Soon, Zoe began to wonder why he’d even agreed to this. It was clear that he hated being on camera and resented her presence. This was more like pulling teeth than putting together a pitch.
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?”
