It was after 8:30 am when Jerry and Meghan finally made it to the café. Most of the others had already gathered in the back room, so it sounded like a scene from Cheers when they entered the room. “Meghan!”

She smiled and waved. She was waved over to a spot in the middle of the table, and an empty chair was slid under on the other side so she could prop her foot up. The waitress bustled over and set down coffee, cream, and Splenda. “Do you want your usual, Darlin’?”

“Hey, there, Maureen. Yes, the usual, please, with apple butter.”

“Sure thing. Jerry, know what you want?” He studied the menu briefly.

“I’ll do the Big Boy, both meats, eggs over medium.”

“I’ll be right back with some more coffee.” Maureen hustled towards the kitchen.

Everyone was chatting amicably when the fire crews and EMS crews on duty joined them. There were a lot of handshakes and greetings amongst everyone. People found seats and Maureen was busy pouring coffee, handing out sugar, and setting bowls heaped with creamers on the table in strategic intervals. Some looked at menus, while others already knew what they wanted. Maureen was joined by Becky, and they scrambled to keep up with the orders.

Someone clamped a hand on Meghan’s shoulder, and she looked up to see Fred Bellarmine. “Fred! Sit down!” She pushed out the chair next to her on the right as best she could and gestured to it. He sank into the chair, set down his cup of coffee, and sighed. “Already the makings of a busy day, and I’m only a couple hours into the shift.” He took a sip of his coffee and looked at her. “Now, tell me again why you were playing around at a car wreck this morning?” His statement drew the attention of several around them, and the sudden quiet brought a chagrined smile to her face.

Jerry cleared his throat. “You can blame me, I guess, Fred. The wreck happened in front of us as we were driving here.”

“That was your Chevy?” Jerry nodded. “Well, I guess I’ll let you off the hook, then. But it was definitely a shock to see you there this morning.” The others lost interest and resumed their personal conversations. Meghan turned a bit in the chair so she could chat more with Fred.

Meghan sipped her coffee and held up her cup for the refill Maureen was pouring. “Believe me, my morning plans didn’t include playing at the side of the road.” She reached down to scratch at a pricking feeling on her right ankle. Her fingers caught the sharp edge of a piece of glass that had attached itself to her shoelace and she jerked her hand back. “Ouch!”

She brought her hand back up and saw the prick of blood on her index finger. “Man! Hey Maureen, do you happen to have a band-aid?” Maureen nodded and went to get one while Fred caught her hand and looked at her finger.

“Do I need to call you an ambulance,” he joked. She playfully slapped his shoulder with the back of her hand.

“No, you goof! I think there’s a glass shard on my shoe from the wreck. Just cut my finger. Thanks,” she said, as Maureen handed her the band-aid.

Fred took it from her opened it, and applied it over the small cut. He winked at her. “I think you’ll live. So what all have you been up to in your copious spare time?”

She laughed. “Spending way more time in the hospital than I want, unfortunately. First the accident, then surgery for this leg, then Kelsey had an accident with a knife at home, and she just got home yesterday afternoon, so I spent a lot of time visiting with her. And now I have another upcoming surgery next week.” She shook her head. “I’m looking forward to the classes starting back up in a couple of months if for nothing more than just a change of pace and scenery!”

Fred gave her a puzzled glance. “I knew about your accident, and I did hear about your sister from Jerry and Bill, but what’s this upcoming surgery?” He thought for a moment. “Wait. Did you finally get that abdominal issue checked out?” Meghan nodded. “And? Was it appendix, as we thought? Well, probably not, if you’re sitting here and waiting for surgery next week.”

Meghan gave a grimace. “No, not appendix. Apparently, I’ve got a large ovarian cyst, so they’ll be removing the cyst next week. Which means more recovery time after this leg heals.”

Fred nodded. “Well, you need to do what will get you feeling better and back on your feet. You know that.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. My biggest concern is just the hole this leaves in the shift schedule and then the class schedule for the next EMT class rotation. I’m pretty sure that I’ll be on light duty with lifting restrictions through the first month, most likely.”

Fred waved away her concern. “No worries. We can chat later with Mark and see how to work the schedule so either I’m with you on skills days or maybe we can get someone else to come in to help out.”

“You’re right, but my sense of independence is smarting from all the restrictions.” She smirked. “Just think of the last class when we left you backboarded in the closet!”

He laughed. “Okay, you made your point. But no worries about this. We’ll figure out a workable plan.”

A radio beeped, and tones sounded through the speaker as pagers started going off. People were taking quick final swigs of coffee before Fire Truck 89’s crew headed out to a dumpster fire.

Meghan watched them leave, and people settled back into their seats or moved to a better spot at the table, filling one that had been vacated. Fred excused himself to chat with another person, and soon Cherie plopped down next to Meghan.

“Hey there, sugarplum! I’ve missed you!” Cherie gave Meghan a good sideways hug.

Meghan grinned. “I’ve missed everyone too, Cherie! How’s life treating you?”

“Oh, can’t complain. Work has been busy, but nothing new there. How are you holding up? We heard about Kelsey. Is she home yet?”

Meghan nodded. “Came home last night. It was good to get her home. I think Dr. Branston was floating on air when we walked out of the hospital.” She smiled.

“And how are you doing? Leg healing okay?” Cherie accepted her breakfast and chewed on a bacon strip.

“Leg is doing well. I’m supposed to go Friday to get the stitches out and upgrade to a walking cast. So that’s good. But then I’m to go in on Thursday next week for surgery.” Meghan spread apple butter on her toast and took a bite. She chewed for a minute, swallowed, and continued. “Apparently I have an ovarian cyst that needs to come out.”

Cherie stopped eating and looked at her friend. “Oh, Meghan! I bet it feels like you’ve been hit by a train, not just a car! When is your surgery again?”

“Yes, it feels like I have. I’m supposed to be at pre-op next week on Thursday at 5 am. I’m not exactly sure how long I’ll be a guest at the hospital. The surgeon plans to do it by laparoscope but did warn that it might turn into open surgery, depending on how easily they can remove the cyst. It’s large.”

Cherie patted her friend’s arm. “Well, have someone keep us informed. Tell them to call or text me with updates, and I’ll make sure others are informed. We’ll visit, and I’m sure someone can prod Jerry to tell you some jokes or something.” Cherie winked.

Meghan laughed. “I’ll pass your number to Kelsey and Mitch – Dr. Branston. I know that having visitors makes hours lying in a hospital bed pass quicker.”

**********

Meghan had a wonderful time at the breakfast and was kind of sad to have to head home after a couple of hours. Jerry drove her home without incident, and they chatted about the wreck earlier that morning. As he pulled into Dr. Branston’s driveway and parked the truck, Jerry tried to nonchalantly broach her upcoming surgery.

“So, ah, I thought I overheard a couple of conversations you were having this morning, and I thought I heard something about surgery.”

Meghan nodded as he shut off the engine. “Yeah, you did. I’m having an ovarian cyst removed next week on Thursday.”

He sighed and shook his head. “If it doesn’t rain, it pours. Squirt, what am I to do with you? You’ll keep us updated?”

“Yes,” she assured him. “I’m going to give Cherie’s contact info to Kelsey and Mitch, and they’ll use her as a contact point for information.”

“Do you know how long you’ll be inpatient?” he asked.

“No, I don’t really know. They’re going to try to remove it by scope, but it might become an open incision, in which case I’m sure I’ll be there for a few days.” She sighed. “Not really how I wanted to spend my vacation time in between classes.”

He chuckled. “Don’t blame you. Well, keep us informed. I’ll let you know about the next breakfast gathering, and bring you if you want to go.”

“Deal. Let’s try to avoid working on the way, though.”

He laughed. “Deal. Take care, Meghan.”

“I’m trying! Later, Jerry, and thanks again.” She got out of the truck and made her way to the front door. She opened it, went in, and shut the door. She found Mitch had settled Kelsey in an armchair near Meghan’s usual couch hangout.

Kelsey looked up as she entered. “How was it? Did you have fun?”

“I had a great time when we finally got there.”

Mitch, who had been in his office, joined them. “Have a delay?”

Meghan settled on the couch. “Yes. Had a car wreck happen right in front of us on the way.”

“Anyone badly injured?” Kelsey inquired. Mitch settled in the chair across from Kelsey, but Meghan could see he was intent on the details.

“It was a rear-end collision, a car hit from behind by a Jeep. The driver of the car was ambulatory, with a broken arm and possibly a concussion. The Jeep had two people, and both were Level 1 traumas. The driver had a broken femur and flail chest, and the passenger was unconscious with what I suspect were some abdominal internal injuries from improper seat belt position. Their airbags had deployed.” Meghan looked at her sneaker and spotted the errant piece of glass still stuck in her shoelace. “Mitch, could I get your help?”

“Sure, Meghan, what do you need?” he left his chair to come over to her. She pointed to her shoe.

“There’s a piece of glass stuck to my shoelace. Be careful, I’ve already gotten cut.” She held up her bandaged finger.

Mitch reached down and carefully removed the piece of glass and disposed of it in the trash.

“Thanks, Mitch.” He returned to his chair and sat down. Meghan pulled out her phone and a small notepad and pen from her purse. She pulled up her contacts list and wrote down Cherie’s contact info. “My coworkers now know about the surgery next week. Cherie Jones asked me to give her contact information to you so that she could be updated as things go along Thursday. You can call or text her. I don’t know if she’ll be working that day, but if you can’t reach her, just leave a voicemail and she’ll get back to you as soon as she can.” She passed the note to Mitch, who looked at it and nodded. He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He folded the paper to fit and put it into the wallet.

“Not a problem, Meghan. We’ll keep your friend updated.”

“Thanks.”