“Claire gave me coffee and a free donut when I was in Islingburn before,” Zoe explained. “Wow, this reallyisa small town.”
“Sure is,” Claire said. She turned back to Nathan. “You were saying you need to update my patient records, right?”
“Right.” With another uncomfortable glance at Zoe, Nathan sat at his desk and pulled something up on the computer. “It’s been about two years since your last appointment. Are you still living with your boyfriend, Mark?”
“He’s my fiancé now,” Claire said, holding up a hand with an engagement ring.
“Congratulations!” Nathan smiled at her with what looked like real joy. Zoe quickly lifted her camera to snap a shot, but Nathan ruined the image by sending an annoyed glance her way. “And how often do you exercise each week?”
“I try to be active for half an hour each day,” Claire explained. “Usually, I do yoga or go jogging. But I’m on my feet a lot at the coffee shop, too.”
One by one, Nathan went through a dozen questions. He listened to Claire’s answers, asked follow-ups, and explained a few things as he went. It was clear why he was such a good doctor: he genuinely cared about his patients. Zoe tried to take a few pictures of the clear connection between doctor and patient, but whenever she lifted the camera, Nathan stiffened and his eyes narrowed.
“That’s it for today, then,” Nathan said after a while. Claire turned to Zoe.
“Did you get everything you need?”
“Honestly, the two of you sitting and talking like this doesn’t make for the best shots,” Zoe said.Neither does Nathan's weird expression whenever I get my camera out,she thought but didn’t add. “No worries, though, I’m sure I’ll get some later.”
“No, come on.” Claire hopped onto the exam table. “Doc, come listen to my heart or something.”
“I already did,” Nathan replied drily.
“I know, but if we do it again, Zoe can get a picture.” Claire gave a bright smile, and, with a sigh, Nathan got to his feet.
“Fine.”
He took the stethoscope draped around his neck and pressed it to Claire’s collarbone. Zoe stood, moving around to get a good angle.
“Um, Nathan, can you try to not do that with your face?”
“Do what?”
“Glower? You look like you just found out that you’ll be spending the next six consecutive weekends at the DMV.”
Claire giggled. “Youdolook like that!”
Nathan rolled his eyes. “This is just my face.”
“No, it isn’t,” Zoe said. “I’ve seen you smile, and this isn’t it. Just… act natural. Pretend I’m not here.”
But it was clear that Nathan couldn’t. He kept glancing at the camera, glowering, standing in weird ways, and generallymaking it impossible to get a good shot. After a few minutes, Zoe stepped back.
“That’s enough for now. Thanks, Claire.”
She wasn’t going to admit that she hadn’t gotten any of the shots she needed. Hopefully, the next appointment would go better.
It didn’t.
The next appointment was for a family with a young baby who they’d recently adopted. They were at the clinic to make sure the baby was all right after a recent illness. It should have given great photo opportunities — the baby was adorable — but Zoe struggled to get any good images because Nathan froze and behaved unnaturally whenever he saw that she was trying to take a picture or video.
“Can you just hold the baby and smile for a moment?” Zoe asked towards the end of the appointment as her frustration started to build.
“No.” Nathan handed the baby back to the parents. “She’s doing wonderfully, guys.”
And that was it — no heartwarming photos of the hot doctor holding the adorable baby.
Two more appointments passed with no good photos. Even though Nathan was clearly a great doctor who cared about his patients, he got stiff and unnatural the moment he remembered Zoe was in the room. Nothing Zoe did seemed to help, and when she tried to coach him on how to behave around the camera, he only seemed to get more annoyed.
