David
“How was your vacation, Davie?” Angel grinned, looking a little too smarmy for my liking. It was almost as if she somehow knew what a bust it had been. Knowing the brat, she probably thought it was because I had left her behind.
“It was fine, Angel,” I said dismissively, sorting through some papers on my desk. Angel laughed that nasally laugh of hers, stepped up behind my chair, and placed her hands on my shoulders.
“Only fine? Goodness, you seem so tense. You know, you can relax with me,” she purred, likely thinking herself the queen of seduction. She began to awkwardly rub my shoulders, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at how dense she was.
“No, Angel. I’m not quite sure of that. After all, you told the whole office about our stupid little fling,” I said calmly, sipping from my bottle of citrus-flavored green tea. Her eyes widened a bit, and I managed to swallow my laughter. Looking her up and down, I raised a brow quizzically. “Don’t you have work you should be doing? It is your shift to work the front desk, unless there’s been a schedule change.”
She beamed, and I couldn’t begin to guess what had her so pleased.
“You know my schedule…” she murmured, answering the question I hadn’t cared to ask. It took me a moment to realize why my knowledge of her schedule was of any consequence, but when it struck me, I fought not to groan aloud.
“Don’t make it into something it’s not,” I ordered, shaking my head and busying myself with arranging the papers on my desk. She laughed, resting her hip on said desk before smiling seductively.
“But it’s a bit telling that you went through the trouble of memorizing my schedule,” she purred. I scoffed, unable to believe how audacious she was being.
“The schedule is sent to everyone’s work email, every week, Angel. If you bothered to check in, you’d understand that I haven’t memorized anything,” I said sourly, looking over the genetic testing we’d had performed on the first couple who was supposed to arrive that day. Everything seemed to be in order, although the father was at mild risk for heart disease. I could only hope the couple wouldn’t take that tidbit too hard.
“That seems a little stupid. It’s no one’s business what my schedule is,” Angel muttered, her tone a stark difference from mere moments ago. I snorted. The reason I liked to know her schedule was so that I would know whether a day was going to be agonizingly long. I continued to ignore her, but she didn’t seem to quite take the hint that I wasn’t interested in speaking to her. “Well, either way, it’s kind of romantic for you to care.”
I glanced up, resisting the desire to throttle her.
“I assure you, it’s anything but romantic. I’ve decided that it would be best if I left my work life and my sex life completely separate. As such, I won’t be needing you to drop into my office any time you’re bored and want a quick fuck,” I said as civilly as I could manage. I’d be the first to admit how obvious my scorn was, but as usual, the young receptionist didn’t seem to pick up on the cue.
“Oh, please. Like you can go all day without a blowjob or something. Come on, David, I’ll even blow you under your desk right now. Just throw a girl a bone, here,” she grinned, giggling as if she had made some brilliant joke. I frowned, steepling my fingers on top of my desk.
“I’m not quite the sex fiend you’re trying to make me out to be. I appreciate the effort on your part, at least. Unfortunately, I’ve made my decision, and that decision is final. I will no longer be sleeping with coworkers. Now, go see if my first patients of the day are here. They’re probably wondering what the hell is taking so long,” I said firmly, waving toward the door in an attempt to dismiss her.
“Uh-huh. Well, I’ll be back later… when you’ve changed your mind. You’re hilarious, Davie, just hilarious,” she said with a soft laugh, shaking her head as she walked out the door. I watched her go, resisting the desire to fling my empty tea bottle at the back of her head. It was difficult, but I managed to refrain. Instead, I tossed it into the bin beside my desk and closed my eyes in an attempt to calm myself down. I knew women could be needy, or clingy, or any number of horrible descriptors you could use — I just hadn’t realized how needy. I was sure that the woman I’d met at the Red Room was nothing like that.
The more terrible thought was that I would mind her clinginess a hell of a lot less than I did when Angel got too pushy. If I got to see the stranger’s beautiful eyes every morning, waking up together after a long night of fucking, I would probably put up with just about anything.
I was shaken from my thoughts when the first couple of the day stepped through the door, looking equal parts confused and cheerful. I could only wonder how rude Angel had likely been to them, but I tried to ignore the thought, gesturing for them to take a seat. The father-to-be could barely contain his anticipation, not that I could blame him. I’d always expected the men at the clinic to be miserable, hoping for me to offer them some sort of an out.
However, with more and more smiling faces coming to the clinic every day, I had begun to realize it wasn’t just an out. They genuinely loved their wives and girlfriends… wanted them to be happy. It wasn’t just that, either. These men wanted to bring new life into this world, which I’d been somewhat dubious of in the past. I couldn’t understand wanting to spend your day with a screaming, pissing, shitting lump of human flesh. It wasn’t that kids couldn’t be cute; I just couldn’t imagine…
“So, I suppose you remember taking our genetic testing profile, as is required for our services,” I began, determined to remain professional in spite of how much I wanted to ask how they did it. Instead, I remained quiet as the two nodded, taking each other by the hand. The husband squeezed his wife’s hand firmly, and she looked up at him with nothing but pure affection in her eyes. I’d always thought situations like this were… well, borderline disgusting. I couldn’t imagine being in love. Not in a million years.
Yet as I saw the way these two interacted, it made me feel almost as if I were missing something: a key piece to the twenty-million-piece puzzle of happiness. Could I be as happy as these two were? Something told me that if I found the proper woman to spend my time with, happiness would just fall into place. I was determined that I had already met the perfect woman, but I wasn’t a fool by any means. My chances of seeing her again were slim to none, especially since I’d been avoiding the Red Room. It wasn’t that I was avoiding the club because we met there, and therefore, by proxy, trying to avoid her. It was nothing as serious as that.
I just had begun to feel a surge of guilt any time I was with a woman who wasn’t my dream woman.
“Excuse me, doctor? I… uhm… sorry, but I asked if you had the results from the testing,” the mother-to-be inquired softly. I blinked my thoughts away, brushing a hand through my hair.
“Sorry, I lost my train of thought. Part of getting old,” I teased. The two laughed, and I grabbed their file to show them the scribbly notes I’d jotted down. “As you see, there are no genetic conditions that you’re predisposed to. You’re as fit as a fiddle, Mrs. Baker. The one issue I saw that could cause potential complications is your history with heart disease, Mr. Baker. You do have a higher chance of developing heart problems than many others, but—” I paused, noting the tears in the man’s eyes. “Are you alright?” I asked as gently as I could manage.
“It’s just that… is this going to keep us from being able to have a child? If I can’t give my wife a child, it’s only fair that I let her find someone who can,” the man stammered out, staring at his feet all the while. The woman slapped his arm, speaking in hushed tones. Just as well. I could clearly make out her disdain regarding how quickly the man had given up. I cleared my throat in a last ditch attempt to get their attention, and they both looked solemnly at me.
“It’s something I’m required to report to you, Mr. Baker. Regarding your ability to conceive a healthy child, I’m not sure the minimal chance of disease is worth throwing away everything you and your wife have worked so hard for. From a professional standpoint, we’d need to take some precautions, but I see no reason you shouldn’t have a child,” I said calmly, tapping my fingertips on the desktop. The two exchanged a look, and their expressions of dismay shifted to delight almost immediately.
“W-wow, thank you! I appreciate that, doc,” the man said with a grin.
“Just doing my job. Now, if you would like to resume your fertility treatments on the usual day, just let the receptionist know. Alright, Mrs. Baker? Did either of you have any additional questions?” I smiled, picturing the woman before me with a small baby bump.
“How are you still single, Doctor Strowman? I simply can’t wrap my head around it,” the woman teased liltingly, and her husband looked briefly taken aback before laughing as well.
“It’s one of life’s greatest mysteries. Now—” I paused, jotting down a time frame on my notes. “Your fertility treatments will resume as soon as you’re ready. We’ve also run some tests to eliminate the possibility of one of you… well, both of you… we ensured that there are no real biological reasons for your pregnancy to be a struggle. Neither of you are barren, to put it simply.”
Their eyes widened, and it was clear that they hadn’t even considered that possibility. I couldn’t quite blame them; it wasn’t something one often thought about. I only thought to mention it because my following patient would have said testing completed as well — mostly because it was protocol, but partly because she had so fervently requested it.
“So… that’s it? Keep up the fertility treatments, keep fooling around with my beautiful wife, and wait for the results?” Mr. Baker quietly implored.
“That should do the trick, yes. Unless you two need my services for anything else, I’m running a bit behind on my appointments today. I have a new client coming in, and new clients always require the most paperwork,” I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck.
“Of course, Doctor Strowman. I believe your next patient was already in the waiting area,” Ms. Baker said thoughtfully. I raised a brow, not used to such early arrivals.
“Thank you, then. You two have a good day, alright?” I said with a faint smile. They bid me the same sentiment before leaving, and after wrapping up some loose ends, I paged the nurse to bring in the next patient.
I was looking at her file when she stepped in, and I was startled to hear a shocked little gasp from the door of my office. Unsure what to make of it, I looked up with as friendly an expression as I could manage.
“Holy shit.”
It was her. It was her!
What a small, small world.