Page 3 of Examining Ella

“I’m fine, thank you. You’re my first patient of the morning. Starting my day with you is a treat.”

She blushed, but at least stifled the giggle that had threatened to spill from her lips. That was a small victory.

Don’t read anything into it. He’s just being polite and exchanging pleasantries.

“Of course, you might have selected this early slot so you can get it over with. I’m acutely aware people don’t like to see me,” he said with a good-natured grin. “Comes with the profession.”

Oh, I have no problem seeing you first thing in the morning. I just wish it was when I wake up and roll over to find you lying next to me!

Ella kept that comment to herself, instead sharing the real reason she’d booked the earliest slot.

“I like to get it over with, but it doesn’t have anything to do with you. I love to eat! I’m sure you can tell by my weight.” She gave a short snort of laughter, though there wasn’t much humor behind it. “I can’t eat until after you draw blood for the labs, so yeah…I like to come early so I can get to my breakfast.”

Dr. Kirk cleared his throat. The serious look shading his face told Ella he didn’t find the comments very funny.

Oh crap! This man seriously looks like he wants to pull me over his knee and spank my bottom!

That’s ridiculous because he’s not a Daddy. Stop projecting your fantasies onto him.

“As your physician,” he said, “it’s my duty to make recommendations regarding your health.”

“Sure,” she said.

“Well, what you just said, believe it or not, has adverse health effects.”

“You mean me being fat?” she asked.

“No,” he said, very matter of fact. “I mean speaking poorly of yourself. That seeps into your brain. It impacts your health.”

“Hey,” she said, smiling and trying to lighten the mood. “You’re not shrink. You’re a doctor.”

He smiled at that. “Yes. But your mental health is tied to your physical health. And I can certainly recommend you see a therapist.” He swung a keyboard out from under a mounted computer and began typing. He looked at the monitor. “Just remember those comments only hurt you.” He read the screen for a moment. “Okay. Looks like you first came to me with these symptoms three months ago. You reported some dizziness. Trouble sleeping which led to fatigue. Some loss of appetite.”

“Yeah,” she said with a nod. She thought about adding that she clearly hadn’t lost enough of her appetite since she seemed to be getting fatter by the day. But after the way he’d reacted to her last comment, she decided to hold back.

“And we scheduled a follow-up for today,” he said, stepping away from the computer system and closer to the exam table. “Have you noticed any changes?”

“Yeah. I think the symptoms have actually…gotten worse,” she said.

He nodded and then moved the stethoscope from around his neck to his ears. He put the circular disk at the end on her chest and said, “Can you take a deep breath for me?”

She did so.

“Release.”

She obeyed.

Had she been dreaming, he would have told her she was a good girl. The thought made her smile.

They repeated the process several more times. He moved the stethoscope’s chest piece to her back and listened. Satisfied, he put it back around his neck and said, “Last time you mentioned your kids were preparing to move away. Right? College?”

“Yeah. They just started,” she said. “And you have a good memory.”

He gave her a smile, and, in that moment, it seemed as if there was something to the look in his eyes. Something to indicate he remembered her particularly.

She brushed off the notion as being ridiculous.

“They just move?”

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