Page 51 of The Hitchhikers
“Yes.”
The swish of the curtain, the slide of metal rods. The doctor’s reassuring, professional voice. “I’m going to have a listen first, okay? The stethoscope is a bit cold, so you’ll feel that.”
Alice reached across the desk, moving only her arm so the chair didn’t scrape on the floor or squeak. Her fingertips grazed the pen. She leaned forward, extending her hand, until she was able to use the pad of her fingers to roll the pen closer. Now she needed paper.
“Would you like to hear the heartbeat?” the doctor said.
“You can hear it?” Jenny’s voice lifted into pure joy and relief.
“Yes, indeed. Put these in your ears.”
Alice closed her eyes, wished she had a mental privacy curtain to block out memories of her prenatal exams, the exhilaration at hearing those tiny rapid heartbeats, and then the trips to the emergency rooms, squeezing her legs together as if that would stop her body from rejecting the life form growing within.Don’t think about it. Don’t remember. Just get that paper.
Alice opened her eyes and examined the desk. The prescription pad. No, she couldn’t tear off a piece quietly. She spotted something white and rectangular shaped. An envelope. She softly slid it closer, glancing over her shoulder at the curtain, making sure it was closed.
Now what to write? She had to be fast. She tried to time her pen strokes with the doctor’s voice, moving and shifting her body, coughing, anything to muffle the sound of pen on paper.
Help! We are being held captive in our Winnebago. This girl’s wanted for murder. Her name is Jenny Perron, and her boyfriend is Simon Gray. We are heading east. Tell the police!
Alice wished she knew the RV’s new license plate. How would the police ever find them? It was the summer of the Olympics—the roads and campgrounds were littered with RVs.
“I’m going to gently palpate your belly now.”
Alice slid the envelope with her note under the clipboard, but then she hesitated. He might pick the clipboard up while they were still in the office. She pulled the envelope free and tucked it under the edge of a file folder. Only a white corner was peeking out.
In the background, the doctor was checking Jenny’s blood pressure, while Alice was studying the doctor’s phone on his desk. Oh, how she wished she could pick it up. Her fingers itched. Now the doctor was talking about vitamins. Jenny was asking questions, shy and uncertain.
“We’re all done. Come out when you’re ready.” A swish of the curtain, and the doctor stepped out, then dragged the curtain closed. He sat at his desk and made notes on the clipboard.
“Are you enjoying your holidays?” he said. It took Alice a moment to understand that he was speaking to her, and not Jenny, who was still behind the curtain putting herself together. “My nurse mentioned you’re traveling,” he said. “Terrible news about having your purses stolen.”
“Yes,” Alice managed to answer. “It’s been… an adventure.”
The doctor looked at her. “Do I detect a hint of an American accent?”
Alice was startled. “I’ve spent some time in the US. My parents were from California.” It was also where Alice was born and had spent her early childhood, until her oldest sister had moved to the Pacific Northwest with her husband. Alice had followed suit, first for a short stay, and then longer once she’d found work as a school secretary. The rest, as they say, was history.
“But you live in Canada now?”
How to answer? “Yes.”
The curtain swished and Jenny appeared.
“Have a seat,” the doctor said to Jenny, and Alice realized shewould have to move because Jenny should be the closest. Alice got to her feet and walked to the chair on the other side of the office. Jenny sat down, her cheeks pink, and her eyes glancing at the doctor, then away. Alice wondered if maybe Jenny had a religious upbringing, but she hadn’t heard her referencing God or Jesus, and she’d never said prayers before they ate. Considering she was a criminal and pregnant, even if she had been raised religious, she’d clearly strayed from the fold.
The doctor was talking to Jenny about vitamins. “I think I have a pamphlet here.” He shifted papers around on his desk, shuffling and sliding. Alice held her breath. “Hmm. I’ll get you one.” He stood and gestured for Alice and Jenny to wait. “I’ll just be a moment.”
Alice had to fight all her reflexes to look at the desk. Was the envelope in clear view now? At the moment, Jenny was staring at her lap, but Alice needed to keep her distracted.
“So, it’s good news. The baby’s fine.”
“Yes.” Jenny lifted her head. “I heard the heartbeat.” Her face had turned from embarrassed to awed. “It’s amazing.” She paused, and softly added, “I think it’s a girl.”
“That’s wonderful.” How long was the doctor going to be?
“Yeah.” She picked at the edge of her nail, then, as though catching herself, perhaps hearing an echo of a familiar admonishment, she pulled her hands apart and placed one on the corner of the desk, removing the temptation, but now closer to the envelope.
She glanced at Alice, then seemed to hesitate, searching Alice’s face, like she saw something there, saw the fear. Alice tried for a smile and realized that was worse. Her smiling at Jenny was suspicious behavior. She had gone too far the other way. Jenny looked down at Alice’s lap, then around the room, hunting for the source of Alice’s strange behavior. Her gaze skipped acrossthe shelves of books and landed on the desk. Alice tried to follow the direction of her eyes. Maybe she wouldn’t see it. Maybe it would just look like a doctor’s note.
