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“If you have no objection, Mark, I’d like to try some aromatherapy oils on the injury, too.” She chewed her lip, not sure how he would react to that request. Many doctors didn’t understand, or agree with, the benefit of treatments that weren’t created in a chemistry lab.
“Aromatherapy?” Mark asked with a quick glance at her, brows raised, silently asking for more information.
Clenching her hands together, she prepared to support her case. “Yes. I know it’s considered an alternative treatment, but I like to think of it as complementary. I’ve used it successfully on a variety of ailments. No adverse reactions, either.” Mostly she’d treated her dad and a few friends, but she truly believed in it. Heart racing, she hoped he would agree. She might even be able to document the use of oils on a burn for others to follow.
“Any objections from you, Bear?” Mark asked and turned the man’s wrist slightly, looking at the wound that ran all the way around his wrist. “Otherwise, we’ll just send you off to the ER in town.”
“Nope. She said it’s kind of like folk medicine, and I’m okay with that. Anything to take the sting out of it is okay with me, and I don’t want to go to the ER. I got stuff to do.”
“Aromatherapy is widely used in Europe, and I’ve used it before on burns, though not one as large as this.” In the kitchen she was a klutz and had succeeded in burning herself in myriad ways, so she kept a bottle of lavender essential oil handy to treat herself with.
“Okay, Nurse Ellie. Do your thing.”
Mark issued the order, and she was suddenly energized by his open-minded nature. Working with him might not be so bad after all.
“I’ll be right back.” She raced to her room, grabbed her kit of aromatherapy vials and quickly returned to the lodge. Unzipping the protective neoprene case, she pulled one bottle out and clenched it in her hand. “Keep holding your arm over the sink, will you? In case anything drips off,” she said.
“I think you did a good job of cooling the injury right away, Bear,” Mark said and stood to observe Ellie’s treatment.
“Hurts like hell though,” he said, grumbling, but allowed Ellie to minister to him. The first few drops of oil hit his skin and the fragrance permeated the kitchen. “You didn’t tell me it was perfume!” Bear cried and tried to pull away from her.
Grabbing him by the apron front, she kept him in position. “It’s not perfume. Now live up to your reputation and hold still, will you?”
“Oh, man. The guys will never let me live this one down. My wife, neither.” He bowed his head and shook it in disgust, certain his fierce reputation had just been torn to shreds.
Beside them, Skinny snickered, but quieted after a glare from Bear.
“It’s better than being in pain, and it’s certainly better than a burn that could scar badly and prevent you from cooking for all these campers.” Gently, she used her fingers to rub the oil over all areas of the burn. “There are wonderful healing properties in this oil, as I said. Who cares what it smells like, right?”
Bear gave a sniff of lingering disapproval, but relented. “I guess.”
“If it will make you feel better, you can tell people I held you down while Ellie poured it on you,” Mark said.
Bear gave Mark’s thin frame a glance and snorted. “Now, no one’s gonna believe that one.”
“I’m stronger than I look,” Mark said and flexed his left bicep.
Bear barked out a laugh and shook his head. “I make biscuits bigger than that, Mark.” Bear relaxed, and Ellie knew that had been Mark’s intention.
The tension between the three of them eased. “Did Ellie get her doughnuts?”
“No. I burned myself just as she walked in. They’re still in the cooler.” He nodded to indicate which one.
Mark rubbed his hands together at that information. “Any others that you want to get rid of, like Boston cream? Breakfast was a long time ago.”
“Yeah, help yourself. There’s a couple left.” Bear held still while Ellie wrapped a light gauze dressing to his injury.
“That ought to do it.” She applied one strip of tape to keep the end of the gauze secure.
“I can’t cook wearing this thing. I look like a mummy.”
“Leave it on through the afternoon. Step back and just supervise for a meal, then come see me before dinner. We’ll take it off then and see how it’s doing. You might not even blister,” Ellie said, pleased that she’d been able to help him right away with her essential oils. The more she used them, the more uses she found for them.
“I’ll see you in a couple of hours, then. Get your doughnuts, and I’ll clean up this damned mess I made.”
Skinny stepped forward with a grin. “I can help you, Bear, since you have a sore paw.”
Bear turned quickly with a growl. “Now, don’t be making cracks about me bein’ lame…” Bear said and grabbed a towel with his left hand and snapped it at Skinny, but he missed by a long measure. “Put that broom to good use and help me clean this mess up.”
The two engaged in what appeared to be a long-standing, good-natured argument. Thus dismissed, Mark and Ellie gathered their medical supplies and returned to the infirmary.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE chaos of the morning settled down and Ellie was able to prepare the allergy shots as well as get the normal lunch meds organized. Accomplishing the task ahead of time made her feel more in control of herself and more comfortable with the job she was supposed to be doing.
While the kids who had received allergy shots waited the requisite fifteen minutes in the infirmary to see if they were going to have a reaction to the injection, Ellie waited with them. A local reaction of warmth and swelling sometimes occurred, although there was always the potential for a serious reaction with each injection. She kept a number of EpiPens handy for true allergic emergencies. Something she dreaded happening to anyone, but especially a child.
Screams and shouts heralded the arrival of someone to the infirmary, and she was on instant alert. A counselor carrying a screaming child in his arms hurried toward the building. Ellie rushed to the door and opened it for them.
“What happened?” The boy screamed as if he’d had a leg cut off, but it was clearly intact.
Mark arrived directly behind them. “I heard the commotion from across the soccer field. That kid’s got a good set of lungs. What’s going on?” He instantly switched to physician mode, and Ellie was startled to see the visible change in front of her. The intensity and his energy were totally focused on the situation in front of him.
The counselor sat the boy in a chair and dropped into the one beside him. “Bee sting.”
Ellie knelt as the boy held out a hand with a bright red welt forming on the back of it. He continued to cry and tremble despite the efforts of the counselor and Ellie to comfort him.
“I don’t see a stinger, so that’s good.” She applied a numbing spray to the site as Mark watched over her shoulder. “This will make it feel better in a jiffy,” she said and stroked his arm above the sting, trying to soothe him a little. “What’s your name?” With a gentle hand, she wiped his tears away and pressed a cool cloth to his face.
“This is Adam,” the counselor said when the boy didn’t speak. “And I’m Eddie.”
“Nice to meet you both. Is this your first year at camp, Adam?”
The boy nodded and leaned closer into the counselor, who hugged him. Tears continued to flow, but the hysteria had settled down to hiccups and sniffles. Ellie suspected that the numbing spray had begun to do its job. The fear would take a little longer to subside.
Then Adam giggled. And his eyes lit up. And then he pointed over Ellie’s shoulder, and she turned. And she clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle the totally unprofessional giggle that threatened to burst out of her.
Mark looked like a rooster. He had taken a large exam glove and placed it over the top of his head. The fingers flopped over to one side, but each time he moved they jiggled like a rooster comb.
“That’s more like it,” he said and knelt beside them, still wearing the glove on his head. Adam reached out and batted the fingers, trying to make them stand upright. Mark examined the injury closely. “You’re right. No stinger, so couldn’t have been a honeybee. Looks like there might be two stings though. Must have been a hornet or a wasp. They’re a lot nastier.” He looked at Eddie. “Where was he when this happened?”
“Over at the edge of the new soccer field.”
“Okay. As long as it wasn’t in your cabin, although I think the maintenance guys checked all of the buildings for unwanted critters already.” He patted Adam on the leg. “Ellie, got any more of that lavender oil handy?” he asked.
“Sure. Want to put some on the sting, too?” She brightened at the thought. Another use for her oil.
“Yes. The numbing spray smells so medicinal, and the oil is a much better fragrance for the kids.”
“Got it.” She returned in a minute with the oil and put a dab on Adam’s hand, smearing it around the entire welt. “This will fix it up quick. I would like him to stay for a few minutes to make sure he’s not going to have an allergic reaction.” That would be a disaster if Mark weren’t close to help.
“Good plan.” He rose and removed the glove from his head and put it on Adam’s head. “Looks better on you.”
For the first time, Ellie was able to look at Mark’s hair, which was a dense, thick brown and cropped close to his head. She supposed it was much easier to care for this way for the summer.
“I have some candies, Adam. Want one?” Mark asked and reached for the jar of sweets even before Adam’s eyes widened. Opening the lid, he held it over for Adam to reach into and select his own. “You, too, Eddie.”
“Thanks.”
“Eddie, will you bring him back after dinner so we can check him?” Ellie asked.
“Sure.” He unwrapped a candy and popped it into his mouth.
After a few more minutes, when Ellie was sure that Adam wasn’t having a more severe reaction to the sting, Eddie picked up the boy and gave him a shoulder ride out the door and back to their afternoon activity. The allergy-shot kids also departed since their waiting time was over as well.
Mark wrote a note in Adam’s chart regarding the injury and treatment. Watching him, Ellie knew she had to say something.
“I’m really surprised that you’re so open to alternative therapy.” She shrugged. “At least to the aromatherapy anyway.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He set the chart aside and focused his attention on her. “It’s good practice to be open-minded in all sciences.”
“I’m just surprised. So many medical people—nurses and doctors—discount other therapies as being whacked simply because it’s not developed in a pharmaceutical lab.” Thinking of it still irritated her, but she had to realize that not everything worked for everyone, and people were entitled to their own opinions, even if she didn’t agree with them. Alan, her former fiancé, had had nothing good to say about the oils.
“I’ve heard that said about acupuncture, chiropractic and massage therapies over the years, but they’ve all proved their worth, haven’t they?”
“You’re right. I never thought about it that way, but the science of medicine continues to evolve, doesn’t it?”
“As it should.”
Sitting in the chair beside him, she warmed to her subject and decided to share a little of her personal experiences with him. “My dad was ill not long ago. Seriously ill. One of the best things I did for him was mix up some oils that my mom and I massaged onto his feet and hands.” Talking aloud about her father made her miss him right then and a pang shot through her. Being weak and vulnerable in front of Mark wasn’t what she wanted to do, but right now she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “He said when the pain was coming on, he’d always take his medication, but using the oils in addition helped him relax enough for the meds to work.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me. How is he doing now?” Mark blinked and stiffened, his face strangely devoid of emotion that had been so evident moments ago. His green eyes observed her, and she had a hard time holding his gaze. This was apparently becoming a difficult conversation for both of them, based on Mark’s reaction.
“He died about six months ago.” Tears pricked her eyes, but she didn’t want to give in to them. One of the last things her father had asked of her was that she not grieve overly long, that she continue with her life, but she seemed to have become stuck where she was, unable to move forward out of the quagmire of emotions that wanted to tangle her up at odd moments.
“I’m sorry, Ellie. Is it something you want to talk about?”
“No. Not right now, but thanks.” She looked down at the bottle of lavender oil in her hand and closed her fingers around it. “Fragrances are very powerful and stimulate memories that we often forget about until we experience the scent again. When I open this particular oil, I always think of what he said.”
“He sounds like he was a smart man.”
“He was.” Rising, Ellie moved away from him and busied herself putting away the items used in the lunch clinic.
Bear arrived around 4:00 p.m. for his checkup. He nearly filled the small front room with his larger-than-life presence. But he didn’t intimidate her as she’d expected. She guessed that putting Teddy in front of his name would describe Bear on the inside.
After applying gloves, she reached for the scissors and began to cut away the gauze wrapping. The fragrance of lavender filled the air around them and soothed her nerves.
“Careful with them scissors—I still have dinner to contend with,” Bear said.
Although his eyes were serious, the words made her smile. There was a sense of humor in there, but it was buried deep beneath the beard and the brawn of the man. “I’ll try not to cut your hand off.” In seconds she had Bear’s arm and hand open to the air again. “How does it feel?”
Flexing his fingers and making a fist, Bear moved his hand in all directions. He gave a grunt. “Hmm. Feels good. The lavender did take the sting out after a while.”
“I knew it was going to work!” Excitement bubbled through her. “Let me find Mark so he can have a look.”
Eagerly, she turned, but ran right into Mark, and his arms caught her before they both toppled over. “Whoa, Ellie. I’m right here.”
“Oh, you have to see this.” She grabbed him by the arm and led him to Bear’s side. “See? I told you this was going to work.”
The contrast in skin tones was obvious, but what had been a fierce red color of the burned skin had mellowed to a dark pink. The center that had been the initial contact site had also faded, though it was still richer in color than the rest.
Mark gave a smile to Ellie, then faced Bear. “My. You’re right.” He parked his hands on his hips and looked at the burn site. “It’s nearly gone.” Putting on the gloves that Ellie handed him, he turned Bear’s arm toward the light to examine the area around the wrist. “I’m impressed, Ellie. Your lavender oil really worked.”
“So am I,” Bear said and lowered his arm to his side, then looked up at her, his expression open. “I’m grateful to you for fixing me up so quick.”
“You’re welcome.” She handed him the remainder of her bottle. “Put some more on throughout the day today and tomorrow if it gives you any trouble.” Eagerness and joy bubbled within her. Treating people that resulted in such good healing was the epitome of her work. “You have to make sure they are pure essential oils, if you ever use any again. And lavender is the only one you can put directly on the skin. The rest have to be diluted with another oil, like grape seed or the like.”
“No tellin’ how long I woulda sat in the ER.” The bottle nearly disappeared in his brawny hand.
A thrill shot through her. “This was the biggest burn I’ve ever treated, but the oil seems to have done the job.”
Bear stood. “Next time you get some, how about ordering me a bottle or two? Someone’s always burning or cutting themselves in the kitchen. We’ll use this one up in a hurry.”
“Absolutely, Bear.” She reached forward and gave him a quick hug.
Blustering at the affection, Bear patted her shoulder with his large hand. “I gotta get back to the kitchen. No tellin’ what Skinny’ll do without me there.”
“Okay. Let me know if there’s anything else you need, Bear.”
“Sure will.” He exited the infirmary and returned to the lodge.
Mark turned to Ellie with a grin. “That was good work,” he said.
A flush ranged over her face and neck at the compliment. She hadn’t been this excited over anything in a long time, and although the sensation was good, it was somewhat unfamiliar at the same time.
“Thanks, Mark.” She tossed the fragrant gauze in the trash. The scent of lavender lingered in the air, and she took a deep breath. “Suddenly, the scent no longer has any sadness to it for me.” She gave a laugh. “That’s kind of a surprise to me.”
“A good one, I hope.” Mark leaned against the exam table, settling in for a chat.
“Yes.”
A frown chased across her face and her eyes were wide and open, but there were secrets hidden in there. “But?” Would prodding her a little help her to open up?
“But what?”
“Sounds like there’s a ‘but’ hiding in that statement somewhere.” He had been the champion of hiding his feelings, so he recognized the same trait in Ellie.
“There probably is.” Running her fingers along the edge of the table, she looked away from him. “I don’t know. It’s just that I’ve not felt like this for so long that I don’t quite know how to go about making things different.” She blew out a long sigh.
