“I’m sure she’s dependable, but I’ll look into this for you just to be sure,” I say, seizing a reason to go and check in with Cora and poke into the reason for her absence.
“Thank you, Doc. I appreciate that,” Mr. Nelson says and rolls down the sidewalk.
I leave the hospital and go to the second facility where the case management and therapy department is located. Along the way, I try calling Cora, and it goes straight to voicemail. I don’t know why, but an uneasy feeling builds up, and I jog anxiously to the reception area of her office. I try to calm myself. It is closer to the end of the day; maybe she needed to leave early.
The woman behind the desk smiles up at me, batting her eyes. “Hello. Can I help you?”
I put my hands on the desk and lean toward her. “Yes, I’m here to see Cora Ashton.”
With her smile still in place, she says, “I’m sorry, Cora’s not in. But I’d be happy to help you.”
“Actually, I need to talk to her about a patient. Can you tell me how I can reach her?”
The woman blows out a breath. “It’s Thursday. She’s probably working under the bridge.”
Alarmed, I blink at the woman, not understanding. “What do you mean, under the bridge?”
“She started the Bridge Project a little over a year ago. There’s so many homeless veterans that she goes to the bridges downtown to try and help and assist those that need services.”
“All on her own?”
The nurse nods, wide-eyed.
“That’s ridiculous!”
The nurse is looking at me like she doesn’t know which way to run. I don’t care if I look crazy. “Who is her supervisor? That can’t be something that was approved.”
“Her supervisor is-”
“What bridge? Tell me where,” I demand, cutting her off.
I have my office cancel the rest of my appointments for the day and go searching for Cora. Because according to the nurse, Cora doesn’t just go looking for trouble under one bridge, but most of the bridges in the city.
I feel like the vein in my forehead is going to burst, I’m so stressed out. It isn’t until the fourth bridge I try that I see her. It feels like I can breathe again, but the panic is still there because I’m parked next to the bridge and must find a way down to her. With my eyes locked on Cora, I scale down the hill, ignoring all the dirt and grime that coats my pants as I almost slide down.
She is handing out socks and bags of toiletries and talking to the men there, completely oblivious to the way they look at her, or how fucking alone she is in a very likely dangerous situation.
One of the patients I recognize from work is there, and he’s telling her, “Cora, I’ve told you before it’s not safe to be down here by yourself.” As I’m finding my way down to where she is standing, I interrupt. “I agree.”
5
Cora
“What are you doing here?” I ask, surprised.
He doesn’t answer. In fact, he responds with a question of his own. “What are you doing here by yourself?”
“See you next week, Cora.” The veteran waves at me as he walks away, giving Patton a look that screams, I hope you can talk some sense into her.
“I’m not by myself. I know a lot of these people. Look around. You’ve probably seen half of them at the hospital.”
I don’t even bother looking around. “It doesn’t matter if I know them or not. It’s not safe for a woman to be alone like this... Anything could happen to you, Cora.”
I barely resist rolling my eyes. “Really, Patton? I’ve been doing this every week for a year now. And that whole year you spent ignoring me... you can’t just all of a sudden care now what I’m doing or what I’m up to.”
He crosses his arms over his chest and stares down at me. Man, he looks angry. “No more solo trips under the bridge. If you want to come, I’ll come with you.”
I’m still feeling so surprised by seeing him that it takes a minute for it all to sink in that he’s scolding me and trying to boss me around. “Wait a second,” I say, avoiding his hand when he goes to take hold of mine. “What gives you the right to come down here and tell me what to do or not do? You’re not my boss.”
“I’m someone who cares what happens to you, Cora,” he says.
I have to hold on to my anger with both hands not to let his words flatter me into forgetting why I’m upset. “Right, so that’s why you haven’t even returned even one of my many, many calls? I’m afraid that claim doesn’t hold water, Doc.”
“I already told you that I can’t take advantage of your sense of duty-”