Page 14 of The Scars I Bare
Eventually.
While the coffee was percolating, I made sure my travel mug was ready to go and walked around the living room, picking up the journals I’d left out. My prosthetic arm was still on the floor, in the same place it had been left the night before, and I knew I needed to put it on.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long at all, and by the time I was done, so was my blessed coffee. Pouring it straight into my mug, I didn’t bother with cream or sugar and instead took as many sips as I could without burning my tongue as I headed to the front.
Stepping outside into the sweltering August heat, I thought briefly about walking to the clinic, but as beads of sweat began to quickly form around my temples, I quickly headed toward my truck, choosing air-conditioning over exercise for the time being. I’d get my workout in some other time.
Preferably indoors or after the sun began to set.
Growing up here, I didn’t mind the heat too much, but this August was a killer. With record-breaking heat and very little rain, the island felt like it was on fire the minute the sun rose from the horizon, and nighttime didn’t offer much comfort either.
Opening the door to my pickup, I slid in and didn’t waste much time in revving the engine to life. With one hand on the wheel, I began my short journey to the other side of the island.
The frigid air I’d cranked up to maximum capacity barely began to push through the vents by the time I pulled up to the small parking lot of the Ocracoke Medical Clinic. With only a handful of cars in the lot, I had no issues with parking my large truck and quickly made my way in.
A tiny bell chimed the moment the door was pushed open, announcing my arrival. Just two people sat in the small waiting room, and both waved me over.
“Dean Sutherland, is that you?” a tiny old woman called out from behind her magazine.
Her silver hair and blue eyes were familiar, but that described about a dozen of my mother’s friends. Nevertheless, I did as I had been told and came forward.
“Come sit down with me and chat. God knows, I could use the company!”
Upon further examination, I recognized her wrinkled face as one of the women my mother played cards with. She was sitting next to her husband, who was fiddling around on an old iPhone, probably playing solitaire, as I took a seat next to his wife. She smelled like talc and cold cream. It was a comforting smell, soft and sweet.
“How are you, Mrs. Joyner?” I asked, putting my best manners on display. If I hadn’t, I’d never hear the end of it from my mother.
Did that mean I was scared of my old-fashioned Southern mother?
Yes. Yes, it did.
That woman could be as sweet as honey, but if you crossed her? Lord, you’d better run. Fast.
“Oh, fine,” she said. “Well, as fine as an old broad like me can be. Dr. Jake does a good job at keeping this old heart ticking.”
“He’s always been pretty good at keeping women’s hearts fluttering.”
Old man Joyner let out a sort of chuckle at those words, earning him a deadly glance from his wife before they both grinned from ear to ear. It was endearing, to say the least.
Looking up at the front desk, I couldn’t help but notice how disorganized it appeared. Jake didn’t have the cash to hire a full-time person to man the desk, so his nurse had always done both jobs.
“He still hasn’t found a replacement for Betty?”
Mrs. Joyner’s eyes lit up as they met mine. “Oh, my dear, didn’t you hear? She arrived yesterday.”
“Who did?” I asked, completely confused.
“The new nurse.”
“There’s a new nurse?” I found myself saying more out of shock than anything else. Wasn’t I the best friend to the island’s only doctor? If he’d hired someone, shouldn’t I have known about it?
“Yes. Pretty young thing. Dingbatter, too.”
Dingbatter was an old-school term used when referring to anyone who wasn’t native to the island. How did you define who was native to the island and who wasn’t? Well, that was an entirely separate topic. Some islanders believed you weren’t truly native unless you could trace your family back generations. Others believed you had to be born here.
Like I said, it was a hot button issue.
“Jake hired a nurse? From the mainland? Do you know her name? Why didn’t he tell me?”
