Dr. Reggis,” Mrs. Benson said slowly. “With all due respect, the recovery-room staff doesn’t work for you. We have rules. We work for AmeriCare. If you have a problem with that, I suggest you talk to one of the administrators.”
Kim felt his face redden. He started to talk about the concept of teamwork, but he quickly changed his mind. Mrs. Benson had already directed her attention to the loose-leaf notebook in front of her.
Murmuring a few choice epithets under his breath, Kim walked out of the recovery room. He yearned for the old days back at the Samaritan Hospital. Stepping across the hall, he stopped at the OR desk. With the aid of the intercom, he checked on the progress of his last case. Tom Harkly’s voice assured him the closure was proceeding on schedule.
Leaving the operating suite, Kim marched down the hall to the newly constructed family lounge. It was one of the few innovations AmeriCare had instituted that Kim thought was a good idea. It had come from AmeriCare’s concern for amenities. The room was specifically designated for the relatives of patients in the operating or delivery rooms. Prior to AmeriCare’s purchase of the University Medical Center, there had been no place for family members to wait.
By that time of day it was not crowded. There were a few of the omnipresent expectant fathers pacing or nervously flipping through magazines while waiting for their wives to have Caesareans. In the far corner a priest was sitting with a grieving couple.
Kim glanced around for Mrs. Gertrude Arnold, the wife of Kim’s last patient. Kim wasn’t looking forward to talking with her. Her peppery and truculent personality was hard for him to bear. But he knew it was his responsibility. He found the late-sixties woman in the opposite far corner away from the grieving couple. She was reading a magazine.
“Mrs. Arnold,” Kim said, forcing himself to smile.
Startled, Gertrude looked up. For a nanosecond her face registered surprise, but as soon as she recognized Kim, she became visibly irritated.
“Well, it’s about time!” Mrs. Arnold snapped, “What happened? Is there a problem?”
“No problem at all,” Kim assured her. “Quite the contrary. Your husband tolerated the procedure very well. He’s resting.”
“But it’s almost six o’clock!” Gertrude sputtered, “You said you’d be done by three.”
“That was an estimate, Mrs. Arnold,” Kim said, trying to keep his voice even despite a wave of irritation. He’d anticipated a strange response, but this was more than he’d bargained for. “Unfortunately the previous case took longer than expected.”
“Then my husband should have gone first,” Gertrude shot back. “You’ve kept me waiting here all day not knowing what was happening. I’m a wreck.”
Kim lost control and in spite of a valiant effort, his face twisted into a wry, disbelieving smile.
“Don’t you smile at me, young man,” Gertrude scolded. “If you ask me, you doctors are too high and mighty, making us normal folk wait all the time.”
“I’m sorry if my schedule has caused you any distress,” Kim said. “We do the best we can.”