Baked In the Oven

The gecko stood on the dust-covered desert rock, a small one. It smiled wide, stretched across its sapphire and black-speckled skin. She was working, when, suddenly, she got sent to go digging out in this desert—something she had been shocked to do, as she was the best archaeologist around. Grumbling, she soon got distracted. The gecko was odd-looking, but she didn’t think too much about it.                                      

“It’s so hot here. Why don’t you get out of the sun?” It asked the woman in white.

It talks, too? Do I need my truck or my hat to join the conversation? The woman shook her head. Why not?

Suddenly, her white bonnet blew away in the warm wind, and she strived to go after it. “No!” A few minutes later, she grew too tired. “I’m in an oven out here! I’ve been digging for weeks.” She looked right down at the gecko. “Who am I? I’m the best in the archaeology department. Why would she shut me down like that? She knows I’m better than this! I don’t need to dig for her approval—at least not until she told me to go get more fossils!”  

The gecko blinked, the smile plastered onto its face.

The woman sighed. “I need to get back to my truck. I don’t understand why I needed to come all the way out here to do archaeology when the rest of the crew’s back at the lab, examining all those fossils’ bones and skeletal systems. I deserve to be interested, too!”

The gecko said nothing. Instead, it just sat there, blinking. It licked its eyes.

“Well,” she stormed away, “I’m going! Did I miss something? Besides, she said so herself. I would receive that extra money on my check in no time. And I didn’t—why? Because I’m the best archeologist out here?” She spat on the ground. “Yeah right. I deserve to study, too!”   

Hours later, ripping her hat from her head, she put it away into the truck’s bed. She didn’t strap it down like always, but she didn’t care. Hearing a little slippery sound, she looked out her window after getting in.

The gecko blinked. It licked its eyes again. The woman spat that she deserved a boss’s hand on her shoulder, congratulating her on such a marvelous find. The gecko stood there, pushing its smile upwards even more. Its eyes sparkled. The woman started her car and drove off. Her sister was waiting for her to get that veterinarian degree and job. The only thing her boss congratulated her on was the fossil findings. She bit her lip. She shivered, sensing something.

The gecko was now looking up at her outside the truck. It was on another rock. How’d it get there so fast?

Creeped out, she sped back to camp. After getting out, she looked around. No sign of that slimy animal. Still…what was it doing following her? When the woman saw her boss under the camp’s large white tent, she marched right up to her. Smacking her on the face, she maligned her, the other shocked employees staring at each other.         

The woman balled her fists.       

“You’ve said it yourself! I’m an archaeologist just like everyone else here. I would be halfway to getting that veterinarian degree! You promised me I could quit after a promotion. Now I’m stuck here in this wasteland, being stared at by some gecko!” 

The woman in white marched back to her truck, drove and drove, and got out, and kicked at some rock. A crack in her toe bone made her double over in pain. She emitted a yell. Falling to the ground, the woman writhed in pain for a few minutes before attempting to get up and in the car. She tried her best hobbling along, but then collapsed right before the truck, under its driver’s door. “I can’t—”

Visions of her sister’s jubilant face and cute ways of expressing herself about exciting events flashed into her mind. The woman went to examine her toe, yanking off a white boot. The toe was bent at a 45 degree angle to the left, making it look like a crooked arrow. She looked up at the gecko, but then tears of intense pain made her scream out loud. Hoping someone would hear her cries, she told the gecko to do something. Anything! Could it flicker its tongue in and out, causing the nauseating pain to go away? Could it blink the pain away? What was it doing here?

“Get me healed!” The woman ordered, her face contorting in pain every few seconds. “Do…something.”

The gecko skittered down, flicked its tongue in and out, and the woman sat up, stomach churning. “What…?”

Then it said, “It’s so hot here. Why don’t you get out of the sun?”

“What?!” The woman exploded. “I have…a broken toe! What do you want me to do, hobble back to camp?”

The gecko didn’t speak. It merely flicked its tongue in and out of its mouth. And then scuttled away. The woman called after it. When she attempted to get up and climb into her car, she slowly put her foot out, chancing the white-hot rocket of pain that was going to shoot up her leg. When she clambered up and opened the door, the woman gasped, looking down at her toe. It was still mangled, but when she put her shoe back on, she could get into the truck. She didn’t cry out, nor did she tear up—she was fine. She did feel a weird buzzing sensation, but the pain came fully back, the woman gasping and slamming on her brakes. Biting her lip so hard it bled, she squeezed her eyes shut.  

“Ow!”

The pain subsided. I can’t get back to camp. I’m fired. I’m done for. I’ll never graduate from vet school. My sister will feel forgotten and be disappointed. I’m…sorry, Georgia.

Then she felt the strong urge to drive towards the camp, and did so. When she went faster, she headed right for the camp. Heading right for one of the Humvees, she stepped on it. Suddenly, a lightning bolt shock of pain shrieked up her leg. Losing control of her car, she slammed against the airbag.

The woman in a light blue hospital gown looked around herself, blinking slowly. Taking a deep breath first before getting up, she saw her foot in a sling and her toe bandaged up and in white gauze. Immediately, she ripped the blanket off her and got off the bed. Falling to the tiled concrete floor, she hobbled around for something other than the bed’s metal bar to help her out of this room.

“Somebody—is anyone here? Can the nurse come in and put me in a wheelchair or crutches?” She remembered her toe being okay when she got in her car earlier. She walked quickly outside, seeing doctors and patients and surgeons. “Please—I need help!” 

“Ma’am, we just bandaged up your toe. You—” A nurse grabbed the woman’s arms, softly hurrying her back into bed. “Please—you need to rest. Your toe will get better.”

“No—wait!” The woman yanked out of her grip. “See?” She moved her foot, gesturing that she didn’t feel any pain. “It doesn’t need any bandage. It’s healed!”

Suddenly, footsteps sounded, and the woman looked behind her, frowning. 

“I got a call from the authorities, saying you disrespected me. I don’t want to hear about the lawsuit happening right now.” Her boss crossed her arms tight against her chest. “If you’re the best, then stop being so selfish. Great people are humble.”

“A lawsuit?” The woman’s mouth went dry. “I…am I getting sued?”

Her boss shrugged. “Don’t know.” She pulled her cellphone from her business coat pocket and tossed it to her. “Listen to the recording.” Then she walked away. The woman turned it on (she used her boss’s phone enough to know) and pressed a button on the phone after calling her voicemail. A man’s voice asked questions, and then her boss answered them. After she quit voicemail, the woman slumped against her pillow, blinking hard. So I’ll have to go to court? All color drained from her face as she swallowed, her throat tightening. “What…what have I really done? It was just a little anger. Besides, I don’t see why I couldn’t speak up for myself.” The woman’s eyes fell to the light blue blanket on her legs and hips, tears blurring everything. Good-bye, vet school. Good-bye, vet job. Goodbye, Georgia.

 She struggled to hold back the tears. Anger replaced her despair, and the woman hustled out of that room, the same nurse softly ordering her back into bed. Fighting her and then finally shoving her aside, the woman journeyed across the hallway, being chastised by the nurse. “You can’t just treat this hospital’s staff that way! You have no right to disrespect me. You know I need you in that room.”

The nurse marched around to her, stopping her in her tracks. Her eyes worried, her jaw was set and her short spiky hair maybe bristled. When the nurse said firmly, “Got it?” the woman looked at her in surprise, and nodded. Then she looked around—it seemed the whole hospital froze, waiting for her answer. She saw her boss standing far off, in front of the double doors.

“Yes.” She hissed, and turned around, heading into her room again. After getting into bed, she positioned herself so that her toe was once again sticking out of the blanket at the end of the bed. Her nurse lay a hand on her arm, asking whether she’d like a little something to eat. The woman nodded her head. As the nurse came back with a plate with a peanut butter bagel and a fruit cup, the woman looked at her suspiciously. When the nurse lay it on her lap, she studied her hair. She studied her skin. Nothing unusual. The woman then shook her head.  

The nurse looked at her funny. “Are you alright? Do you need me to unwrap your toe?”

“You…you’re very friendly to me.” The woman ran her hand through her hair. “I don’t know why you’re so kind when I’m so selfish!”

“She smiled, cute dimples showing. “Yeah—I always strive to go above and beyond my job description.” She lay a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it. “Please—if there’s anything I can do to better serve you, let me know!”

“Sure…” The woman thought, and then shook her head. “Never mind.”    

Her boss appeared at the door, and the woman looked over. “Apologize to me for such a rude invasion, and fix that so-called fender bender that you caused with your car. We all need a break from the stress!” She left, her high heels clacking softly on the hard floor.

“Yes, ma’am.” The woman whispered. When her toe healed, she made several calls to her insurance agency and then asked for a laptop.

“Absolutely!” The nurse bobbed her head, going to retrieve a computer. She plugged in the cord, the woman thanking her.

“Yeah—anything for my patients!” The nurse left her with a piece of cardboard with writing on it. “For all your Wi-Fi needs!”    

This woman should work at a hotel! The woman shifted a little, and opened it, soon clicking Send after she had read her letter. Hope that woman sees that I’m not in that oven, baking away anymore.

Soon, she heard a sound alerting her that her boss replied.

You’re fired.

The woman sat there. Fired. Then she thought.

As she drove her truck, she saw that gecko on the first rock. But it wasn’t whipped out of sight, like usual—it stayed with her. The woman stopped, got out and told the gecko that her toe had healed! Grinning with relief, she bent down, repeating this information. 

“It’s so hot here! Why don’t you get out of the sun?” It said.      

Then the gecko neighed. The woman froze. She slowly turned around. “Did…?” Widening her eyes, she stared in disbelief at the four-legged animal before her. “A horse!” Its black beauty captured her eye. She walked up to it, and stroked it. “Wow. I’ve always wanted to ride one of these beauties.”

The horse reared up, and the woman got on it, feeling she could trust it. Then she kicked it, and it darted off. Skidding to a halt, the woman jumped off the horse and snatched a white hat about to blow away from the rock it had been caught on. Seeing she was near the campsite, the woman hiked onto the horse, struggling a little. When she mounted and positioned her hat, the horse reared and galloped away, the woman smiling proudly to herself and holding one hand on the hat and the other on the horse’s mane.

“Where are you taking me?” The woman said. The horse galloped until it reached the woman’s truck. Then it neighed. “What…?” The woman, confused, shook her head and dropping off onto the ground, strapping her hat to the truck’s bed, and got into her car. Then the horse snorted and pawed the ground.

“What do you want?”

The antsy horse snorted heavily, pawing the ground again and again. Then it suddenly galloped away, towards the camp! The woman got out of the truck and stood there, watching it. Then she chased it in her truck. When she got to the camp, she almost screeched to a halt, and got out. Snorting, the horse pawed the ground.

 The woman looked around, seeing her boss under the huge tent.

“Do you call a fired woman an employee?” The other woman’s short sugar-blond hair waved in the wind.

“Looks like your horse here needs a ride, too!”

Some of the archaeologists snickered. Others laughed.

The woman ignored them all, and apologized to her again, but the woman’s firm arm crossing became undone, and she jerked a finger at the truck. “And you’re meeting me in court remember?”

“Yes!” The woman widened her eyes in fear. Leaving, she fantasized about driving off a cliff to avoid the stupid courthouse. It only reminded her of her parents’ nasty divorce case when she was a child. She wished Georgia could appear and shake her awake, rejoicing as she received that promised promotion.

Soon, she was home, unemployed. Slumping into her Lay-Z-Boy chair, she stared at the ceiling. I cannot even eat ice cream, and it’s the time of day in which I always eat ice cream in my comfy cerulean chair! 

The woman called her boss, pleading with her to dismiss the lawsuit.

“Sorry, Wishes, but you’re not getting any bailout here. Meet me in Richmond, Virginia at 3:00 pm on Saturday. The court case starts on that day. We’ll be there for the next two weeks. Thanks!” Click.

The woman forced herself to go the case, no matter the cost. She called Georgia, tearfully explaining her dilemma. Her sister flew all the way from Georgia.

“Now, I’m in Denver unemployed, where I’m not going to get where I had—”

“Wishes, I wish I could make everything go away, and wake up to you getting ready for your new job at the animal hospital. But I can’t. You’re just going to have to wake up yourself.” Then she went into the kitchen, opened the freezer and told Wishes to get some ice cream to help herself feel better.

The woman politely declined again, and her sister sighed, taking a bowl into the living room. Then Wishes said that she missed her nurse. She was cute.

“How’d the lawsuit go?”

“I didn’t lose much, but it was a big dent.” The woman hugged herself. “I had a lot of money, and almost half was stolen.”

“You kind of gave it away.” The sister had come back, sitting on the couch. She gave a shrug, a funny smile on her face. “I’m sorry, but—”

The woman ran into her room to her laptop. She finally emerged from her bedroom, a heavy burden on her shoulders she told Georgia was from her boss’s stiffly accurate words that she could’ve waited for that promotion—but didn’t. Later that week, the woman returned to the nurse, apologizing, and they embraced tightly. Exchanging email addresses, the nurse wondered whether she lived in the area.  

“No,” the woman said, “And I don’t care for the medical field. I just want to serve others happily. I still have enough money for college, but…”      

As the woman drove away, they waved to each other, the nurse wearing a sad smile and blinking her teary eyes. The woman wished she could see her more. Georgia suggested she move. The woman said she didn’t know if the nurse would feel comfortable. Georgia pursed her lips.      

Dear Meghan,

Thank you very much for helping me in the hospital. You didn’t deserve my spats and confrontation with my boss. Please take these flowers and box of candy and cookies as a gift to remember our friendship. Oh—please know I booked a vacation rental out in the mountains. My sister and I are going hiking. Want to come? Oh, and I got off those stupid crutches.

A week without a response and then, Would love to! And thank you. The cookies melt in my mouth! The red roses fill the room with such a beautiful scent. Oh, and how’s the toe? Going for that vet degree?

Yeah. Taking classes online. The woman added that she was glad she would never her former boss again.    

The woman told the nurse she was considering moving down. The nurse never replied. The woman was confused. That weekend, Georgia and she ate her ice cream, the woman in white in her Lay-Z-Boy chair. “I thought we were friends.”     

On her lunch break at the local middle school’s cafeteria, she wondered… 

Was that nurse that shape-shifting gecko?