Chapter 8 Zoe #2
The next appointment was a checkup for a little boy named Kyle who was complaining of an upset stomach. He sat on the exam table, his eyes wide and his face pale, while his father stood next to him with a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“We wouldn’t have even come in,” the father said. “Except that he says he’s too sick to go to sleepaway camp tomorrow, and he’s been looking forward to that all year.”
Nathan turned to Kyle with a warm smile. “Do you mind if I look in your mouth?”
“Okay,” Kyle said in a soft voice. Nathan took a wooden tongue depressor and peered in Kyle’s mouth with a small flashlight. Zoe lifted her camera to snap a picture and immediately both boy and doctor stiffened. With a sigh, she lowered the camera.
“So, you’re looking forward to camp, huh?” Nathan asked casually as he took out his stethoscope to listen to the boy’s heart.
“Yeah.” Kyle’s voice was still soft, and he looked away.
“You must be pretty brave, then,” Nathan continued. “I was really worried before my first sleepaway camp.”
“You were?” Kyle looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Really. I was so worried that I even felt a little sick the day before I was supposed to go.”
“What were you worried about?” Kyle asked, glancing to the side. It was another adorable shot, but Zoe had barely made a move towards her camera before Nathan glared in her direction.
“Whether I would make friends,” Nathan said. “Whether the counselors would be nice. Whether I would get homesick and miss my parents too much.”
“And what happened?”
“My dad gave me a special medicine to help me feel brave, so I’d know I wasn’t alone, even when I was far away at camp. Then I went. I was still nervous, but in the end, I had a great time, and I was really proud that I’d gone.”
“Can I have the medicine too?” Kyle asked. “Maybe it would help. Um, with my stomach.” He glanced at Nathan, then at his father, and both men smiled at him.
It was an adorable scene: a kind, empathetic doctor comforting a small boy worried about his first time away from home.
Zoe wished she could’ve taken a video, but Nathan would never have been this great if he’d known he were being filmed.
She managed to snap a few shots, but it wasn’t anywhere near enough.
“Of course,” Nathan said. “Hold out your hand. And Luke…” He gestured to the father. “Hold out your hand, too.”
As subtly as she could, Zoe lifted the camera and started to record.
Looking a little confused, father and son held out their hands. Nathan took the pen from his lab coat pocket and drew a small circle on the inside of Kyle and Luke’s hands, where it wasn’t very visible.
“This is the medicine,” he explained. “No matter where you are or what you’re doing, you can look down at these circles and know that you’re thinking of each other.”
Kyle rubbed the circle on his hand and looked up at his father.
“Will you look at it every day?”
“Of course I will.” Luke ruffled the boy’s hair. “And if it starts to fade, just draw it on again.”
“Okay.” Kyle bit his lip. “You know, my stomach does feel a little better.”
“That’s great news,” Luke said. He helped his son down from the exam table. “Thanks, Doc.”
“Anytime.”
“So, what are you most looking forward to about camp?” Luke asked as he led Kyle out of the room. “If you’re feeling a bit nervous, that’s okay, too…”
Their voices faded as they walked down the hall and Zoe lowered her camera. Her heart was warm after seeing that sweet interaction. “Nathan, that was amazing—”
He cut her off. “You can’t film stuff like that.”
Zoe froze. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, that was a personal moment for that family, and you can’t jump in and start filming without asking permission.”
Zoe’s temper flared. “That was the first good shot I’ve got all day! We asked the patients’ permission before they came in, and most importantly, you agreed to filming — you can’t get mad at me for doing what we agreed on.”
“I can’t sacrifice patient care for optics.” He turned away from her.
“I’m not asking you to!” Zoe took a deep breath. Her chest felt tight. “I was just filming what you were doing, anyway.”
“Are you done now?” Nathan asked. His eyes were narrowed. “I mean, do you have enough?”
“No! Not nearly.” Zoe crossed her arms. “You’ve made it impossible to take any photos or videos, because as soon as the camera comes out, you start acting like a robot.”
“I do not.”
“Yes, you do.” They glared at each other.
“You do have enough for today,” Nathan said. “Just… go. Come back another time. I need to focus on my patients right now.”
Leaving was the last thing Zoe should do. After all, she still needed material, and most of what she’d taken today was useless. Still, her temper was high, and she wasn’t in the mood to coddle Nathan.
“Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow. But you need to try harder to work with me, okay?”
Nathan sighed. “Just go. Please.”
With that, Zoe left.
She was just one day in, and already she was regretting this.
Zoe had staked all her hopes and most of her remaining savings on this, but Nathan couldn’t cooperate for thirty seconds to take a good photo or video.
The worst part was that he was so courteous and empathetic with all of his patients, but he just seemed annoyed with her.
Zoe was a stranger who was making him do something he didn’t like.
She understood that. But it didn’t seem fair that he had agreed to do this and was now making her life difficult.
If she couldn’t get good material from him, the TV show would never take off, and Zoe would truly be at the end of her rope. She’d only have enough money to pay her bills for a few more weeks while she looked for a new job. Her dream would be shattered.
Zoe stepped out onto Islingburn’s main street and forced herself to take a deep breath, even though her chest was tight with worry and annoyance.
Being upset wouldn’t help. She needed to find a way around Nathan’s hatred of cameras.
She needed to be rational. She needed to find some way to convince him that a few photos wouldn’t hurt his care of his patients.
And for now, maybe she needed to eat something.
It was almost dinnertime, and she hadn’t eaten since breakfast on the plane.
She headed towards the diner that she’d spotted last time.
The closer she got, the more skeptical she was about what she’d find there.
It looked like the classic American diner, with wide windows in the front, red booths inside, and even a pie case on the counter.
When Zoe entered, curious faces turned towards her, and her chest tightened.
“How many?” a friendly waitress in a pink apron asked.
“Just one,” Zoe said.
“Follow me.” The waitress led her to a table in the back and got her a menu. “If you have any questions, just ask."
Zoe had a million questions. Being here in Islingburn felt like stepping back in time to an era when diners looked like this, kids rode their bikes through the neighborhood, and everyone was too friendly — except for the small-town doctor, who hated her.
Even the air smelled strange. It was fresh in a way that New York’s city air never was.
“Thanks,” Zoe said, instead of any of that.
The waitress smiled and left Zoe to stare at the menu.
She felt strangely homesick for her city.
The menu here was all burgers and shakes and pies, with no Thai food or sushi in sight.
The clientele was mostly families and couples, with no one in a suit or working on a laptop.
And Nathan was by far the most infuriating client she’d ever worked with.
Everyone she’d done PR for in the past had been over the moon about becoming famous and had posed and preened in front of the camera as naturally as breathing.
Not Nathan, though. No, Nathan would rather shatter both their dreams than pose for a few pictures.
“Do you know what you want?” the waitress asked, returning with an actual paper notepad to take Zoe’s order.
Zoe did know what she wanted. She wanted a better client. She wanted to be back in New York, talking with Katherine at their favorite restaurant. She wanted to finally, finally, get a break.
“I’d love a Reuben and fries, please,” Zoe said. It wasn’t exactly what she wanted, but it was going to have to be enough for now.