Page 16 of Full Moon Frenzy

***

She was in line at the coffee shop at the start of the new week when it happened again.

“Gora, can we get the Hemming delivery order started?” Xenna’s brother casually asked a petite goblin who was disappearing through the swinging door on the other side of the coffee shop’s counter.

Hemming. Adriana flinched at the name, unable to help herself. It’s fine, it’s just that guy from the fair, probably. Right? She huffed, mumbling under her breath, able to perfectly envision his cocky smile. Trapp. Kissable, punchable, popular, perfect Trapp Hemming. The bane of her existence for years. The best sex you’ve ever had and the biggest asshole you’ve ever shared a table with.

“Hey, Doc!” Xenna called out, stepping up to the counter, noticing Adriana immediately. “Is today the big day?” the sheepwoman asked, waggling her eyebrows as Adriana beamed up from her place in the coffee shop’s line.

“It is! First day in the new clinic. I’m excited to start!” So excited that she’d already thrown up twice, but they probably didn’t need to know that. “It’s going to be a nice change of pace from what I’m used to, that’s for sure.” Adriana shifted, trying to decide if she was brave enough to give voice to her internal panic, deciding better to embarrass herself here than run into him outside the clinic’s door. “Hemming . . . that’s not going to the hospital, is it?”

“Oh, no, it’s for Sandi. Just going upstairs to the office. You were in the ER, right? That’s got to be stressful.”

Her spine straightened; once again, the fact that they seemed to know her already making her stomach churn. “Yes, emergency department. And it was. Stressful, I mean. I don’t think I’m going to miss it. It’ll be nice to actually get to know my patients by more than their chart,” she went on hurriedly, remembering the kitsune’s words from her interview. “Especially since this seems like such a tight-knit community.”

“Up each other’s asses, you mean,” Xavier piped up from behind the espresso machine, making the troll who was running cold drinks laugh. “My sister really ought to have a proctology degree hanging on the wall back here.”

She laughed along with the others standing at the counter when brother and sister began to bicker good-naturedly, accepting their ‘good luck’ and ‘you’re going to be great!’ as she left, breathing out her relief. See? You can be one of them. Now all you need to do is show them how valuable you are at work and you’ve got it made. She didn’t know a Sandi Hemming, and she didn’t need to meet them.

***

“Dā?”

The dragonborn sitting beside the examination table gave her a bright, toothy grin as Adriana entered the room after knocking, answering in the affirmative. “That’s me!” She punctuated her words with a dramatic blowing of her nose, her purple hair swinging. “You’re the new doctor?”

“Yes, I’m Dr. Brunelli. I understand you’re having an issue with allergies?”

Adriana stood before the rolling cart in the small exam room, tablet in hand. The dragonborn’s chart looked refreshingly uncomplicated, and nothing at all that required a visit to urgent care. Seasonal allergies. Persistent congestion. No fever or facial tenderness beyond expected sinus pressure.

“We’re all so glad this office has reopened! Sometimes you need to be seen and it’s not something that can wait for an appointment in the regular office, you know?”

“Allergies should be addressed with your primary care physician,” Adriana corrected. “Especially if it’s a chronic condition. You’ve been dealing with the symptoms for about a month now?”

“So you just moved to town?”

She looked up, blinking in surprise. The dragonborn had ignored her outright, turning the conversation with an off-topic question of her own. “I . . . yes, I did. Just over three weeks for your symptoms?”

“Oh! Yes, ever since we started relocating the apiary collection. From the Applethorpes, you know. It’s been down in the bowels of the building for ages, but we’re starting a new seasonal rotation of the front room. Have you been to the library yet? Did I mention I’m a librarian? The whole front collection was turned into all things garden. The historic texts can’t be checked out, but anyone can come and look through them. You should make time to stop in! Especially if you’re interested in keeping bees, there are handwritten notes in the ledgers!”

“So this was potentially triggered by a dust allergy?” She had no idea what an apple thorpe was, trying to glean something, anything useful from the patient. “Or by a fruit?”

“Oh, the basement is definitely dusty. And moldy. That’s the thing about historic buildings — they’re not always watertight. You’re over in the townhomes, right? That’s what I heard from Meraldine. She works in reference? All new builds must be nice. You won’t have to worry about the roof leaking or faulty wiring . . . You should check the calendar to see if you’re free for one of the library sales!”

Adriana gave the dragonborn a firm smile when she sneezed again. “If you’re frequently around dusty items that might be holding some mold spores, I think I’d like you to start using a steroid-based nasal spray, in addition to a preventative antihistamine. Rhinitis and scales don’t mix well, so you want to get ahead of this proactively.” Adriana smiled as she stood. “We’ll send this over to the pharmacy today. Deneen will give you your discharge paperwork at the desk.”

The dragonborn nodded, just as enthusiastically, but made no move to stand.

“It was nice meeting you.”

Another nod, accompanied by that same smile.

“Was-was there something else you needed?”

“Oh! Are . . . are we finished already?”

Adriana’s eyes cast around the small examination room, certain she was going to find another patient hidden there, perhaps this patient’s child, some gotcha moment waiting to trap her . . . but there was none. None but the dragonborn named Dā, her purple hair and post-nasal drip. She blinked again.

“Yes. You’ll be notified by the pharmacy when your prescription is ready. And since this is an ongoing issue, it needs to be addressed by your primary care physician. Deneen will be able to schedule that appointment for you at the desk. Have a nice day.”