Wonderful, thought Molson. “Yes sir.”
He followed Fielding as they met with patients around the hospital. Molson watched as Fielding discussed care, made different diagnosis, and generally ignored Molson’s presence. He was supposed to be asking Molson to participate but hadn’t done so once.
Finally, Molson had enough of it.
“You have a dislocated shoulder,” he verbally jumped in to tell a patient when Fielding was about to give his diagnosis. “We can put it back in, but you’ll need x-rays to rule out any broken bones.”
Fielding ground his teeth.
“Will the x-rays hurt?” the young teenager asked.
“Will he be okay in time for the game this weekend?” the father asked.
“The x-ray itself won’t hurt,” Molson assured the boy. “The technician might ask you to move or hold your arm a certain way. That might hurt a little. If it does, just let the technician know, okay?”
“Okay,” the boy nodded as he held onto his arm.
“I’m sorry,” Fielding addressed the dad. “Your son will need to rest the shoulder. He won’t be playing any sports this weekend.”
They exchanged a little more information before Fielding brought Molson out into the hallway. “Don’t do that again.”
“What?” Molson raised an eyebrow mockingly. “Participate? I thought that was part of the residential program. Hands on training.”
“Not for you. Patients are afraid of you, if you haven’t noticed,” Fielding growled. “You and your gang tattoos. Just stay in the corner and be quiet.”
“I didn’t come here to stay in a corner. I came here to learn,” Molson narrowed his eyes. “Maybe if I wasn’t all staring in the background with my ‘gang’ tattoos, then I wouldn’t seem so scary.”
“I’m the instructor, Colborne. Don’t forget that,” Fielding insisted angrily. “You’re the one who doesn’t belong here.”
“The only one saying I don’t belong here is you,” Molson muttered.
“That mother in exam room three was terrified of you,” Fielding pointed out, none too nicely. “She looked like she was waiting for you to pull out a knife and murder us all.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Molson had noticed the woman give him a second look. He was used to that. He told himself it wasn’t a big deal.
“The security staff is constantly verifying with me that you’re not posing as a doctor, a gang member trying to steal drugs,” Fielding complained.
Molson wondered if that was true or not. They did stop him more to check his identification badge than any other person he’d seen. “They’ll get used to seeing me around.”
“You’re not fit for this profession,” Fielding walked to the nurses’ station to exchange charts. “The sooner you drop out of the program, the better for all concerned.”
“I’m not dropping out,” Molson insisted quietly. He plucked the new chart out of Fielding’s hand.
“Do you think that I’m going to give you a passing grade on the practicum?” Fielding hissed as he snatched the chart back. “You’re lazy, insolent, have gang associations, and are insubordinate. Shall I go on? You’re cheating academically. I’m not sure how, but once I figure it out, you can bet I’ll be going to the board to get you banned from every medical school in the country.”
“I’m not cheating,” Molson took a deep breath so that he wouldn’t lose his temper. Losing his calm wouldn’t help the situation any.
“You have prefect scores. No one gets perfect test score, least of all a person like you,” Fielding gave him a look of condemnation.
“What is that supposed to mean?” Molson’s voice had dipped dangerously low.
“You’re the type of person to be selling drugs on the corner to teenagers,” Fielding answered. “I was told that you’re not even taking out student loans. How are you paying for your schooling? Illegal proceeds?”
“You don’t know me,” Molson forced himself to unclench his jaw and uncurl his fingers. He wasn’t going to get into a fight with this man, he told himself. Nothing would be gained by doing so. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“Hi Daddy,” Holly approached both of them, a surprised look on her face. “Molson, I didn’t know you knew each other.”
Daddy?Molson’s stomach sank like a rock, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. Of all the people she could be related to, he would never have suspected Fielding. They didn’t even share the same last name.
