Page 98 of A Chance for Us
“Hello, Oliver.”
“Dr. Pang. It’s been a while.”
She nods. “Yes, it has. How are you? Happy to be back home?”
“Happy is . . . well, I don’t know. We’ve been busy.”
“And you got married.” Her eyes brighten as she walks over. “That’s wonderful. Congratulations. The town is very excited. I was in Jennie’s yesterday, and they were talking about how beautiful she is and wondering what’s wrong with her because she fell in love with you.”
“There’s nothing wrong with her. I am a freaking catch. A big catch,” I say.
Dr. Pang’s smile widens. “Well, you’re lucky to have her and I’m so happy that you found love.”
Most people are in love with the person they marry, and by all accounts of this town, we are madly in love, so I give her my most convincing grin. “She’s perfect.”
“Good. I always hoped you’d find someone worthy. Your siblings have all done well, and it gives me so much joy to see you have as well. Now, what brings you in?”
Is there a delicate way to broach this topic? I decide there isn’t and just blurt it out. “I pulled my groin having too much sex on my honeymoon.”
“Oh.”
I shrug. “We did it . . . a lot. And I mean . . . a lot. I have this bulge here, and I can’t walk because I’m swollen a bit.”
Dr. Pang hides her face a little and then straightens. “Okay. Let’s take a look and see.”
I cover my dick with my hand as much as I can and pull the gown over, exposing the enlarged muscle.
“I need you to lie back so I can get a better look.” I do as she says. “I’m going to press on this area. Let me know when you feel pain.”
We go through the exam, and she keeps moving me around and studying the area. After she’s done, I sit up, and she takes a seat on the rolling chair. “Oliver, where you are experiencing the swelling isn’t your muscle, it’s much higher, you are experiencing an enlargement of the lymph node. When it’s inflamed the way yours is, it usually means you’re dealing with an infection. Have you had any fevers or fatigue?”
“Not that I can think of. I’m tired, but I just finished opening the resort, got married, honeymooned, and haven’t gotten a lot of sleep recently.”
She nods. “That all makes sense. What about drinking?”
“Are you asking me out, Doc?” I joke.
Dr. Pang doesn’t seem amused. “When you drink, do you feel anything after?”
“Drunk . . .”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes, well that’s fine, but sickness or pain?”
I start to say something sarcastic, but then tell Dr. Pang about how I got sick after a few beers while I was in South Carolina. She makes a note of that and then turns to face me again.
“Okay, I’d like to do a blood test to see what shows. I’m not overly concerned, but if we can find an infection, then we can treat it.”
“That doesn’t make me sound nearly as virile as pulling a muscle during sex.”
She laughs. “You can keep your story, but I think it’s important to run the test.”
“I have to drive to Georgia tomorrow. Maren’s father isn’t well, and I need to be there.”
“Not a problem. We’ll start you on an antibiotic and do the blood work here. Since you’re going out of town, I’d like to do a biopsy as well. Sometimes the blood tests aren’t as definitive as I’d like, so I’d feel better if we covered all the bases just in case. Once we figure out what’s causing the lymph node to be inflamed, we can treat it. Sound good?”
“Absolutely.”
She stands and heads to the door. There’s one thing I meant to ask, and it’s really the most important question.
