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Our only option is to wait and hope.
There’s a wrinkle in Maggie’s brow that I’ve only seen once before, and that was when some drug company rep came snooping around, trying to push her to influence patients away from generics and toward their ultra-expensive branded drug. It was the only time I’ve heard her yell, and I had to step between her and the sales rep to stop her from sending him to the hospital.
I hear every ring from her phone, like the chiming of a funeral bell.
Then an answer. A raspy woman’s voice. “Dr. Sartani’s office. How may I help you?”
“Hey Rachel, this is Maggie over at Ironwood Falls Meds & More. Is Melissa in?”
“Of course, she’s just between patients. One moment while I transfer you.”
There’s a click, then a different woman’s voice comes over the line. “Maggie, how are you? It’s been too long. We need to get lunch sometime.”
“Melissa, I would love that. Sometime next week, maybe? But that isn’t why I called. I need to ask you for a favor.”
“Of course. Is everything OK? What do you need?”
“I need you to see a patient. A friend of a friend has an infant who’s sick and may need treatment, as well as a standard wellness check for an infant of…” Maggie pauses and takes the phone away from her face. “Sophie, how old is Charlie?”
“Four months.”
Maggie brings the phone back to her face. “Four months. He’s four months old. Appears to me to be a healthy weight for a boy his age, but that’s just a cursory examination. The mother doesn’t have any healthcare coverage, and she’s also not the most responsible of caretakers—”
“Fair point,” Sophie says quietly, nodding her head. “I accept that.”
“So I’d appreciate it so much if you could give her some guidance about medical care she’ll need to be aware of and all the upcoming healthcare milestones for a baby his age, and if you could send whatever bill there is to me. Do you have time to get her in?”
“I do, Maggie. Rachel told me that the patient I’m supposed to have in half an hour just canceled. Why don’t you send them over right now and I’ll get them taken care of?”
“Thanks so much, Mel. I owe you one for this. When we have lunch next time, it’s on me.”
“Looking forward to it.”
The call clicks, and Sophie and I trade an open-mouthed look.
“Why’d you do that, Maggie?” I say.
“You think I’m so heartless that I want to take a baby away from his mother? Come on, Emily, you’ve worked here long enough to know that the real tragedy is how expensive healthcare is. If I can do a little something to help someone out to get what they need, I’m going to. Especially if that someone is a little cutie like Charlie.”
* * * * *
The doctor’s office is relatively quiet for a Saturday night. We walk in with Charlie cradled in Sophie’s arms, his soft coos the only sound breaking the silence of the fluorescently lit reception area. The waiting room is empty, save for a few dated magazines scattered across the tables and a lone potted plant in the corner.
“Good evening,” says a warm voice from behind the counter. Rachel, I presume, is a middle-aged woman with kind eyes that sparkle even under the unkind fluorescent lights. “You must be the little one we’re seeing tonight.”
Sophie smiles brightly, clutching Charlie tighter. “Yes, this is Charlie. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”
Rachel waves her hand dismissively. “It’s no trouble at all. Dr. Sartani will be with you soon. Please have a seat and fill out these intake forms, please. Do the best you can. We know this is a special circumstance.”
I grab the stack of forms and Sophie and I go take our seats.
“Baby’s name?” I say.
“Charlie,” she says.
“Charlie what?”
“Just use mine. I’m his mother, after all,” she says.
