an ice pack and told him to take a seat in a waiting room that was overflowing with a mix of people, many of whom didn't appear to be speaking English.
"This could take hours," Cole muttered. "We should forget it."
"We can't forget it. You probably need stitches." Josh sat down in the chair next to him. "You really know how to piss off a woman, I'll say that for you. How's your head?"
"It hurts like hell." The throbbing pain made it difficult for him to speak.
"Next time you break up with a woman, make sure there aren't any heavy objects lying around."
"I didn't know we were breaking up."
"Apparently that was the problem," Josh said with a grin.
Cole moved his head, then groaned at the pain that shot through his temple. "Dammit. This is the last thing I needed today. I've got to get out of here. I have things to do."
"What things? It's Friday night."
"The news doesn't stop just because it's the weekend. In case you haven't noticed, the world has gone crazy in the last few months."
Josh leaned forward. "In case you haven't noticed, your world is going crazy."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you should start paying attention to problems closer to home, like your girlfriend. You can probably get Gisela back if you call her tonight."
"Why would I want to do that? She almost killed me."
"If you'd moved faster, she wouldn't have hit you. You've gotten slow, Parish."
"I have not gotten slow." Even though his job kept him at his desk for long hours at a time, he worked out every day. "Frankly, I think I've had enough of Gisela anyway. What is with that baby-girl voice she uses? It makes me want to rip my hair out."
"Thank God she finally got to you. She's been driving me crazy for weeks. She was hot though."
"Cole Parish?" a nurse asked, interrupting them. "Come with me."
Cole got to his feet. "You can wait here, if you want," he said to Josh.
"I'll stick with you. It's a zoo out here," Josh replied as a group of drag queens came into the waiting room.
They followed the nurse down the hall and into a room with three beds, each separated by a thin curtain. An elderly man lay in one bed. The other was empty. "A doctor will be in shortly," the nurse said. She had barely left the room when they heard a commotion in the hallway.
A flurry of people in scrubs dashed past the door, shouting out various medical terms as they pushed a gurney down the hall. Cole's reporter instincts kicked in despite the pain in his head. He craned his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on.
"I'll check it out," Josh said.
Cole frowned as his friend rushed out of the room, irritated that he was sidelined while someone else caught the action. He sat down on the bed, holding the ice pack to his head, and wished for a television set. If they were going to make people wait this long, at least they could offer an all-news channel to take their minds off their pain.
Josh walked back into the room a few minutes later. "Gunshot victim," he said. "Convenience store robbery in the Mission district. The owner shot the robber, a seventeen-year-old kid."
"Will he make it?"
"They took him to surgery."
"I should call Blake," Cole said, referring to the assistant editor who ran the city desk on Friday nights.
"I'm sure he's already heard about it."
"Where's my phone?"
"Who knows? Relax, dude. You might have a concussion."
"I don't have a concussion, and I don't want the Trib to miss the story. We have a lot of competition these days with blogs and online news outlets."
"We can handle the competition." Josh sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Besides, you have a lot of people working for you. Let them do their jobs." Josh leaned back and toyed with a piece of tubing hanging from some sort of a machine. "What do you think this is?"
"I have no idea. Where is the damn doctor anyway? I could have bled to death by now."
"'Death by Stapler,'" Josh said with a laugh. "There's a headline for you. Or how about 'Psycho Supermodel
"This could take hours," Cole muttered. "We should forget it."
"We can't forget it. You probably need stitches." Josh sat down in the chair next to him. "You really know how to piss off a woman, I'll say that for you. How's your head?"
"It hurts like hell." The throbbing pain made it difficult for him to speak.
"Next time you break up with a woman, make sure there aren't any heavy objects lying around."
"I didn't know we were breaking up."
"Apparently that was the problem," Josh said with a grin.
Cole moved his head, then groaned at the pain that shot through his temple. "Dammit. This is the last thing I needed today. I've got to get out of here. I have things to do."
"What things? It's Friday night."
"The news doesn't stop just because it's the weekend. In case you haven't noticed, the world has gone crazy in the last few months."
Josh leaned forward. "In case you haven't noticed, your world is going crazy."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you should start paying attention to problems closer to home, like your girlfriend. You can probably get Gisela back if you call her tonight."
"Why would I want to do that? She almost killed me."
"If you'd moved faster, she wouldn't have hit you. You've gotten slow, Parish."
"I have not gotten slow." Even though his job kept him at his desk for long hours at a time, he worked out every day. "Frankly, I think I've had enough of Gisela anyway. What is with that baby-girl voice she uses? It makes me want to rip my hair out."
"Thank God she finally got to you. She's been driving me crazy for weeks. She was hot though."
"Cole Parish?" a nurse asked, interrupting them. "Come with me."
Cole got to his feet. "You can wait here, if you want," he said to Josh.
"I'll stick with you. It's a zoo out here," Josh replied as a group of drag queens came into the waiting room.
They followed the nurse down the hall and into a room with three beds, each separated by a thin curtain. An elderly man lay in one bed. The other was empty. "A doctor will be in shortly," the nurse said. She had barely left the room when they heard a commotion in the hallway.
A flurry of people in scrubs dashed past the door, shouting out various medical terms as they pushed a gurney down the hall. Cole's reporter instincts kicked in despite the pain in his head. He craned his neck, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on.
"I'll check it out," Josh said.
Cole frowned as his friend rushed out of the room, irritated that he was sidelined while someone else caught the action. He sat down on the bed, holding the ice pack to his head, and wished for a television set. If they were going to make people wait this long, at least they could offer an all-news channel to take their minds off their pain.
Josh walked back into the room a few minutes later. "Gunshot victim," he said. "Convenience store robbery in the Mission district. The owner shot the robber, a seventeen-year-old kid."
"Will he make it?"
"They took him to surgery."
"I should call Blake," Cole said, referring to the assistant editor who ran the city desk on Friday nights.
"I'm sure he's already heard about it."
"Where's my phone?"
"Who knows? Relax, dude. You might have a concussion."
"I don't have a concussion, and I don't want the Trib to miss the story. We have a lot of competition these days with blogs and online news outlets."
"We can handle the competition." Josh sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Besides, you have a lot of people working for you. Let them do their jobs." Josh leaned back and toyed with a piece of tubing hanging from some sort of a machine. "What do you think this is?"
"I have no idea. Where is the damn doctor anyway? I could have bled to death by now."
"'Death by Stapler,'" Josh said with a laugh. "There's a headline for you. Or how about 'Psycho Supermodel
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