Love is in the (Pneumatic) Air
Love is in the (Pneumatic) Air
What started as a mistaken laboratory order blossomed into one of the greatest romances that Hospital Woeisme has ever seen.
One afternoon, an employee heard the familiar whoosh and clunk of a carrier tube arriving via the pneumatic tube system. The hospital-wide tube system transports thousands of items each day, such as laboratory samples and medications. On opening the tube at her station, station 14, she found an item request from station 63, which had been meant for another department.
Though quite busy, 14 penned a response to station 63. She noted the case of mistaken tube station, and offered her hopes that the lost carrier tube finds its home. To her surprise, 63 sent a charming note thanking her for her efforts, and so began a correspondence between 14 and 63.
They exchanged notes, articles, comics – anything they thought the other person would enjoy. Not knowing each other’s names or departments, they addressed each other as 14 and 63 for months. The short notes grew into lengthy letters. Snippets of their personal lives were revealed, with hundreds of carrier tubes passing between them.
14 eventually shared that she is a pharmacist on the first floor, and 63 replied that she works as a nurse on the far-away obstetrics unit. The long distance relationship continued for over a year, between the top floor of the Ob unit and the first floor of the pharmacy. Both being shy and enjoying their correspondence, they were hesitance to meet and potentially ruin their pen-pal relationship.
In an interview with 14 and 63, 14 blushed and shared, “Every time I heard that whoosh and clunk I felt a hopeful flutter that it was from 63. Imagine my surprise when a little bouquet of flowers showed up in my tube station on Valentine’s Day! There was also a note that she wanted to meet in person. But I was hesitant – what if our relationship didn’t work in real life?” 63 smiled at her and continued, “When we finally met in person, I was so, so nervous! But we instantly clicked, and have been together ever since.”
14 added, “My tube station whooshed one day and there was a tube from station 63. I was surprised, ‘cause once we met in person we stopped using the tubes so much, you know? So I opened the little carrier, and there was an engagement ring inside! I immediately sent a note back saying ‘Yes!’” Friends, family and colleagues were overjoyed at the news and are looking forward to their fall nuptials. Wedding invitations are being designed to resemble mini-hospital tubes, like a medicinal take on the classic message in a bottle. Though not yet confirmed, their gowns are rumored to be custom-made pieces by the designers of Chic Cheeks.
Due to the success of their accidental meeting, the couple is working to help others benefit from the tube system, as well. They are currently developing a matchmaking algorithm, in which the tube system would predict potential cross-hospital romantic matches among those who sign up for the service. They plan to roll out their protocol in the coming months, with several hopeful colleagues already signed up to beta test the project.
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