8. Dulcie
DULCIE
D ulcie walked through the park with West and Elizabeth, trying not to let herself get too distracted by the beautiful sights.
West’s call had been from someone called Deb, who was apparently the nurse who worked as his assistant, with news for him that a patient was at the office with a sick toddler. Thankfully, his office was right across the park, so they were all going to stop by together.
She was sort of impressed that he was going in on his day off, while wearing jeans and a flannel under his coat. But it sounded like the patient really only wanted to see West.
They walked between a massive evergreen tree and a pop-up skating rink. An older lady was skating with two small children while an older man sat on a nearby bench, cheering for them. The lady laughed and shook her head as if the man was being very silly, but the children smiled proudly.
They passed the pavilion where a pack of little kids were chasing each other while their mothers sipped coffee and gazed up at them from the lawn below.
Dulcie saw there was a playground on that end of the park too.
The equipment was all beautifully maintained wood with plastic trim in bright colors—so different from the cold gray metal of the city playground where she used to take Delphine.
“Here we go,” West said, heading for the corner once they were back on the sidewalk.
“You can go ahead if you want and Elizabeth and I will catch up,” Dulcie offered. “Right, Lilibet?”
“Thanks, but we’re basically there already,” he told her.
Once they crossed the street, West’s office was in the middle of the block.
“Come on in,” he said, pushing open the door.
Dulcie stepped in to find a space that was bright and tidy, if a bit plain. The woman who must be Deb sat behind a desk while another lady paced back and forth with a toddler in her arms. The lady and the toddler both looked miserable.
Elizabeth immediately dragged Dulcie to a bench in the far corner of the room where there was a table with blocks on it. Elizabeth got right to work with the blocks, and Dulcie figured that was just fine, since they didn’t want to get in the way, or get sick themselves.
“Doc Lawrence,” the lady with the toddler said, her voice soft with relief as her eyes lit on West. “You didn’t have to come running in on your day off.”
“No such thing,” West told her. “Besides, we were right across the street. ”
He stepped closer, but slowly, as if he didn’t want to frighten the toddler.
“Someone’s not feeling well,” he said softly. “I’m so sorry you’re sick, sweetheart.”
The little one looked up at him from the lady’s shoulder with serious eyes.
“She just calmed down,” the lady said. “She doesn’t want to go back there.”
“She’s a smart girl,” West said. “She remembers that she got a shot last time. Don’t you, Ava? Well, you’re not getting a shot today, and we can stay right out here. Okay?”
The little face peeked out from the crook of her mother’s neck now, looking slightly less worried.
“But I need your mom to come sit by me so we can take a look at you,” West said. “Would that be all right? We’ll have to do a quick exam if we want to help you feel better.”
There was a pause, and then the little head nodded.
“Great,” West said. “Go ahead and have a seat LeeAnn, I’m just going to wash up and grab a few things.”
LeeAnn sat down and patted little Ava between her shoulder blades.
It reminded Dulcie of the winter when she and Delphine had gotten the flu.
They had both been miserable, and she’d been too sick herself to do much more than keep Delphine’s sippy-cup full and pat her back while they dozed on the sofa.
Mom had been gone by then, and Dad wasn’t about to pry himself out of his chair to take them to the doctor’s.
It was funny to think of it as a fond memory, but at this point, she didn’t really remember the sick feeling.
It was mostly just a memory of snuggling on the sofa with her sister, and that part had been nice.
“Okay,” West said, heading back in. “First, I’m just going to take your temperature and look at your ears and your throat, okay, Ava?”
“It hurts,” the little one croaked.
“I know it does,” West said kindly. “This won’t take long.”
The little girl submitted to being examined, Dulcie suspected partly because West talked her through it gently the whole time, and partly because she was feeling too weak and sick to put up much of a fuss.
“This is strep throat,” West said quietly to LeeAnn. “I’ll have to do a culture, but we can start treatment before it comes back.”
“Oh, no,” the mom said.
“You brought her in right away,” West said. “So she’ll get better quickly. But I do have to swab her throat.”
LeeAnn nodded, looking really sad.
Dulcie didn’t blame her. Those swabs were the worst.
“Ava, I will always tell you the truth,” West said gently to the little girl.
“I have to put this swab on your throat to get some of the germs that are making it hurt. It won’t feel like a shot, but it will be really yucky for just a second.
But as soon as I do it, I’ll be all done looking at you, and I can give you medicine to help you feel better.
And you can choose a prize from the pirate’s treasure chest. Okay? ”
Ava looked to her mother, and LeeAnn nodded her head up and down, so Ava turned back to West and nodded to him too.
“Usually, you’re not allowed to stick your tongue out at a grownup,” West said. “But right now, I want you to stick your tongue out at me, okay, Ava? Stick your tongue way out and say, gahhhhhhhh.”
Ava’s eyes lit up and she stuck her little tongue out and imitated the noise for all she was worth.
With a practiced, fluid motion, West swabbed her throat before she even had a chance to react. But Dulcie’s heart still broke for the little girl, because as soon as he was done she started whimpering, which certainly hurt her throat even more.
“You did it,” West told her. “You were so brave and you did such a great job. Go on over and tell Nurse Deb that you can choose two prizes from the pirate’s treasure chest.”
Ava’s eyes lit up just a bit, and her mom moved to get up.
“Not you,” West said softly.
Nurse Deb came over with a big smile to take the little girl over to look at the chest and point to what she wanted. Dulcie had to smile herself when she saw that it was a real wooden chest.
“You’re sick too, aren’t you?” West asked Ava’s mom quietly.
She took a deep breath and nodded.
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “If she’s got it, you’ve got it too. And we need you well to take care of her. Were you not going to say anything?”
“It’s your day off,” the lady said softly, shrugging. “It was bad enough to bother you for Ava.”
“It’s never a bother, LeeAnn,” he said, shaking his head. “Now let’s have a look at you.”
The lady sighed in relief, and the grateful expression on her face didn’t disappear, even when he swabbed her throat.
Dulcie felt tears prickle her eyes. Her own experience with doctors was that they were always in a rush. They certainly wouldn’t be coming in on a day off, and they definitely wouldn’t look at more than one patient during a single appointment.
“Okay,” West said at last. “You can choose a prize too, if you want.”
The lady looked up at him in surprise and he winked at her.
“Thank you so much for taking care of us,” she said, smiling.
“It’s my pleasure,” he told her. “Thank you for trusting me with your health. I’m going to go wash up and call in those prescriptions for you both. I want you to rest as much as possible, and drink a lot of clear liquids.”
“Yes, Doc,” LeeAnn promised.
“Deb, can you print out a sheet about strep for LeeAnn?” West asked. “LeeAnn, you and Ava should both be starting to feel much better within forty-eight hours of starting your medicine. But if you don’t, or if you start feeling worse at any time, please call me.”
“We will,” LeeAnne told him.
He headed toward the back again, glancing at Deb and making a quick striking motion across his throat, which Dulcie couldn’t exactly interpret, but Deb just nodded.
“I’ll print that out for you now, LeeAnn,” Deb said with a bright smile .
Ava was sitting on the floor looking sleepy but triumphant, clinging to her prizes—a miniature coloring book and a small pack of crayons.
“Thank you so much,” LeeAnn said, scurrying up to the desk with her wallet out. “How much do we owe you?”
“Doc Lawrence waived your copays,” Deb said lightly, pulling two sheets off the printer and handing them over. “So you’re all set.”
“But, it was his day off…” LeeAnn began.
“I’ve found that it’s best not to argue with him,” Deb confided, smiling and shaking her head.
“He’s nice and all, but the man is as stubborn as a mule.
Besides, he was right across the street, and he’s always saying he wished patients would come in right away when they’re sick instead of waiting too long. You did just right stopping by today.”
“Thank you so much,” LeeAnn said weakly, taking the sheets. “Please thank him for us. Come on, Ava. Do you want to go home and make some soup?”
Ava allowed herself to be scooped up and carried out, her prizes hugged tightly to her chest. Dulcie watched after them, swallowing over a lump in her throat. When she turned back, Deb was giving her a knowing smile.
“He really cares about them,” Dulcie said softly.
“He sure does,” Deb replied. “He cares about all of his patients.”
Dulcie nodded slowly, her eyes drawn to the wall behind Deb’s desk. It was hung with framed certificates and diplomas, as well as a bulletin board with notes and happy photos of people she figured must be his patients.
It was an impressive display, even more so because it was humbly tucked away behind the desk. But something about seeing it also made Dulcie feel small and unimportant. This man really did have better things to do with his time.
“Hey, thanks for waiting,” West said, coming back out again and buttoning his cuffs back up. “I’m really glad they came in when they did. That couldn’t have worked out better.”
Dulcie smiled and nodded, trying to pull herself out of the low moment.
“Mind if we swing by the store to grab some things for tonight?” he asked her. “Mom and Dad were hoping we could drag you over to their place for dinner.”