Page 8 of Ink & Snow
Dr.Benwasatall guy who looked like he was working out a lot when he wasn’t treating patients. By the time he’d stomped up the stairs and put on his latex gloves, I’d at least managed to coax Amory up off the floor and onto my couch.
“How did this happen?” Dr. Ben asked, unwrapping Amory’s thumb.
“Uh, Soyer here just moved in today. He bought Fran’s place, you know, and I came by to say hi but found him on the floor because he slipped on the snow that had come in through the open window.”
“Uh-huh,” Dr. Ben said.
I’d moved the coffee table moving box out of the way, and with nowhere else to put it, the doctor unspooled the bloody gauze onto the floor where he was kneeling like some goddamn white knight in shining armor.
Amory glanced at the snaking gauze once, but given his issue with blood, he looked away quick and back at me.
“I asked whether I needed to call you, but Soyer said he was fine and asked me to stay for coffee and cake to say thanks.”
“Bit late for coffee, isn’t it,” Dr. Ben said.
“Oh, you think so?” I asked, doing my best not to sound as irritated as I was.
“In this time zone, I’d say so,” the doctor said, bedding Amory’s hand on one of those white gauze napkins all the medical professionals had and getting out the needle and thread and medical tongs he’d use to sew Amory’s thumb back together.
“Well, I was kind of looking forward to that Americano though,” Amory said with a look at the abandoned mug on the moving box. That made me smile. “You see, we needed forks for the chocolate cake. The one the mayor left, you know. I went over there to look in that box, and I guess a glass broke, and I didn’t see.” Amory took on some color. “I may have fainted.”
“Like the time you got your blood work done?” Dr. Ben asked, producing a syringe he loaded with a clear liquid.
Amory’s flush deepened. “I just have to not faint with the people in my chair, okay? And I’ve never fainted. You know that.”
“Never said you weren’t good at your job. Just wondering if maybe you have a low blood pressure issue. Have the chocolate cake once I’m done with these stitches. I’m going to inject you with this, so relax.” He lifted his syringe.
Amory snorted. “I don’t mind needles. Poked myself often enough.”
True to his word, the doctor pushing the needle with the anesthetic into him didn’t bother Amory one bit.
“That’ll probably scar,” I said, watching Dr. Ben work.
“Yeah, probably,” he said, tucking the cut shut neatly.
“It’s a shame I’m a righty or I’d be able to cover up the scar myself,” Amory said.
“Maybe focus on letting it heal first. No getting this wet, no messing with the stitches, and I’ll see you tomorrow to check you’re not dying from an infection. If you get a temperature, you call me right away.”
“Of course.”
I was about to offer to take Amory home when I remembered that my car still needed to be charged. I’d have to call him an Uber or walk him home in case he needed to walk off his caffeine rush.
“Dwayne said he picked you up in the middle of the road,” the doctor said, his eyes firmly focused on Amory’s thumb. “Said your car died.”
“Yeah. No reception in the wilderness out here.”
“Oh, but there mostly is though,” Amory said. “I mean, except for that spot on Pauper’s Hill. I guess you managed to find the only dead spot in the area.” He looked at me with those pretty, pretty eyes, and if I ignored the stupid doctor and the blood—and the fucking skeleton sweater—I could get used to the sight of him supine on my furniture.
“Guess I did. Maybe you need to show me around and warn me about all the no reception spots.”
Amory smiled. “It’s just the one, I promise. Well, I guess if you go down to the basement, reception wouldn’t be wonderful either.”
“Curious about the basement after all, Amory?”
The doctor gave me some side-eye, and Amory noticed.
“He just joked about locking me up in the basement earlier,” he told the medical professional.
