The following day, we all have breakfast at the hotel, and then it’s back home for Beth and me. We ride with Marcy, Steve, Jim, and Helen. My parents follow behind us. The first order of business is to determine how they can be business partners.
After many calls to offices and bankers, Jim and Helen buy into the company and guarantee discount access to the raw materials they need. Everyone seems happy with the deal. That leaves us with an hour driving before we get home.
Beth has been at my side the whole time. She’s been quiet but at my side.
Marcy asks me, “Peter. How are you doing?”
The bus is silent. Everyone wants to know that answer.
My voice wasn’t as strong as I would have liked, but they all heard me, “When I left the hospital, my plan was simple. Nobody needed or wanted me. I was going to tie up some loose ends and then … move on to whatever the next stage is. Jim and Helen shattered that plan. At the gravesite, so many memories came back to me. Some were that bad day, but surprisingly, much of it was the good stuff. With Beth and the rest of you, I saw how moving on in my life was a good thing.
“Part of me is sad because I don’t want to leave my Ariel behind. Part of me knows she can’t be here with me, and even though I’ve lost her, I have gained all of you. That’s not an equal trade, but it’s the best I will get. Beth is different from Ariel yet similar as well. Both are good for me, and I can’t live without at least one of them.
“Everyone says I need to move on, yet it’s like part of my heart left with her after loving her for so many years. I had a void, and I felt hollow. There, in the middle of nowhere, I find a puzzle piece that fits that piece that I’m missing. It’s not an exact match. In some ways, it falls short. In other ways, it outshines the last piece. She isn’t a replacement. Ariel was unique. Beth is unique and has been my champion, even when I wasn’t worthy. Now I can move on.”
For the rest of the trip, I explain how my training system works, how it’s different, and what makes it unique. We haven’t told them anything about the new buildings.
We pull up to the hospital and exit the bus. In minutes we meet Todd and Mary Calhoun. I take everyone to a wall in the center of town, which is a block away. From here, you can see the three new monstrosities that have been built. We walk one more block, so we are at the intersection of the three buildings and the hospital.
I explain to everyone, “My course replaces the textbooks. This big building here is the practical arts building. It’s where nurses do labs and simulate real work like taking vitals and drawing blood along with almost a hundred other skills that they are graded on.”
Jim interrupts me, “Um. Peter. That’s not the name of the building.”
I look at him dumbly, “We had a two-hour meeting to discuss this.”
Jim looks at the ground, “Um. Yes. We did. We got vetoed.”
I’m getting mad, “Who veto’s you?”
Helen speaks up, “I did. I changed the name because you two bungled it up. Look at the plaque; it’s the Ariel Chapman School of Nursing Practical Arts Building or ACSON for short.”
Mom, Marcy, and I lost it. We all rush to Helen and crush her in hugs and tears. I did not expect that.
Jim continues, “The faculty building is now the Peter Chapman Staff Housing Facility, or PeCS for short. The last building is the Helen La’Fluer Dorm, or HeLD for short. Sorry, Helen, you’re a big part of this as well. Due to the three of you and the insane probabilities that made this happen, you are as vital as the other two.”
Steve recorded this on his phone, and everyone is thankful for that. It was a special part of history for all of us. How we got started and our story is the first stop of the program and affects everyone that reads it. We go into the ACSON, and the first floor is for signing up and processing. The second floor is all patient rooms. The third floor is a duplicate of the hospital’s third floor, with ICU and patient rooms alike. The fourth floor is a mix of OR, ER, and some specialties.
On the first floor, all the parents get a chance to try my software and are blown away. Then they see it for English, math, science, and several other 100-level courses. With all the work we put into it, mom and Marcy come up with five more ideas that will get implemented before we go live.
The dorms are the most complete. The chef is in there working with his staff to test the equipment and try out recipes. Jim told them we were coming, so we got to test out the food for lunch. It’s like a four-star restaurant. It’s incredible. Immediately, it’s the best restaurant within hundreds of miles.
Jim smiles at me, “Students have a dinner seating, and then after that, it will be open to the public. It will be the same food.”
Incredible.
Jim steps up to Steve and Marcie, their eyes red and puffy. It’s obvious they had no idea. Jim takes their hands with his.
He weaves his story using a soft, somber voice, “Peter wrote the original code. My people found lists in the code of comments. A good programmer describes what a section of code does. Being an uneducated programmer, Peter used comments to track the things he needed to do. There’s hardly a script that doesn’t have something to the effect of ‘Ariel suggested’ or ‘Ariel didn’t like.’ She was a big part of this.
“That’s why we named a building after her. I wanted you to know that she was part of this, if not his inspiration. It’s still in the code. Everyone knows about your daughter and couldn’t wipe out the comments.”
I explain, “I had just started as a resident. I thought I was a big deal. I was a doctor. I was important. I acted like I was a big deal. It was my second-day doing rounds. I walk into a room, and I see a young man cleaning up his mother’s bowel movement. He had tears in his eyes and looked disgusted. His hands were as far away from him as they could be. He looked sick as he walked into the washroom to flush it away. He then took off the latex gloves and sat next to his recovering mother.”
“I am mad, livid; a son should not have to clean his mother. Family is there to be in good spirits and cheer up the patient, so they want to get healed. A happy patient thrives. I go into the hallway, but nobody is around. I go looking, and down the corner and around the corner, I find her nurse getting a medication.
“I’m an important person; I confront the nurse. I berate her for making a family member do her job. I yell at her until she’s near tears. Libby. I’ll never forget her name. Libby looks up at me with tears in her eyes, ‘I have twenty-four patients right now; I should have five. We don’t have enough nurses, and two did not show up today. I already worked a twelve-hour shift. I can’t go home or there will be just one nurse on the whole floor.’
“Well, you can imagine how big I felt at that moment. I was dating Ariel, of course, but I hugged Libby and had zero guilt. She calmed down; I held her at arms-length and told her, ‘I’ll help you by starting at the other end.’ That’s exactly what I did.”