Page 27 of Hello Doctor

Brenda came into my office. “Hey, I have a call from Hayes on line one.”

My eyebrows drew together. “Why’s he calling me at work? Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know, said you weren’t answering your cell,” she said.

I nodded, glad that the last hour of my day was saved for completing paperwork. I went into my office to take the call and shut the door before picking up.

“Hello?” I said, bracing myself for bad news.

“Hey,” he said. It was quiet, like he was in the office or something. “I wasn’t sure if I should call or not, but I thought you should know...”

My pulse picked up. “Know what? Hayes, spit it out.”

“Liv brought Maya here and something seems off. They’re out beating up old cars and I don’t know... I feel like maybe something happened today and I thought I should tell you about it so you’re ready when you get home. Didn’t want you to be surprised or anything.”

“I’ll be there in five minutes,” I said. “Thanks, Hayes.”

“Of course,” he said.

I told Brenda everything was okay, but I had to handle something and left the office, worry settling into my gut. It took a lot to worry Hayes and even though I knew Liv would take good care of Maya I worried something bad had happened today. I knew the good texts and that cute lunch were too good to be true. I was just waiting for the other shoe to fall.

The drive to Hayes’s shop outside of town felt way too damn long, but eventually I rolled up into the gravel lot and left my truck running as I got out and jogged to the open garage door. Hayes was up front, working on a car.

“Where are they?” I asked.

“Out in the car lot,” he replied. “Haven’t heard any banging in a little bit.”

I nodded, jogging around the side of the shop and seeing Liv and Maya several rows of cars back. I walked their way, but they didn’t seem to notice me at all. They seemed to be deep in conversation, so I slowed, not wanting to distract them from what looked like an important talk.

I stopped beside an old car and lowered myself beside the rotted tire, just listening.

“Do you see this dollar?” Liv asked.

Maya was silent.

“How much is it worth?”

“A dollar,” Maya said, like it was obvious.

“What could you buy with a dollar?”

“I dunno,” Maya said quietly. “Maybe a candy bar. Some gum.”

There was quiet for a moment, then the sound of crumpling paper.

“Why did you do that?” Maya asked, surprise clear in her voice.

Liv said, “What’s it look like now?”

Maya let out a small huff. “Looks like a wrinkled-up dollar bill.”

Then came the sound of tearing paper.

“What are youdoing?” Maya asked.

“It’s got some rips, now, huh?” Liv said.

“Um yeah, you ripped it,” Maya replied.

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