She strolled past the chairs in the front area, noticing that many people had spouses with them, sitting in little folding chairs beside the recliners, holding hands, whispering words of encouragement. A light flickered above one of the recliners where a bald woman with sunken eyes sat. Linda rushed over with the cart and nurse Doris followed. She patted the woman on the back and said "It's fine Mrs. Morris. Go ahead and let it out." Linda reached down for an emesis pan and held it for the woman, who turned on her side and faced it. After a few clicking sounds escaped from her lips, a polite, steady stream of vomit followed, flowing directly into the pan. When it was over, Linda reached down and dabbed at her mouth with a tissue.
Panting, Mrs. Morris looked up at her and said "Thank you, angel."
When nearly half of her shift had passed, Linda was starting to think that she could do this. Though it was much less hectic than the night before, the time passed much more slowly, also. To try to make herself useful, she casually walked past the patients and offered small talk.
A lady her mother's age sat and knit while her husband napped in the recliner. "My grandmother knits, too," she said. "Last Christmas she knitted really neat sweaters for my sister and me."
One lady arrived late, and though she was crying, looked healthier than anyone else in the center, with her long, gleaming dark hair and her pretty eyes. Her husband, a tanned man with wide shoulders, showed wrinkles and concern on his otherwise smooth forehead, helped her along toward a recliner. On the other side of the room, toward the wash closet, Jenny got Linda's attention by saying "Pssst!" She motioned her toward the closet.
"That lady is a first timer," Jenny said. "They cry the hardest. Be ready for anything."
Linda nodded. When she glanced over at the place where the new lady sat, she saw her continue to cry quietly as Doris started the IV. As the fluid dripped down through the tubing and into the woman's arm, her crying intensified and she let out a continual wail. Linda quickly walked over there as the man held his wife and Doris patted her on her other shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked.
"We're fine for now. Just be ready. Keep the cart in the middle for now."
Linda backed away, feeling like a fifth wheel. She wandered over toward the semi-private area, where only a few patients lie. A girl's voice said "Hello?"