Page 44 of Wild For You
“Who is your doctor?”
“Oh, I… um… don’t have one here. I’ll be a new patient. I’m only here temporarily for a job.”
“Okay, let me see what I have available for new patients.”
The sound of the woman clicking her mouse and typing on her keyboard filled the silence between us.
“For an annual exam, we have an opening in two weeks. Will you need a pap smear as well?”
“Uh… no… actually, I’m not calling about an annual visit. I need a pregnancy confirmation.”
“Oh! I’m so sorry about the misunderstanding. Let me switch the appointment filters. How far along are you?”
“Um, one sec.” Pulling the phone away, I brought up my calendar app and counted the weeks since I last had a period.
“Ten weeks,” I told the receptionist, and her clicking continued.
“Have you had a positive over-the-counter pregnancy test?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Okay, I have an opening next Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m.”
“I’ll take it, please.”
“Sure, I’ll need your name and some other information, and we’ll get you squared away.”
After giving her my name and date of birth, then answering a few personal questions, she confirmed the appointment.
“Well, see you next Tuesday at eight, dear. Please bring your insurance card. If you can call your current doctor’s office and have them fax your records over, we can be sure to make a complete file for you. Do you have a pen and paper to write down the fax number?”
Searching around the room, nothing popped out at me, so I opened the nightstand drawer. I recognized the thick envelope from the mail a few weeks ago, and an invitation was visible beneath the fold. I moved it aside and found a stack of Post-its and a pen, realizing too late I could’ve just put her on speaker and typed it into my Notes app.
I rolled my eyes at myself. “Yes, I’m ready.”
She called out a number, and I jotted it down before thanking her and ending the call. It was going to be a pain in the ass to get the records transferred, but I figured it would be easier in the long run to keep everything together while I was here. Andrew was still going to need a couple more weeks of therapy before he was able to remove the brace.
I pulled off the sticky note and tossed the stack and pen back in the nightstand. The desire to snoop was strong, and I found myself pulling the envelope out of the nightstand and tugging the invitation free.
It was for Colton’s sister, Sadie’s, wedding. I’d met her once when I was visiting Rory, and she was around my age.
Why did Andrew have this hidden away?
Plugging my phone back into the charger, I then held the invitation behind my back while carrying the sticky note with the other. I was going to add the number and my appointment time to the calendar that hung on the pantry door.
“Appointment is for next Tuesday,” I said as I walked out to the living room, where Andrew was slouching back on the couch with his legs propped up on the coffee table.
“Good. I’ll go with you,” he said as he muted the television, turning his full attention toward me.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to.” His eyes softened, and I knew he would be joining me, regardless of if I wanted him to or not. And truthfully, I was terrified of going alone. It would be comforting to have him there.
“Fine.”
Behind my back, the invitation was burning my skin like a branding iron. I had no idea how to bring it up.
“So, um…”
