"Tell me! Tell me! Where is it? OB? Emergency?"
"No. It's oncology."
Linda was vaguely aware of another wing of the hospital, where they practiced acute care. "Well, I'd be willing! I'm a quick learner. You remember, right?"
Beth said "Linda, I know you're in school and all, but do you know what they do in oncology?"
She shrugged. "Well, I know it's for longer term care."
Another pause. Beth solemnly said "It's where we treat patients for cancer."
"Oh. Well, I can do that."
Beth agreed to let Linda volunteer in the oncology ward. Her mother said "They probably were hoping for someone older, with a little more life experience. Those people are really ill."
Bobby leaned in toward her, smirking, his elbows on the table. "Yeah. You ever seen someone with cancer? It's ugly. All their hair falls out, they turn green and all they do is harf all over the place."
"How would you know? Have you ever seen anyone with cancer?" Linda asked.
"Sure."
"And on television doesn't count, numbnuts," she added.
Her mother swung around toward her. "That's enough!"
Linda's summer was all set. She would help at the feed store from the mornings until the mid-afternoon, and for four-hour shifts at night, she would candy stripe at County General. After the weekend, she was set to meet Beth at the personnel office at 6pm, for orientation. She wondered what there was to "orientate" for. Had things changed that much at the hospital? Just to show Beth how serious she was, she arrived at the hospital at 5:30.
To her relief, a younger lady with light brown hair, a moist complexion and sparkling blue eyes greeted her at the receptionist desk. Rose apparently only worked from nine to five. The night receptionist smiled pleasantly, invited Linda to sit in the lobby and promised to let Beth know she was there.
At six p.m., Beth's rich voice filled the entire lobby. "Linda! It's so good to see you again!" They chatted as she led her through the double doors and into the other building.
Linda told her how well she had done in her classes, even though she hadn't taken any real nursing courses yet. "Gotta get the general stuff out of the way first, make sure you're wellrounded."
Linda thought she was already round enough thank you very much. In her office Beth continued the introductory talk after they sat down. She spoke about how everything in the health care field was changing so rapidly, from health insurance to computerization to the look of the nurse's uniforms. "Pretty soon there might be colors, or patterns. White is so cold, and clinical when you look at it day after day. You're lucky in a way, that you get to wear those cute pink uniforms with the smocks."