New Beginnings by Charlotte Carter

Author:Charlotte Carter [CARTER, CHARLOTTE]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8249-3126-1
Publisher: Guideposts
Published: 2011-11-27T05:00:00+00:00

The Friday following the big storm, Leila Hargrave called a 7:00 AM meeting for all the supervising nurses, both day and night shift.

Anabelle assumed Leila would express the hospital’s appreciation for their dedication during what was being called the Storm of the Century and wish them all a happy New Year.

Chatting amiably, the senior nurses filed into the CEO’s conference room with its large walnut table and walls covered with photographs of Hope Haven then and now. Anabelle sat between Marge Matthews from ICU and Lorraine Wilder, who supervised Med/Surg.

Wearing her typical dark suit, Leila stood like a soldier at attention at the head of the table. Unlike during the crisis when everyone, including Leila, had worked double shifts or more, every strand of her gray hair was neatly tucked into the bun at her nape. The dark circles of fatigue beneath her eyes had faded and there was an unusual glow of color on her cheeks.

Leila cleared her throat. “Ladies, I have an announcement to make. Late last evening I met with Mr. Varner, our CEO, and submitted my resignation, effective immediately.”

A collective gasp escaped from the gathered nurses, and Anabelle did a mental double take. Leila had been a fixture at Hope Haven for as long as she could remember, first working in surgery and then as supervisory nurse in the ER before her promotion to nursing administrator. It was hard to imagine Hope Haven without Leila’s steady, if sometimes overly firm, hand as the head of nursing.

“During this past week I received a call informing me that my sister Laura, who lives in Tampa, Florida, is quite ill. I will be leaving tomorrow morning to be with her and care for her. And frankly, ladies, I hope I never, ever see a blizzard again.”

Shocked glances were exchanged around the table. Mouths hung slightly open; foreheads furrowed. But no one spoke.

Taking a deep breath, Anabelle pushed back her chair and stood. “I’m sure I speak for all of us, Leila. We appreciate all that you’ve done for the nursing staff over your years of service to Hope Haven. You will be sorely missed, and we wish you nothing but the best in this new…phase of your life.”

The nurses all began to speak at once.

“Oh yes. We’ll miss you.”

“This is so sudden.”

“I wish we had known. We would have arranged a—”

Leila held up her hand for silence. “You can be sure I will not miss winter one iota, and under any circumstances I would not have wanted a fuss made over my retirement. I intend to go gently into the sunshine before old age and the grim reaper catch up with me, to paraphrase Dylan Thomas’s poem.” She nodded briskly. “Thank for you coming and good luck. I’m confident Mr. Varner will find a competent replacement for me. You may feel free to share this news with those in your respective nursing units.”

With that, she made her way past the table and out the door, leaving behind a roomful of stunned nurses.

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