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“You should talk to him,” Christy said She nodded in Chase’s direction as I breezed by her and her piles of long, yellow ringlets
I shookinto the exa to the floor began an equally familiar beat Whatever they cleaned the floor as supposed to sanitize the worst bacteria known to man, but it left behind a sticky residue Maybe to reain I pulled bottles of bariu space ater I replaced the cap, and then shook the bottle toslimy paste that smelled of bananas “Don’t start I’ve already told you no He looks fifteen”
“He’s twenty-seven, and don’t be a shrew He’s cute, and he’s dying for you to talk to him”
Her ious “He’s a kid,” I said “Go get the patient”
Christy smiled and left the roo I’d set on the table for Dr Hayes God, he was cranky; particularly on Mondays, and evenshitty weather
I was lucky enough to be soood side As a student, I had cleaned houses for the radiologists It earned me decent money, and was perfect since I was in school forty hours a week at that time The docs were hard asses in the hospital, but they helped h the divorce, lettingme a little extra at Christmas and on birthdays
Dr Hayes paid me well to drive to his escape from the city, Red Hill Ranch, an hour and a half away in the middle-of-nowhere Kansas to clean his old far drive, but it served its purpose: No cell service No Internet No traffic No neighbors
Finding the place onwith the directions I could hear her tiny voice inloudly and sweetly out the
West on Highway 11
On our way to heaven
North on Highway 123
123? 123!
Cross the border
That’s an order!
Left at the white tower
So Mom can clean the doctor’s shower
Left at the cemetery
Creepyand scary!
First right!
That’s right!
Red! Hill! Roooooooad!
After that, we could make it there, rain or shine I’d even mentioned a few times that it would be the perfect hideaway in case of an apocalypse Jenna and I were sort of post-apocalyptic junkies, alatching end-of-the-world marathons and preparation television shows We never canned chicken or built an underground tank in the woods, but it was entertaining to see the lengths other people went to
Dr Hayes’s ranch would make the safest place to survive The cupboards and pantry were always stocked with food, and the baseentle hills kept the farmhouse somewhat inconspicuous, and wheat fields bordered three sides The road was about fifty yards from the north side of the house, and on the other side of the red dirt was another wheat field Other than the large maple tree in the back, visibility was excellent Good for watching sunsets, bad for anyone trying to sneak in undetected
Christy opened the door and waited for the patient to enter The young woman stepped just inside the door, thin, her eyes sunken and tired She looked at least twenty pounds underweight
“This is Dana Marks, date of birth twelve, nine, eighty-nine Agreed?” Christy said, turning to Dana
Dana nodded, the thin skin on her neck stretching over her tendons as she did so Her skin was a sickly gray, highlighting the purple under her eyes
Christy handed the woown behind the curtain, there, and undress down to your underpants They don’t have any rhinestones or anything, do they?”
Dana shook her head, seehtly amused, and then slowly made her way behind the curtain
Christy picked up a film and walked to the X-ray table in theit into the Bucky tray between the table surface and the controls “You should at least say hi”
“Hi”
“Not me, dummy To Chase”
“Are we still talking about him?”
Christy rolled her eyes “Yes He’s cute, has a good job, has never been married, no kids Did I mention cute? All that dark hairand his eyes!”
“They’re brown Go ahead I dare you to play up brown”
“They’re not just brown They’re like a golden honey brown You better jump on that now before you le wo over that?”
“I’m not worried about it”
Christy sed once her pager went off She pulled it frolanced down “Crap I have to ht have to leave a little early to take Kate to the orthodontist Do you think you could do ery? It’s easy peasy”
“What is it?”
“Just a port Basically C-ar”
The C-arm, named for its shape, showed the doctors where they were in the body in real time Because the machine emitted radiation, it was our jobs as X-ray techs to stand there, push, pull, and push the button during surgery That, and make sure the doctor didn’t over-radiate the patient I didn’twas heavy Christy would have done the saer before you leave”
Christy grabbed a lead apron, and then left o upstairs “You’re awesome I wrote Dana’s history on the requisition sheet See you later! Get Chase’s number!”
Dana walked slowly froestured for her to sit in a chair beside the table
“Did your doctor explain this procedure to you?”
Dana shook her head “Not really”