The Doctor is IN
You waited awkwardly in the clinic, listening to the talk radio station playing softly in the background. You shifted in the plastic chair uncomfortably. Maru sorted through some papers on the counter and kept looking backwards.
“Sorry, Y/N.” Maru called. “Dr. Harvey doesn’t usually take this long.” She said.
You shook your head. “No rush.” You said. In truth, going to the doctors had always made you nervous. As a kid, you used to scream and cry all the way in the car while your mom drove. Remembering your moms curly hair shaking from the front seat made your heart twinge. I should call my parents, you thought. But first, there were more important things to deal with. Like getting through an annual check-up.
“Y/N.” You heard Harvey’s deep voice call. Your head immediately went up, locking eyes with the doctor. His warm brown eyes bore into yours.
You stood up, following him into the back room. He gestured for you to sit on the raised bench, and shut the door behind him. You started at Harvey as he clicked on the computer for a moment, pulling up your chart. You squinted at him as you tried to decide his age. 30s? 40s? You couldn’t exactly tell, but you knew he was older than you.
“Alright. I’m going to start with your blood pressure.” He said, wrapping a blue cuff around your arm. You nodded, offering your arm. He felt impossibly tall as you gazed up at his groomed beard.
The blue cuff inflated, squeezing your arm. Harvey nodded and wrote a note, and then deflated the cuff. “Looking good. Any changes to sleep or appetite?” He asked.
“Yeah… I haven’t been sleeping as well lately. Probably just stress, though.” You answered.
“Oh? Are you alright?” He asked, a twinge of unprofessional concern lingering in his voice. He quickly cleared his throat and followed up with “I can connect you with a counselor if you’d like.”
“I won’t need therapy, going into the mines is helping.” You smirked.
He furrowed his brow. “The mines? That’s… dangerous.”
You stayed silent as he put a small flashlight into your ears. He switched to another one, and said “say ahhhh.”
“Ahhh….” You said, Harvey peering into your open mouth. You tried not to notice how hot he looked when he was focused. You looked at the floor and the computer, trying to avoid his gaze. He put away the flashlights and went back to taking notes. “And are you sexually active?”
Him asking so suddenly made you choke on your spit. You started coughing into your elbow and he jumped up. “I’m sorry! Uh, here, do you need some Kleenex?” He asked, handing you a box. You continued coughing harshly, waving him off. You noticed pink creeping into his cheeks.
“You don’t have to answer. Um… let’s move on.” He brought out his stethoscope and put it in his ears, reaching to listen to your heart. Am I crazy, or is his hand trembling a little? You asked yourself. He gently placed the disc over your heart, his hand hovering above your breast. His body was so close to yours, you could feel his heat. Your heart skipped, starting to beat faster. “Your heart is beating a little quickly…” He said, pulling the stethoscope away. “Are you nervous?”
“I am.” You said quickly. You knew it was partly because you hated going to the doctor, but partially because of Harvey and your growing attraction to him.
“It’s okay. Lots of people are scared of doctors.” He smiled.
You were grateful for the excuse and nodded quickly.
“Your chart indicates you are overdue for a complete physical… Do you want to go ahead with one or schedule it for a later date?” Harvey asked.
“Later date, please.” You said. The thought of Harvey seeing everything right now made you too nervous to think.
“Okay. You can go ahead and schedule that with Maru.” He smiled. “But that’s it from me. Do you have any questions?”
You had lots of questions. The first one was How can someone so obviously hot and smart not be married yet? And the second one was Please can I undress you? But you shook your head. “No, no questions.”
“Then you’re free to go.” He said.
~
After your appointment you hurried back to the farm to finish a few more chores. To your great annoyance, you realized you had tilled and watered a few extra spaces that you didn’t have seeds for. Well, I’ve already done the work… You thought. You sighed as you decided to make a quick trip to Pierre’s.
You were greeted with an aggressive sign saying “NOT OPEN WEDNESDAYS!”. You rolled your eyes, and started walking to Jojamart. Even though Pierre was kind of a jerk, you still preferred to buy local as opposed to Joja.
As you walked into Jojamart, you realized that not everyone in town shared your views. Jodi was there with Sam picking out groceries, Robin was an aisle down looking at canned goods, Pam was filling up her basket with beer, and Gus was in the produce section eyeing some watermelons.
You walked down an aisle, nodding to Jodi and Sam as you passed and made it to the seed display.
“Hey farmer. Joining the dark side, huh?” You heard a husky voice from behind you.
“I need seeds.” You responded. You tilted your head to see Shane sliding beside you in his work uniform, sliding a pallet box on a dolly. He towered over you and smirked, leaning against the wooden pallet.
“Next thing you know it’s the only place you shop.” He said.
You eyed the seeds, trying to ignore Shane. You noticed cauliflower seeds were only 2 dollars here, as opposed to 3 dollars at Pierre’s. You picked up a packet and started to read the label. “They’re cheaper here.” You marveled.
“There’s a cost to buying local.” He shrugged. In a lower voice, he continued: “personally, I think all these mega corporations are fucking up our world but what do I know?”
“You’re the one in a blue uniform.” You said.
He sighed. “Touche. But, a man’s gotta pay the bills.”
“I hope they pay you well.”
Shane shrugged. “Better than anyone else in this town would. You know, when I was going to college, I worked as a bartender. I miss that. The tips were crazy.”
“You went to college?” You asked. You looked over Shane, dark circles painted under his eyes, stubble that illuminated his crisp jawline, and his overall demeanor of being directionless. It was sad to picture him at 18 setting off to school and tumbling his way into working here.
“Whatever.” He said.
“Shane! That’s cool. What did you take?”
He gave you a look of warning. “Don’t fucking laugh, okay?”
“I won’t.” You promised.
“I know I seem like an idiot, and I probably am, but my grades were great in high school. I got accepted on a full ride scholarship to study ecology. Quit right before my last year started.”
You were dumbfounded. That was something you never would have guessed. “Why’d you quit?”
“Question time is over.” He waved his hand, starting to move the pallet away from you. “I have to get back to work.”
Shane was gone before you could even respond.
You took your seeds to checkout and headed outside, your head buzzing with this new information. If he only had a year left, why hadn’t he finished? Did it have something to do with Jas? Realistically, you didn’t know the full extent of their relationship, only that he was her legal guardian but that they both lived with Marnie.
You weren’t watching where you were going and you almost bumped into a small figure/
“Walk much?” She snapped.
You gazed at Haley. Her innocent looking blue eyes were scowling at you, but they relaxed as she saw the look on your face. “I’m sorry.” You said earnestly.
She shook her head, her blonde hair fanning around her, perfectly highlighting how perfect and creamy peach her skin was in the sun. “You have a look on your face.” She commented.
You felt your face twisting. “Okay?”
“I mean…” She sighed and rolled her eyes, reaching out to you. She wiped off part of your skin by your cheek and then shook her hand off. “Dirt.” She commented.
You stared at her, almost in amazement. You didn’t know what to say.
“Are you wearing makeup?” Haley asked suddenly.
“Just a bit of mascara.” You shrugged.
She nodded, clicking her tongue. “I couldn’t tell.”
Again, you were at a loss for words. “Okay.”
You two stood and stared at each other for a moment. Am I crazy, or is there a weird tension between us? You thought. You felt your heart quicken as you noticed how soft, pink, and pillowy Haley’s lips were.
“Anyway. See you.” She said, and kept walking down the path.
You shook your head out. There was no way Haley was into girls.
Right?