16
Elijah sat in Dr. Leonard’s living room. Dr. Leonard was seeing his last patient of the day, and Elijah hadn’t been invited. This time, he didn’t mind. He needed some time to think.
He was starting to worry about Angela. Her finger looked worse than it had when he first saw her. He tormented himself with the thought that it was his fault.
He thought about how it had felt to give her the penicillin when they first met. He had actually felt like a doctor, or at least someone with some agency. It had felt good.
As he sat on the couch in Dr. Leonard’s living room, it occurred to him that perhaps it would be a good idea to make a house call and check on Angela. He could apologize for getting her involved in his own dishonesty and see if there was any way to make it up to her. Anyway, hadn’t he spent enough time in Dr. Leonard’s shadow? Wasn’t it time to hop out of the nest and spread his wings?
Elijah sat in the living room and muttered to himself, rehearsing the conversation with Dr. Leonard. “I’m just a little worried about her. I want to make sure she’s taking her medication. I’ve done a lot of house calls with you, and I think I’m ready to try one by myself. Yeah, I can go alone. I know you’re busy seeing patients here.”
Just then, he heard the sound of a door opening down the hall, and then the sound of Dr. Leonard’s voice.
“Don’t forget, you have to take your medication every six hours,” Dr. Leonard said.
“What about while I’m sleeping?” a woman’s voice replied.
“Especially while you’re sleeping,” Dr. Leonard said, and the two of them appeared in the living room.
Elijah looked up at the last patient of the day, an old lady with a sour look on her face. She shuffled across the living room to the front door, and Elijah felt like time had slowed down to a stop.
“Every six hours!” Dr. Leonard called after her as she finally walked through the front door.
“Well,” Dr. Leonard said, turning back toward his office, “it’s quitting time.”
“Wait,” Elijah said. “Is it okay if I go check on that patient with the finger infection?”
“Who?”
“The one who—”
“Oh, finger lady. Yeah, I don’t care,” Dr. Leonard said.
“Great! That’s great,” Elijah said. “Uhh,” he continued, “where does she live?”
“It’s in her chart. Don’t you know how to use the computer?” Dr. Leonard said.
Elijah stood in the living room and listened to the sound of Dr. Leonard’s steps going upstairs for the night. He took a deep breath and walked out the front door.
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