Boomsday

Gerri killed the engine on her bass boat and glided into a cove sighing with contentment. Looking around at the morning mist rising from the lake she couldn't think of anywhere she would rather be or anything else she would rather be doing. As the boat slowed to a near stop she rose from the helm and slid into her bass seat taking up her rod and engaging the foot controlled trolling motor.

Popping her ear buds into her ears and starting her fishing play list she checked to make sure the hooks on her tiny torpedo plug were sharp and undamaged then flipped it out near an old, half submerged tree stump. It landed with a splash just as her favorite top water fishing song by the Doobie Brothers sprang to life in her ears.

Twitch twitch... twitch twitch... twitch-ta- twitch-ta- twitch... ta-twitch twitch, and the water exploded around her plug. A young bass leaped from the water, plug clenched in its wide jaws and danced across the surface on its tail. The fight was exhilarating though brief and she released him with a kiss on the snout and the admonition to "go back, grow up and tell Grandpa that I've been picking on you!"

Several hours and many such small battles later Gerri decided that she couldn't ignore the grumbling in her belly much longer, besides, it was getting hot. Visions of the double cheese burger and cold brew that she knew would be waiting at the marina grill and pub made her mouth water. Just one more cove and she would head in for the afternoon. Food, rest, a little work and she would be back to it when the evening brought cool breezes and hungry bass.

As she began fishing that last cove she realized she was not alone. Her second favorite thing about summer was the outstanding views found on the shores of the lake. On a pier sticking out behind one of the cabins arrayed around the cove was a blonde in a bikini stretched out and sunning in a reclining deck chair. Not wanting to disturb the beauty, she fished up near the pier then cruised around it with the trolling motor, glad for the mirrored shades she was wearing.

The fishing had slowed considerably due to the rising heat of the day and it didn't take long to get mostly to the end of the cove. Suddenly Gerri was shocked by the sound of screaming and squealing, it had to be the blonde but she was out of sight around a bend. Gerri fired up the big engine and sped around the bend to see a comical sight. While the blonde stretched out sunning a large black snake had decided to soak up a few rays too and had slithered to a spot on the pier near the bank. The blonde was obviously terrified of snakes and afraid to go near it. She was cut off and doing a screaming snake dance mid pier.

Gerri quickly pulled the boat up to the pier intending to offer rescue. The blonde was so panicked that as soon as the boat was alongside the pier she flat-out leaped at Gerri, who caught her and staggered under the weight and force, nearly going over backwards and finally collapsing onto the live well behind her. Looking down she found herself starring into the brightest green eyes and lushest lips she had ever seen. She just could not resist, she swooped in and captured those lush lips in a searing kiss. The kiss was long, hot and passionate, just as it was coming to an end Gerri's play list cycled and both of them burst into giggles. One of her ear buds had fallen out and both could hear Sam and Dave belt out "Hold on I'm Coming'" as Gerri placed the woman on her feet in the boat.

The blonde looked Gerri up and down and her eyes widened. She hadn't realized until then that Gerri was a woman. Gerri, embarrassed, was quick to apologize. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what came over me."

"It's alright, though Katy Perry would have been more appropriate accompaniment, I've never been kissed by a woman before and I did like it."

Gerri did the only thing she could think of to end the embarrassment quickly. She grabbed a small bucket out of the boat, scooped it full of lake water and hopped up on the pier. She walked slowly toward the big black snake, stopped when she thought she had a good range and tossed the bucket of water at it. The snake did not like the rude awakening at all and slithered off into some bushes along the bank as fast as it could.

Gerri hopped back in the boat and handed the blonde the bucket with a flourish. "There you go, black snakes are land snakes and don't like cold water. Keep the bucket and next time you get cut off you can send it packing with no trouble at all."

"Thank you, thank you very much, I will remember that!" The blonde climbed back on the pier and it wasn't until Gerri had fired the engine and sped off toward the marina that she realized she hadn't even gotten her name.

*************

Even though Gerri knew that another messy relationship with a questioning straight woman was the last thing she needed, she couldn't resist going back to that same cove fishing every afternoon for a week. No sign of the blonde but the fishing was great there at least. She had to wonder if the blonde had just been visiting someone at the cabin and had since left town. It was over a week later when fate stepped in and unceremoniously dumped them together again.

Gerri was happily fishing along enjoying her latest fishing gear purchase. Someone had finally come up with a life vest that was cooler and more comfortable. This new vest had all the flotation bulk around the lower ribs and gut leaving the upper chest and shoulders encased only in a fine breathable mesh. Which was great, until it happened that Gerri hooked the biggest bass she had ever seen. The huge bass took her plug and stripped off line at an alarming rate. Gerri frantically tightened her drag just as he broke the surface to dance on his tail and spit the plug back at her. The plug hit her in the left breast with an audible slap and two of the three points of the treble hook on it buried themselves in past the barbs.

Gerri quickly pulled out her pocket knife and cut the fishing line free of the plug, rolled the line up to her reel and then surveyed the damage. Two of the three points on the treble hook had went through the mesh of her life vest, through her polo shirt, through her sports bra and buried as deep as they could go into her breast. Normally if she got a hook in her, she gritted her teeth, and used a pair of pliers to push the barb on through the skin and then clip it off enabling easy removal. You ended up with two small holes but that was the easiest thing to do. Unfortunately this time with two points buried so deeply she couldn't do that. Since she knew for a fact that the town doctor and her sometimes fishing partner had left this very morning on vacation it was going to mean a trip to County Hospital.

********

Gerri being the flirt that she was just had to stop at the grocery on the way through town to pick up a dozen donuts and a bouquet of flowers for the ER nurses. In a town this small everyone knew everyone else and in the case of the ER staff, well hell, she had dated a couple of them at one time or another through the years. She was hoping the donuts and flowers would score her a few brownie points and maybe a little special treatment in case she didn't know any of the ones on duty today. Of course Celia Brown the grocery clerk just had to notice the plug hanging off her chest as she stood waiting for her to ring it up and before she knew it she was surrounded by local women. Tales of husbands and sons hooked with this or that lure flew like a cloud of mosquitoes among them, until finally Gerri had to excuse herself saying she wanted to get to the ER before infection set in.

As Gerri walked through the doors of the ER she looked around thankful to find it mostly empty on a weekday afternoon. The first nurse to spot her squealed and ran to her about to wrap her in a big hug only to have Gerri stick her left arm out to stop her and then offer up the donuts and flowers.

"Whoa there Penny! I can't hug you or we may end up permanently joined, but I did bring these to brighten the nurses day."

"Oh my gosh! Honey is that thing sticking where I think it is? Here let me take those to the desk and I'll get you back so the Doc can get a look at that!"

Gerri found herself whisked to a small room with a gurney and told to sit, the Doc would be there in just a minute. She was glad to be sitting on the gurney a few minutes later when none other than the blonde beauty walked through the door and introduced herself as Dr. Hortin. There was a flash of recognition in her eyes and a shy smile and then she was all business.

"Hi, ah, Gerri I see here Penny has pulled your records. Hmm how long since you have had a Tetanus injection?"

"Well, I'm not sure Doc maybe years ago when I was in a car accident if they give them for that."

They were joined by Penny and the other nurse on duty Mary, who both began fussing about as the doctor barked orders at them.

"Mary let's get her shirt and bra cut off and get her hooked up to a monitor. I want to make sure nothing is going on with her blood pressure or heart rate. She may have a reaction to that galvanized metal hook. Penny, I'm going to need a Tetanus injection as well as some Lidocaine and a scalpel and suture kit. Gerri I have a couple of other patients to see and I will be back to get those hooks out."

With that she was out the door leaving Gerri with Penny and Mary to get her ready.

Mary looked over and said "Well we can't just cut the clothes off her. Oh, the vest and shirt would work but if we cut that sports bra the elastic is going to snap back and it's only going to dig the hooks in deeper."

Gerri spoke up. "Have you got a pair of wire cutters? If you do I can cut the hook off the plug and then you can just cut a hole in the fabric around the hook and I should be able to get out of my clothes on my own."

"Good idea sweetie! How are you doing pain wise? Do you need anything for it? I remember just how sensitive those girls are. I know you have to be hurting." Penny said with a wink.

"No, I'm alright for now. I don't like that stuff anyway. I'd have to have a hell of a lot worse to take anything. So how long has the new Doc been in town? I didn't know about her, it has been a while since I have had to come to the ER."

Both Penny and Mary could remember exactly what a traumatic experience Gerri's last ER visit had been and began trying to steer the conversation away from that one as fast as possible.

Penny blurted out "Oh a couple of months. She moved down here from up North when old Doctor Harvey retired."

Mary added "I guess our little ER isn't much compared to the trauma center she used to work in but she seems to like it here."

It took a few minutes but they eventually got her naked to the waist and hooked to a monitor. Penny was just rolling a small tray table up with various instruments on it when the doctor returned.

"Well, now I get my chance to rescue my rescuer! How in the world did this happen?"

Penny and Mary headed out to care for the other patients of the ER leaving them alone but not before Penny looked to Gerri and raised an eyebrow about the rescuer remark.

"Oh, man! I mean Doctor, I hooked the biggest bass I have ever seen. It made a run for it and was stripping line like crazy so I looked down to adjust the drag on my reel and just as I looked down it broke water and threw the plug. I didn't have time to duck or dodge and well, there it is."

Dr Hortin realized that Gerri must really love fishing. During her tale her heart rate had shot up and her blood pressure was rising.

"Alright just calm down there, I am sure you will cross paths again and I bet you will get it next time. Now, do you have any itching going on like hives? How about your breathing? No breathlessness or tightness in your throat? There seems to be a bit of swelling but it's not too bad."

"No Doc I am not allergic to hooks, I've had plenty of them in me before. I would have gotten this out myself but with it being two barbs and uh, where it is, I didn't think I could handle it on my own this time."

"You are in luck I've done several of these before though never one in that exact place. I've done backs, shoulders, hands even ears but never a breast. I guess if you work emergency long enough you will see everything eventually. I will just give you a couple of small injections to numb the area then use a scalpel to slightly enlarge the holes so that I can get the barbs out without tearing any tissue. I'll then put a single stitch in each hole, not because of the size but just to aid in healing and reduce the chance of scarring."

Gerri held her breath as the doctor approached her and took up a syringe. She wasn't so much concerned about the pain as she was her reaction. Try as she might she just could not stop her nipples from hardening the moment the doctor grasped her breast to hold it still and she knew the monitor would give her racing heart away as well. She tried closing her eyes only to be met with images of wild and passionate lovemaking and if she just stared straight ahead she was looking at those lush lips and sorely tempted to steal another kiss.

"Breathe Gerri your O2 stats are dropping."

"Uh, sorry Doc I was just trying to..."

"I am remembering that kiss too. Just bear with me. We will be through this in a few minutes and then I think we need to talk about that."

Gerri did her best to stay very still and let the doctor do her work. She did notice that there was a slight tremble in the doctors hands and her nipples were making themselves seen through the white lab coat she wore as well. It seemed Gerri was not the only one affected by the close contact and she wasn't sure if she should be elated by that or wary of it. The last thing she wanted was to be another straight girls experiment with bi-sexuality, she had been burned very badly by that one more than once. It was the eternal problem of the single butch. You are recognizable to everyone by your manner and dress and if you are also attracted to the more feminine of the female population you are susceptible to straight girl games be they intended or not.

Dr. Hortin tied off the last stitch, applied a topical antibiotic ointment and placed a small bandage to cover both of the small wounds.

"OK, now first of all my name is Lisa you don't have to call me doctor. Secondly, doctors normally don't treat friends and family, I wouldn't have seen you today except that I know the town doctor is on vacation and I'm the only one on duty at the moment. I am glad you came in today though because I've thought about you ever since you rescued me from that snake and I had no idea who you were or how to reach you. I would really like to get to know you better. You know where I live. I have one more day on this rotation and then maybe we could get together for dinner at my place?"

Gerri was a bit taken aback by that. She wasn't used to being asked out she was usually the one doing the pursuing but it excited her to think she had been in Lisa's thoughts so much in the past week.

"What is a rotation? And I would love to get together when you are free. I have thought about you too and I'm not ashamed to admit I've fished your cove every afternoon in hopes of catching you out sunning again."

"Here in the ER the doctors work regular shift times but are on call during our off hours for the rest of the 24 in two week rotations. Because it is easier and faster to be on site when we are on call we have small rooms here where we stay when we aren't working during our on call rotations. We can leave the hospital but it is just easier to stick close when on call. If it is busy or we have a major event we can just run downstairs and start working immediately."

"Oh, I see, that is why I haven't seen you out then. Well like I said I would love to get together just let me know when and where. Here is my cell number."

Gerri handed Lisa a card from her wallet and then looked around intending to get dressed as Penny re-entered the room and they both went back to business.

"I'll release you to go home now. I've written you a prescription for some antibiotics and you need to keep those stitches dry for a week or so then they can be removed. It's not necessary to come back to have them removed you can probably manage that on your own or have a friend do it just make sure to watch for signs of infection. Penny here can probably fix you up with a scrub top if your shirt is too messed up to wear in public."

"It's OK we just cut a hole in it and the bandage covers me under the hole so no problem there. Thank you doctor and I look forward to seeing you again just under better circumstances next time."

As soon as the doctor left the room Penny just had to poke her nose in and find out what was going on between the two.

"Alright Gerri fess up what is up with Dr. Hortin. Have you been chasing blondes again?"

"No Ma'am! I ran into her when I was out fishing last week and we plan on having dinner soon. I'll let her tell you about it if she wants you to know."

With that Gerri pulled her polo over her head, snatched up her life vest and sports bra and scrambled out the door before she could be questioned further.

*************

Penny made sure to run into Dr. Hortin in the cafeteria at shifts end and sat down next to her at a table. Both women started talking at the same time.

"So you know Gerri personally?"

"You have to tell me how you ran into Gerri she wasn't .... " Penny stopped mid question and said "No, you go ahead Doctor sorry to interrupt you."

"Well you two seemed to know each other and I was just wondering about her. Have you known her long?"

"I've known her since we were kids. We've dated on and off here and there through the years. The question is how do you know her? Are you dating? I didn't know you dated women. I tried to ask her about it but she wouldn't say anything she told me to ask you."

"I don't, I mean, I haven't dated women but, ugh, let me start at the beginning. I was out sun bathing on my pier the other day and she went fishing by in her boat. I didn't realize it was a woman. I didn't really pay that much attention to her as she went by. When I got up to go in the house and get a drink there was this huge snake laying on the pier between me and land. I freaked out. I was screaming and she just suddenly appeared in her boat. I jumped off the pier and she caught me. The next thing I knew we were kissing and I didn't realize till we were kissing that she was a woman. I have to say it was the best kiss I've had and well, I'd like to get to know her better. I don't know if that makes me gay or what but I am really interested in her and it doesn't bother me in the least if it does."

Penny let out a sigh of frustration and then started in with her own story. She had seen Gerri go through absolute hell these past few years and she wasn't about to let it happen to her friend again. Truth be known she was surprised Gerri had come through it in one piece and mentally stable. She was sure that another disaster would send her clear over the edge.

"Look Gerri has been through a lot and I don't want to see her hurt again. You see Gerri grew up here, her family has owned the local feed and seed for generations. Everything was great up until three years ago. Gerri flirts with every woman she meets and everybody knows she is just being nice and kidding around so no one takes offense from the local preachers wife on down to the grocery clerks. Straight, married, Bi, Gay she doesn't differentiate, she is just a natural flirt. She'll call you Ma'am, kiss your hand and bow to you just being Gerri, then the bimbo got a hold of her and nearly got her killed.

"Bimbo?"

Gerri had been flirting with this waitress who I call the bimbo for years. It was all in fun, at least Gerri thought it was. Until one day bimbo comes out with she is getting a divorce because her husband is abusive and she wants Gerri. What she really wanted was a decoy for her nut-job ex to chase while she was off having a ball with the man she had been sneaking around to date for months."