Breakfast was brought to me the next morning, it was a simple breakfast, grits, boiled turkey bacon, toast, and milk. Still worn out from the nights before I ate and fell asleep, I awoke in time for lunch, a piece of broiled fish seasoned with just lemon juice and dill, steamed broccoli, and tea. Still tired I ate and again I fell asleep, dinner was a little better, roasted chicken seasoned with lemon and pepper, more steamed broccoli, a small slice of yellow cake with chocolate icing and more tea. Again tired I ate and fell asleep.
And so the cycle repeated till two days after my encounter with Amanda Fairchild I was deemed well enough to be discharged from the hospital. I remember that morning, the forecast for that day was cloudy with a slight chance of rain. In fact it did rain. Anyway, after breakfast, more grits, boiled turkey bacon, toast and milk, I was ushered into the bathroom and given a nice warm shower. The Nurse on duty, a blonde-haired and blue eyed nurse whose name tag read “Veronica” that was followed by the letters “RN” had taken her time and washed my hair again.
And after much debating and some teasing I'd allowed her to style my hair in two braided pigtails with a cord of pink ribbon looped around the end. I felt the pigtails complemented the rest of my outfit, a black pleated skirt, white woolen stocking, black leather shoes, and finally a pink turtleneck sweater. A sudden Easter Snap had dropped the temperature to near winter freezing levels. Okay, maybe not really freezing as a hard freeze, but it felt like freezing. But Sunny Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, every time you have a thin sheet forming on your window pane you know it's colder than a well diggers bottom outside.
Anyway, Nurse Veronica had just finished packing my bags and had just ducked out of my room. You know to check on somebody else. That left me sitting there, alone in a wheelchair. Why was I in a wheelchair you ask? Because most hospitals have this policy where all discharging patients are escorted to the exit and more often that not such transportation is provided by a wheelchair.
Anyway as the minutes ticked by, I found myself wondering where Veronica could be, I was ready go, and believe it or not, I was ready to see my family again, also as a added bonus, dad had promised to take us all out to get hibachi, you know to celebrate me getting out of the hospital.
also dad had promised to take us all out to hibachi, to you know celebrate me not dying of pneumonia or something. Also the weather was kind of perfect for hibachi, it was cold, windy, and frosty. Anyway as I sat there, twiddling my fingers, waiting for Veronica to return. I started to think about my encounter with Nurse Mindy, my bottom was still a little sore.. and well the fact that the nurse had spanked me, made the encounter a little too personal. I doubt I'll ever share that encounter with another living soul as long as I live. Anyway, the minutes seemed to slowly tick by then something happened. The door to my hospital room slowly opened and there in the doorway stood Nurse Amanda Fairchihld.
“So.” She said, strolling into the room. “You're finally well enough to go home.” She peered down at me. She held a box in her hand. The box was the size of a shoe box and was wrapped in pastel blue wrapping paper and tied around the box was a cord of pastel ribbon that ended with a box on top.
“Yes!” I said blushing as I stared up at her.
“Good.” Amanda Fairchild said smiling. “I've been keeping taps on you. You've been a good little girl, staying in bed, getting plenty of rest, eating all your food.” She said as she bent down and looked me right in the eyes. I felt a chill run down my spine as I peered into her bright blue eyes.
“And so, Nurse Mindy decided she should go out and buy you a present. For you know, I've been a good little girl these past few days.” She said with a giggle as she held the box out to me.
I'm not sure what came over me, but I slowly reached out and took the box from Nurse Mindy's hands. I could feel myself starting to blush with embarrassment, getting a gift from a total stranger, was something. Even if that stranger was a nurse.
“Go ahead and open it.” She said smiling. “You have a few moments before Veronica returns from making her rounds. And Dawn is printing out some papers for you.” The woman paused. “Plus, I want you see the gifts I've picked out for you.”
I blinked again, and slowly I undid the bow, and gently I removed the paper. Nurse Mindy giggled like a schoolgirl as she folded her hands behind her back and swayed from one side to the other. It's cute that a grown woman would act in such a childish manner. Also it was a little embarrassing too.
Anyway, musing aside, I quickly reached down and removed the lid of the box. I placed the lid at the bottom of the box and there much to my embarrassment was a teddy bear, one with white fur and one that was dressed as a nurse.
“Nurse Brenda Bear is a very special teddy bear.” She said, smiling softly. “She'll be keeping taps on you while you're at home, each night she'll be reporting back to me, keeping me informed on your progress. Should you decide to stray and fall back into your old habits? Such as pushing yourself too hard, not taking your asthma medications, and you know, endangering your health. Then she'll tell me and I'll just have to visit you at home.” She said with a giggle.
“Okay...” I said blinking as I peered up at the strange nurse.
I gently placed the bear on my lap. And then I swallowed hard. Because sitting under the bear was an black walnut paddle hairbrush. I blinked and blinked again as I peered down at the brush. My blood ran cold, and I felt a chill pass over my shoulder. Nurse Mind was now smiling a very feral smile.
“Remember what I told you about repeated offenders. Ms. Jamie Sarah Potter.” She said as she stood up and before my eyes she started to vanish. “Consider yourself lucky, that I found you first. Nurse Spooky was hunting you that night. If you'd gone into the morgue. You would have been caught like a fly in a spider's web.” Her voice echoed and soon she had vanished..
The moment she vanished from my sight was the moment I felt all the color drain from my face. It then dawned on me, I'd been talking with the Phantom Nurse all along. My hands started to tremble, a cold sweat broke out across my forehead. My breathing increased. Now, I've had supernatural encounters before, but I've done my best to just write them off. Like the time I saw Joan of Arc, that could have easily been a hallucination brought on by stress. That time I thought I saw a white dove descend from heaven and smack me in the head. I kind of wrote that off as another hallucination brought on by the religious fervor brought on my Baptism and Confirmation into the Episcopal Church using my new name of 'Jamie Sarah Potter' which in a way kick started the whole process of me becoming 'Jamie Sarah Potter' more than anything else.
Then it was the time I fought the shadows... When I fought, and slew my shadow self.. my old self. Again I chalked that up to another hallucination brought on by the raging fever that was pretty much boiling my brain. Yep, you read that right, boiling my brain like an egg in a pot of boiling water.
But this, this I could not mark up as a hallucination. This was real, and the bear and the brush were real too. It was at that very moment that Veronica decided to make her return. She was trailed by Dawn who had a thick folder of papers in her hand. Both girls blinked when they saw my face. Veronica was the first one to speak.
“What wrong honey?” She said kneeling down beside the wheelchair. “You look like you've seen a ghost or something?” She said as she reached up and touched my cheeks, that one thing I love about Veronica, she had a lovely bedside manner.
“She might have.” Dawn said, shrugging her shoulders. “There know telling how many people have died in this room over the years. Plus, she and her friends were telling each other ghost stories a few days ago. You know teenagers and their overactive imagination. There is no telling what supernatural image her mind managed to conjure up.” Dawn added in a flat tone of voice.
“Dawn!” Veronica shouted in a scolding tone of voice.
Dawn just rolled her shoulders.
“Nurse Mindy.” I said as I peered down at the stuffed bear and the hairbrush. “Came to visit me before I was discharged.” I quickly added.
At that both Veronica and Dawn exchanged a glance. Dawn was the first to speak.
“Okay!” She said walking over and taking hold of the handlebars of my wheelchair. “I'm sure you thanked Nurse Mindy like a good little girl. And Anyway your family is waiting for you. Your Mom and dad have just signed the release forms and the doctor is briefing them now. You know, saying what you need to do and what you don't need to do. Nothing major.” And with that she started pushing me out of the room. Veronica soon followed us.
Anyway, as I was wheeled down the long corridor, I happened to look up and glance into one of the empty rooms. And there standing in the room was Nurse Mindy, her arms folded across her chest, her baby blue eyes twinkling as she peered right at me. A predatory smile seemed to grace her face. I only saw her for a second before she vanished again. It was then I knew that what I was seeing was no hallucination. But a real ghost, I had just seen the real Phantom Nurse and her name was Amanda Fairchild.
The End.
The Adventures of Jamie Sarah Potter will continue in 'The Adventures of Jamie Sarah Potter: Jamie Play's Dotty'.
