My phone dingedas I exited my office to see my next patient. I pulled it out of my pink scrub shirt and smiled at the picture of the dog I was in the middle of adopting. Spencer was a bullmastiff, and he was supposed to be an emotional support dog for me because I suffered from anxiety. I never knew those types of dogs could qualify for that, but according to the trainer, any dog could be if they were trained properly. I never imagined I would ever get a dog, but my therapist suggested it. It probably wouldn’t hurt since I was a single woman, living alone. The neighborhood I lived in was safe, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have an extra form of protection.
Spencer had owners who could no longer care for him or want him. I wasn’t aware of the full story, but I knew he wasa good dog, and I was excited about getting him. I wasn’t sure how soon it would be, so I didn’t do too much shopping, but I had already purchased him some bones and a bed. I wanted to wait for a crate, just in case something happened and I didn’t get him. Every day, the family that currently fostered and trained him sent me different pictures. I didn’t know I would have to go through all the things I had to get a dog. I supposed it made sense because they didn’t want animals to be repeatedly sent to a shelter.
After liking the picture, I stuck my phone back in my pocket and continued down the hall. The hallway had a few pictures of stomachs and quotes about stomachs plastered on the wall. I was one of three black gastroenterologists at the Sunrise Valley Medical Center. The other two were Dr. Rogers, who had a wife and six children, and the other woman, Dr. Moore. It was only the three of us in the office, along with a couple of medical assistants and receptionists. Even though we saw patients of multiple races, the staff was all black. I’d done my residency at the hospital, then did my fellowship with Dr. Rogers. He guaranteed me a spot when I was officially done, and he was a man of his word. I’d been at the center for the last three years, and I loved it there.
When I reached room 5, I knocked on the door.
“Hello, Mrs. Tilly. How are you feeling?” I went to the sink to wash my hands, then sat on the stool.
“I’m doing well. The medicine has been helping. I also learned what makes things worse, so I’ve been cutting back. It’s been hard not to eat so much cheese because it’s my favorite.” She laughed.
“I know the feeling. That’s how I feel about dark chocolate. Since the medicine is working, I’ll see you back in a few months, unless you need anything before then. Your prescription should last you for a while. Do you have any questions?”
Mrs. Tilly smiled. “No.”
I stood from the stool and rolled it near the desk. I squirted hand sanitizer and rubbed my hands together, even though I didn’t touch anything.
“Okay. You can make an appointment on the way out or call whenever you are ready. I’ll see you next time, and try to avoid cheese.” I offered her a smile.
Mrs. Tilly was one of my older patients who had come to the office a couple of months ago, complaining about her stomach issues. After some tests, I discovered she had irritable bowel syndrome. With that figured out, I gave her a prescription and referred her to a nutritionist. I was glad to hear that she had been getting better.
I spent the rest of the day seeing multiple patients until it was time for the office to close. On most days, we closed at six in the evening. We stayed open until eight on Wednesdays, and we also opened two Saturdays out of each month. We tried to be as flexible as possible. The three of us rotated being on call every three days. There was seldom a late-night call, but someone would be available if need be. Most of the time, the issue could be handled over the phone. Dr. Rogers served as a gastro surgeon as well. I thought about going into surgery but was still on the fence about it. I liked being able to go home at a decent hour. I had scrubbed in on a couple of hernia repairs, and it was interesting, but not enough to go into it.
Once I locked up my office and said goodbye to the staff, I walked out to the parking lot and pressed the button to enter my silver Audi A5.
My phone rang through the speakers seconds after I started the car.
“Dang, you don’t let nobody get good in their car,” I teased my friend Angie when the phone picked up.
“Because I got a little tea to spill, and I didn’t want to wait until you got home.”
I pulled out of my assigned parking spot and looked at the screen when it pinged with a reminder to get some things from the grocery store.
“Ooh, it must be good.” I cracked my window and drove down the street in the direction of Wilson’s Food Mart, the only supermarket in town.
“It is. You know how I went on that date with that dude Corey?”
“Uh, I think so.”
Angie went on dates with multiple dudes in the same week at times. She was the more free-spirited one out of my friend group. The trio—me, Angie, and our other friend Kayla—had been friends since the third grade. Even though Angie dated a lot, she didn’t sleep with every guy that she went out with. I lived vicariously through her since I wasn’t dating.
“You probably don’t. But anyway, we were out and ended up fucking in the bathroom. Why did someone knock on the door, and it was his very pregnant baby momma?”
“Oh shit! What happened?” I asked as I pulled into the store’s parking lot. It was a Monday evening, so it wasn’t crowded, which was a good thing. I wanted to quickly get my items, then get out.
“She cursed him out. She tried that shit with me, but you know I wasn’t going for that. I wasn’t trying to fight a pregnant woman, so I told her to take that shit up with him, then left. And can you believe I didn’t even get to cum. I had to go home and use one of my toys.” She sucked her teeth.
I cracked up as I pushed the cart through the aisles. I picked up some snacks because I always kept some with me. I also grabbed some juice and made my way to the dairy aisle. I hated the sound of the Styrofoam cartons whenever they scrapedagainst the brown paper bags, so I had to get the eggs in a cardboard container.
“Anyway, I blocked his ass and deleted him immediately.”
“Maybe you need to chill out. Or how about focusing on one of them? I thought you were feeling Raheem.”
I put my stuff on the conveyor belt while the lady in front of me acted like she couldn’t put the divider down. I couldn’t stand people who did that. I grabbed the thing and put it between our stuff a little forcibly. The lady turned to look at me, and I bucked my eyes at her. She quickly turned her ass right back around.
“I don’t know about that. He’s cool, though. Anyway, how was your day?”
I continued talking to her as I left the store and got home. We finally hung up when I finished cooking dinner. I spent the rest of the evening watching television and relaxing until I went to bed. I was glad I wasn’t on call, because I wanted peaceful sleep.
