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Besides, I have the distinct feeling that if I let too much time pass, she might back out. Her hesitation this morning didn’t exactly inspire confidence.
But I also have a feeling it’s only due to the history between us. It’s alarming and strange to be crossing this boundary with her. But it also feels good and full of a potential I’ve never felt before.
I try not to dwell too much on why it took me so long to see it. I’ve got a busy day today, including getting off early to go visit my brother at work so he can work on my back piece. And speaking of, I should probably talk to him about Willette. It only seems right.
* * *
“Dr. Tanner?”
A voice interrupts my thoughts, and I realize it’s Judy, the fifty-something nurse who’s always sitting behind the desk on this floor.
“Hi, Judy,” I say. “What’s up?”
“Mr. Keller is back,” she says, giving me a knowing look.
I roll my eyes. “What’s that make this? The third time this month?”
She laughs, handing me a file.
Mr. Keller is eighty-three. Back when I was a resident, he came through the emergency room with a mild myocardial infarction, or a heart attack for the non-medical savvy. The point is, ever since then, he’s come to see me any time he feels the slightest symptoms of anything.
I’ve reminded him several times I’m not his primary doctor, and that I would be happy to refer him to a good one, but each time he insists I’m the only doctor he can trust.
The little old man is far too kind and sweet to turn away. Of course, his mild case of hypochondria since that first episode has been a little frustrating, but I still can’t seem to turn him away.
I step into the small examination room attached to my office. “Hello there, Mr. Keller, what can I do for you? Whoa. Oh god.” I stop abruptly, surprised by the scene in front of me.
“Dr. Tanner,” he says. “I’m so glad you’re here. I think something is wrong.”
Mr. Keller is naked from the waist down, using the foot stirrups on the chair to spread eagle. He’s cupping his ball sack and pointing beneath his scrotum.
God, it’s going to be a long day.
IN TOO DEEP
WILL
What am I doing? What the hell am I actually doing? Is this real life?I reorganize the stack of paperwork on the desk in front of me for the sixth or tenth time—I’m not really sure. I stopped counting. I can confirm though, it’s the most organized stack of paper that ever existed.
Did Derek Tanner really ask me to go on a date with him? Did that happen or have my fantasies about him launched into full blown delusional episodes?I better not drink for a while, just to be sure.
Drew enters the office as I question my sanity. “Hey,” she says. “So, are you nervous?”
Oh my god. How does she know?I haven’t told her he asked me out. “Nervous?”
“Yeah, about Derek coming by later? Oh, and how’s it going with you two being roommates? You’ve been surprisingly quiet about it,” she says.
Oh. Right.Derek is coming by the shop. I totally forgot he was on the schedule today. “Oh yeah,” I say out loud. “Um, I’m not nervous about that, no. And living together is…fine.”
Drew squints her eyes at me, clearly not buying the lies I’m trying to sell her. “Tell me more.”
I sigh loudly, craning my head around her to look at the office door and beyond, making sure no one is lurking. “Fine, fine.” I lean in closer to her, prompting her to lean over the desk toward me. “He asked me on a date.”
“Oh my god!” she exclaims.
“Shhhhhh,” I snap. “Not so loud.”
“This is amazing,” she says.
