Page 34 of Doctorshipped
Ella Mae raises her phone and talks into it. “Hey, peeps! I’m at the new doctor’s darling home slash office for a check-up today! Come with me to my medical appointment. Wellness is everything! It helps you put the YOU in fab-U-lous!”
I cross my arms, the clipboard still grasped in one hand, and stand my ground in the waiting room.
“No phones,” I say to Ella Mae, but I look around at the other patients to make my statement more global. “We don’t record here. And I’d appreciate all ringers off as well.”
“Thank you,” Fiona adds in a sing-song voice. “We appreciate your help with this!”
I nod to her. She’s actually a great receptionist. As long as she wouldn’t have to file or read or write anything, this position would suit her strengths. But, she’s heading to school in just over a week, so she can’t be my long-term answer to what I’ll need.
Ella Mae walks over to me with a somewhat pouty look on her face. “You can’t be serious. I have fans and followers. They love watching me get my hair done, and even love seeing me pump gas.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“Totally not joking.”
“Well, I’m not either. No phones.”
Ella Mae looks at me for a long moment. “They said you were gorgeous and grumpy. I can work with that. Would you at least pose for a selfie with me?”
Fiona giggles. I shoot her a look.
“I don’t do selfies,” I explain to Ella Mae. “Put the phone away, or I’ll call the next name on the list and you can wait.”
Ella Mae huffs. Plops her phone into … What is that? A purse that’s covered in fur and looks like a small poodle. This day just got too long for me, and it’s only eight fifteen in the morning.
12
GRANT
After Ella Mae’s interesting appointment, during which I informed her I’d be transferring her to Hazel’s caseload, I see a senior citizen with diabetes, a man with back issues, and a few routine sinus infections which really could have been treated at home without a visit to my office.
Interspersed with those legitimate patients, I was visited by a stream of people who are healthier than I am, and obviously only showed up out of curiosity. By mid-afternoon, the day started to level out.
I hear a knock at the front door. I still need that CLOSED sign, especially after today. Most people have walked in the front door without any invitation, as if my house were their house. It’s not, whether that's the local norm or not.
I open the door to a young man in his mid-twenties with brown wavy hair and a warm smile.
“Hey, Doc. I’m Brooks. I’m not here for medical care, so if you’re busy, I’ll come back later.”
“Actually, my last patient left about twenty minutes ago.”
For some reason I don’t feel like turning this guy away. “Come in.”
Brooks thanks me and steps over the threshold. “I moved here a few years back to join the fire department. Just wanted to pop in to officially welcome you. I know what it’s like to be new to Bordeaux. People here’ll give you a warm reception, but you can still end up feeling like the odd man out for a good year or more.”
Being the odd man out sounds like my personal version of utopia, but I don’t mention that to Brooks.
I look down at Brooks’ empty hands. “You didn’t bring a casserole.”
“Ha! Good one. Trust me when I tell you that you wouldn’t want me to bake you a casserole. I know firemen have reputations for being great cooks. Not me. I’m an expert at taking people out to pizza.”
I instinctively walk toward my office. Brooks follows behind. He settles into one of the chairs across from mine at my desk, crossing his foot over his knee.
“So, how’s your first week in the lovely town of Bordeaux been so far?”
“Interesting.”
“Oh, we’re interesting, all right. Did you meet the senior women?”
