Sweet Violet and a Time for Love Read Online Free Page B

hint and began inching toward us. Dr. Levi, a newer member of the ED team, joined alongside him.
    He would be expecting some answers, some info when he got to the room, I knew.
    â€œMa’am, where do you live?” I tried again.
    She folded her hands in her lap and stared at the floor. A look of sorrow flashed through her face. “I ain’t got no home to go to no more. What’s your name again, sugar?”
    â€œI’m Sienna. What’s your name?” I held my breath, waiting, but her eyes narrowed again. Hardened.
    â€œOh, you ain’t from around here none, are you?” Her voice filled with venom. “Everybody here knows who I am. I’ll forgive you this one time for asking me my name, but no more, sugar. Don’t expect no more favors out of me, young thang.”
    â€œIs your name Sugar?” I gave her a broad smile, trying to ease the sudden dark change in her mood. She laughed a deep, full belly laugh that echoed through the room and quickened the security guard’s pace toward us. Dr. Levi slowed down.
    â€œYou know full well my name ain’t no Sugar, sugar.” Her voice seemed to lower with each approaching step of the guard. She looked me straight in the eyes just before he came in the room. “My name is Sweet Violet,” she whispered, “and I suggest you go on about your way before I put the ‘n’ in Violet and acquaint you with my bitter side.”
    â€œOkay, uh, Miss . . . Violet.” I stood and put my chair between the two of us, but my protective actions appeared to be unnecessary as the guard stepped into the room. She seemed giddy again.
    â€œYou got my drink, sweetheart? It’s about time. Service here is terrible.” She smiled up at him, the animosity of the previous moments dissipated. She stood and began dancing again, ignoring even the guard she’d just questioned. I stepped out of the room and yanked the curtain closed behind me.
    â€œHer drink?” Dr. Levi had caught up and he stood with me outside the room. “What does she need, detox?” he inquired.
    â€œDefinitely order a tox screen and check her blood alcohol level. With all the dirt on her clothes and in her hair, I’ll call around to some of the homeless shelters and see if any of them know who she is.” I put a hand to my forehead and thought better of it. “Actually, I’ll leave a note for the Sunday on-call social worker to follow up in the morning. I know KeeKee wants this bed available, but this honestly could have waited until the morning.”
    I turned to leave as a fresh wave of nausea threatened and heightened my irritation that I’d been called out of my home to deal with this. Even if I called shelters and APS, nobody would do anything until daylight tomorrow. Adult protective services probably would just tell the ED to keep her until they were available to visit with her on Monday morning. I knew how these things worked.
    â€œUh . . .” Dr. Levi looked uncertain, but he could tell by the look on my face that I had already given my “prescription” for the patient, bless her dancing heart. I hurried away from them and was considering using a computer in an alcove near me to type a note and send a message to KeeKee when I heard the curtain of bed twenty-nine open up with a loud screech.
    â€œNow what did y’all do with my clothes?” the woman who called herself Sweet Violet hissed. She stood there with her housecoat unzipped and falling off of her thin shoulders. Way too much of her personal business showed and I wanted to go wash out my eyes with some hand sanitizer, bleach, something.
    â€œStep one, step two, step three and four. Shake it fast, baby, and hit the floor. Ooooh, yeah!” She began her spinning and shaking again.
    The doctor and the guard gasped and I groaned. There was no way KeeKee would let me leave a half-naked elderly Jane Doe dancing around the ED. This would