Chapter Text
Jumping into the lukewarm chlorine water was the closest thing she knew to magic. Rey let herself sink to the bottom of the pool lane and exhaled bubbles, eyes clenched tight. Underwater, her hearing dulled the sounds of the lane swimmers around her. Her mind that ran way too fast during the day, mulling over referrals and patients and Zoom calls dulled too. In the pool, she wasn’t expected to save everyone. She gently pushed off the bottom and emerged, hands wiping away at the water that irritated her eyes. Unlike the more serious swimmers that tended to frequent night swim at Richland Area High School, she didn’t wear goggles or a swim cap. She didn’t want anyone to mistake her as remotely competent at swimming because she wasn’t.
She took a deep breath and exhaled as she shoved off the pool wall and began her modified backstroke. Which really was just her floating on her back, her two legs paddling her along, arms like noodles beside her body. She was hardly the fastest swimmer present, but she also wasn’t the slowest. She could see a familiar sequined ball cap in a lane over, Floater Lady steadily floating down the lane like a cork. She wished Floater Lady was in the lane next to hers, but unfortunately, Grunt Guy was occupying the lane. Rey could track his steady progress in the pool when she heard his grunts getting nearer and nearer and eventually, thankfully, further and further. She wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.
Being in a space where a bunch of other humans were defying nature, swimming in sort-of warm water when it was dumping snow outside, made her feel so connected. She even dared to smile as she steadily did her laps that night. A shrill whistle cut her out of her community daydreams followed by an angry voice echoing off the natatorium walls.
“No hats allowed in the pool.”
Rey stopped swimming to see a new face at night swim. A new and decidedly angry face. The lifeguard had his whistle hanging lazily in his mouth supported by his lower lip. His eyes were boring into poor Floater Lady who almost went underwater at the abrupt command. She tried to sputter out a reply, but was only met by another trill of the whistle.
“Ma’am,--” he began, but Rey couldn’t stop herself from interrupting. She could feel her outrage bubbling from her insides.
“Sir, you must be new around here, but hats are allowed.”
Floater Lady was now looking incredulously at Rey, her wrinkled eyes wide. Rey saw Angry Lifeguard’s gaze flick to her face, dark eyebrows lowering. Around them in the pool, some swimmers were nonchalantly taking breaks between laps, drinking water and watching the show.
“This matter doesn’t concern you.” The dismissal was curt and even if she hated the guy, it still felt a little humiliating to be chastised in front of other people. “No non-swimwear is allowed in the pool.”
“Rey, don’t worry about it,” Floater Lady said as she made her way to the ladder. It only made her feel worse that Floater Lady remembered her name the one time they had to share swim-lanes during a particularly busy night swim.
“Now wait a minute, there is no reason to force this woman to remove her hat when she never had to before.” Rey gestured with a hand, splashing the water in frustration. A corner of Angry Lifeguard’s mouth twitched, but he otherwise said nothing. He was getting what he wanted, Floater Lady relinquishing her signature tacky “Boss Lady” bedazzled cap. She wished she could see his eyes.
“Wait a minute, why are you wearing sunglasses at the pool? Doesn’t that break your precious ‘no non-swimwear in the pool’ rule?” Even Floater Lady scrutinized the surly lifeguard in question as she placed her hat on her folded flamingo towel on the bench.
Other swimmers at the pool were now grumbling in agreement with Rey and she watched in shock as the lifeguard took off his sunglasses and didn’t stop there. He took off his t-shirt as well before resuming his position on the guard chair. His broad bare chest was as unnaturally pale as the rest of the swimmers, reminding her that when she was done with free swim she too would return to the cold and unkind world outside. The large wall clock behind him reminded them all that it was nearing 9pm, so those that stopped to watch the spectacle returned to get a few more laps in. Even Floater Lady was back to her lane. Rey tried to get lost in her usual flow, but she was accurately aware of the pair of dark eyes that were now glaring at her sans sunglasses. They didn’t stop until a shrill whistle sounded the end of free swim and she ducked into the locker room.
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Rey clutched her Spongebob Coffee mug as she shambled into the silent kitchenette. It was half past six in the morning and so far the sporadic humans she did encounter abided by the unwritten rule of not talking before the sun rose. As she poured hot coffee in the mug made by some kind soul that was at the office even before her, she heard the telltale signs of trouble approaching. A morning person. She tried to escape quickly, but managed to only run into the human who was quite literally singing a Christmas carol to themselves despite the fact it was Monday morning following Thanksgiving weekend.
“Oh good morning, Rey!” Rose, the director of HR, beamed a smile from behind a stack of donut boxes. She was the type of person who was born to to the job she was in. She was so saccharine and professional that she could deliver the worst news with a kind smile. She preferred skirt and blazer combos and this morning Rey had to admit the bright red suit with green blouse was quite good. “Didn’t see you there! Want a donut? I have all the best kinds. Old fashioned, cream filled, jelly filled,” and Rose continued to rattle off every donut she had picked up that morning as Rey scrambled to blot the hot coffee out of her one nice white blouse. She only managed to make the spot seem even more aggressive than it had been before. This was exactly why she stuck to greys. She crouched to the floor and mopped up the remaining spill, wishing the past 24 hours hadn’t happened. It seemed Angry Lifeguard had cast a spell and channeled minor inconveniences in her life. After leaving free swim the night before, she proceeded to have the worst night rest she had in a long time.
“So which one do you want?” Rose asked, inches from Rey’s face now. She noticed that the HR warrior was wearing a custom pin that said “Happy FriYAY!” The absolute excitement Rose had made Rey very aware of her lack of interest in humanity at the moment. It made her feel like an ass.
“Do you have anything vegan and decorated with ugly black icing?”
Rose’s laughter followed Rey down the hall as she retreated from the kitchenette with her coffee and a donut that apparently was supposed to be a snowman’s face, but the icing had melted and made it look more like a disaster.
“I figured nobody would have wanted him after my car vent incinerated him!” Rose had explained, still joyous. At her desk, Rey deposited the donut beside her computer with her coffee before kicking off her dress shoes. Her desk was a minor sanctuary in the office that could often be trying. So many personalities in one place was a lot for her at times. Being raised a latchkey kid in a quiet house seemed to make her commotion intolerant. She shook her mouse and the computer lit up. Immediately the ominous chime of the Outlook notification sound broke the peace and she scowled. The sound haunted her dreams. She couldn’t escape it. Her beach calendar promised a paradise that she still hadn’t gone to planning. A small diffuser gently percolated lavender infused air in a bid to make her less stressed. She could eat an entire lavender plant, it wouldn’t touch the knots in her neck. She sunk into her chair and scrolled her email, half reading the litany of information. Rose’s Happy Friday email announcing there were donuts in the break room, a Zoom meeting with the oncology case management team about the new EMR, sign ups for company indoor volleyball. She scrolled until she saw it.
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: ReGr Peer-to-Peer Appeal Status
Date: November 28th, 2022, 06:03am EST
Dr. Smith,
As per our conversation yesterday, Health United has concluded that no prior authorization for bilateral lumpectomy will be issued in the case of patient ReGr.
Thank you for your time,
BS
Rey stabbed a finger into the snowman donut in frustration, succeeding in only covering herself in black and white icing. It looked like the slush street snow that she had driven through that morning. She was fuming as she licked the digit clean.
“Fucking asshole Slob,” she grumbled, jamming the entire donut in her mouth. The sickeningly sweet taste of vanilla flooded her mouth, but did nothing to sooth her frustration.
“Do I hear yet another Slob denial?” Finn’s voice floated from his cube beside hers and Rey scooted over to him in her rolling chair, coffee sloshing in her mug. Her friend had been the person that oriented her all those years ago when she started. She knew he was good when he didn’t launch into why the job sucked; instead he let her figure out the bad and good and supported her through it all. Now they vented their frustrations together. He was wearing a beige sweater, the long sleeves pulled up casually to showcase his strong forearms. She could smell his rich sandalwood scent that instantly calmed her.
“The asshole is unstoppable! This is the tenth denial this month! Talk about a man without a heart.”
“You know he is the reason I switched over to pediatrics,” Finn said over his own cup of coffee with a smile. “Dr. Reddy actually approves cases and even throws pizza parties.” On his desk, a small Christmas tree blinked cheerfully. A new picture of Dynamo, his Chihuahua and pride and joy smiled with a pet store Santa.
“I’m sure if Dr. Solo threw a pizza party, he would infuse it with Miralax,” Rey sighed. “So what’s the verdict, was Dynamo a good boy this year?”
Finn snorted. “Yeah, he pissed on my new shag rug right when my mom and dad knocked on the door for Thanksgiving.”
“He was simply voicing what I said: shag is never going to come back. Was it impossible to clean?” Rey picked up one of Finn’s stress balls shaped like a smiley face and squeezed it until it distorted.
“The power of dog pee should be harnessed for warfare.”
“See, I was right!” Rey punctuated the statement by throwing the ball at him.
He dodged it and it tumbled along the floor. Finn rolled it towards him with his foot, throwing it back on the desk. “Yeah, yeah. Well, I was doing more than cleaning piss this week.”
“Ooooh, operation Impress a Certain Man from Finance?”
Finn’s face lit up and he reached for his phone. “This year is going to be the year, Rey. I have been working these recipes for months. Leia’s sugar cookies don’t stand a chance against my gingerbread army. Look!” Finn’s phone had a picture of dozens of elaborately decorated gingerbread people. Dynamo was in the background snuffling for crumbs on the linoleum floor.
“Is that a gingerbread version of the Health United office building?”
“Shh, keep it down!” Finn whispered. He got up and looked around, but people were slowly trickling in and completely uninterested in the case management corner. Not when Rose from HR was doing a cancan with free donuts in the break room. “I have to fight dirty to win and if that involves some kissassery behavior, so be it.”
“Really, I didn’t know Poe from Finance was such a corporate sympathizer. I’m sure there are other ways you can wow that judge.” Rey waggled her eyebrows and it was her turn to get pelted by the stress ball.
Finn snatched his phone away. “It’s not about him.”
“Uh huh.” Rey rolled her chair back to her cube, snagging the ball from the ground as she made her retreat. “I’m sure it’s not.”
“Why don’t you stay focused on Slob and I’ll stay focused on Poe,” Finn snorted and Rey’s annoyance was back on the rise. She reread the pointless, unkind, and awful email from Slob one more time before dragging it to the folder called SLOB FILES. She had been complaining about him since she started years earlier. Her grievances were all unspecific enough for the insurance company to act. After all, as far as Health United was concerned, Dr. Solo was one of their finest assets. He denied everyone and everything. No auth was too heart wrenching for him, it seemed.
“Hey Finn, did Slob ever deny a child a heart transplant or something awful? I need more cannon fodder.”
“I’m sure at least several times,” Finn called back and she laughed.
Rey’s computer chimed again, grating her nerves, reminding her of the Oncology call she had to make. It was time to really start her day.