Page 64 of Hello Doctor

“Where’s Liv?” I asked her.

Maya shrugged. “Can you let Graham outside before he pees in the house?”

“Sure,” I said. I took Graham outside, thinking maybe Liv missed her alarm because she’d been up late with me. But when I got back in, Liv still wasn’t up.

“Why don’t you start combing your hair,” I said to Maya. “I’m going to wake up Liv.”

“Sure,” Maya said with a shrug, then gestured for Graham to follow her to the bathroom.

As she got ready, I went to Liv’s door, knocking softly. “Liv?”

“I’m up,” she said, but her voice sounded off. “Can you come in?”

I went into the room to find her lying on the floor, dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt, a heating pad under her back. It might have been comical if her face wasn’t pale and tight with pain.

“Oh my gosh.” I dropped to the floor next to her. “Are you okay?” I felt her forehead, damp with sweat but a normal temp.

She rolled her head to the side. “I’m sorry, but my monthly started this morning and I feel like I’m dying.”

My eyebrows drew together. She’d mentioned having bad periods, but this was worse than last month. “How’s your flow?”

Her cheeks finally got a hint of color.

“I’m not asking as your boss; I’m asking as your doctor.”

“It’s heavy,” she answered.

“How heavy?”

“I’ve filled a super tampon in the last two and a half hours,” she said. “I’ll be fine, but it will have to be an easy day with Maya. We can watch TV, and I’ll see if Mom can bring us some food.”

I shook my head, pushing up from the ground. “Nonsense.”

“What?” she said.

“You rest. Maya and I will take care of you.”

“But your work...” she began.

“Allows for sick days,” I finished. “You rest up. Don’t worry about us.”

I could see from the tightening around her eyes how much it bothered her. But she didn’t need to be ashamed. It hurt knowing she was in this much pain. “Can I get you anything now?”

“Some ice water?” she said. “I already took some ibuprofen.”

“That was the right thing to do. I’ll be right back with some water.” I went and got her the water, and when I came out of her room, Maya was waiting for me in the living room, looking concerned.

“Is Livvy okay?” she asked.

I patted her back, giving her a half hug at my side. “She’s not feeling so well today, so we both get to be doctor and treat her like our very best patient.”

She got a scheming grin on her face. “Only if Graham can be our nurse.”

I chuckled, looking down at the dog who tilted his head at us. “He might as well come along.”

Ten minutes later, we had Graham stuffed into a reusable grocery bag with his furry little head sticking out because Maya refused to leave him at home while we went shopping.

Unfortunately, we only made it through the front door of the grocery store because the cranky woman at the front register wouldn’t let him in. No matter how much I begged or even offered to slip her a twenty. (Not my finest moment.)

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