Page 8 of Right in Front of You

She didn’t seem to believe me but didn’t ask again as we made our way over to Doctor Burke’s office. When we entered, he smiled, and his glasses slowly slipped lower onto his nose, the way they usually did when he tried to look over them instead of through them. His thick curly hair bounced as he cocked his head to the side, but that initial smile faded as soon as he assessed that Molly had been hurt. Doctor Burke shot off his chair and rushed toward us, taking Molly under his arm. He was right. Now that I saw how Molly was limping and walking weird, I was afraid that her fall might have been worse than I’d assumed.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I fell,” she said, batting the long lashes of her brown eyes. I’d never noticed how big her eyes were before. And her freckles, they were more prominent when she cried. They reminded me of Daisy’s sprinkled face.

“Fell?”

“Yes. Carter says my knees should be looked at. Can you look at them in the back room?” she asked.

I wanted to go with her. I wanted to hold her hand and assure her that the scrapes would heal quickly, but I also wanted to respect her privacy.

“Yes, of course we can.” Doctor Burke took Molly under his arm and gave me a disapproving look.

What did I do?

“We’ll chat when we’re done, young man.”

“Yes, of course.” I nodded. I’d help Molly with anything she needed. She was a friend. A good friend, in fact.

I sat at the front of the office, tapping my fingers on the side table. The glass top echoed with each bounce of my pads. Beyond the front windows, the sun began setting, and I wondered whether my father had been able to get that gun out of Mr. Fowler’s hand. I hadn’t heard a gunshot yet, so he must have not fired.

With impatience growing in my body, I stood up and paced the waiting room, slowly reading each poster about vaccines, viruses, and bacteria. Then I moved onto advertisements to quit smoking, lose weight, and try new medicine for diabetes. When I was done with those, I ventured further into the hallway and peeked into one of the patient rooms, where the posters were much more interesting.

On the first one around the corner, there was an anatomical picture of a man, with his penis and testicles in fine detail, including veins, skin, and hair. I reached between my legs, wondering when I’d grow that big. To be honest, I didn’t have that far to go. I grinned and moved onto the second poster, where a similar version of female anatomy was shown. I put my face closer to the picture. This was probably as close as I’d get to a vagina for a long time.

Maybe I should ask Max about it?My older brother already had a girlfriend, and I’d caught them making out more than once. In fact, I was sure they’ve been having sex at least twice each week. From the way my bookshelves, which were on the sidewall adjoining his room, swayed back and forth and back and forth, they were like too bunnies in the spring. Except spring for those two lasted all year long. Max had yelled at me to knock in the future before I came into his room. Actually, he’d forbidden me to come in at all when Annie was over.

Examining the posters, I now understood why Doctor Burke never took kids into this room when we were getting our vaccines or our throats swabbed.

Molly and Doctor Burke didn’t come out until the sun had disappeared beyond the horizon. I heard them well before I saw them, chatting, and Molly sounded more upbeat. I quickly scooted out of the patient room and back into the waiting area.

“I’m telling you, Molly, I know you have it in you. Your grades are great, and you’re very smart.”

“Do you think I could come over here to study sometimes? It gets a little crazy with the baby, and my mamma’s patience is thin these days.”

“You’re more than welcome to come here anytime you’d like. Nothing would make me happier, that spare room in the back would finally be of some use.”

“Thank you, Doctor Burke. For everything.”

“You’re welcome, Molly. And like I said, I’ll keep what we discussed to myself.”

“I really appreciate that.”

Molly’s legs were clean and her knees bandaged. She also looked happier than when we’d come in, and I felt relief in my heart that I’d taken her to see the doctor. Doctor Burke lifted his head slowly and gave me the most disapproving look I’d ever had — from anyone — as if I were the one who’d tripped Molly.

“Carter, these are for you.” He reached underneath a counter and passed me a square box. When I saw that he’d given me a pack of condoms, I felt my cheeks grow hot. Had he seen me looking at those posters? Was there a hidden camera in the room I wasn’t aware of?

“You’re a teenager now, and teenagers who are sexually active should be safe. Has your father had a chat with you, or do I need to remind him to do so?”

“No, we’re good. I mean, we’ve talked.”

“Good. Now make sure you come back here if you need more – though at your age, you shouldn’t need that many just yet. People get hurt, Carter. Sexual activity can have severe repercussions for teenagers.”

“Yes, sir. Of course.”

That was the moment I knew that I would never come back to Doctor Burke for condoms. In fact, I promised myself to drink a lot of orange juice and tea with lemon and honey to stay healthy and out of his office for a while.

I took Molly under her arm and walked her home. We didn’t speak much until we reached her front door. As the pack of condoms in my pocket jutted into my thigh, I was reminded about my conversation with Doctor Burke.

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