My Name is Joseph

Dr. Williams and the Glasses

"Alexander Reagan, correct?" Dr. Williams asked as she gazed at me, one eyebrow slightly cocked and the hand that was not holding a clipboard resting on her hip.

I nodded, "Yes, Doctor. That's me."

She nodded then shifted her weight and glanced down at the clipboard, then back up at me through her eyelashes. "You are here for a check up."

I just watched her, unsure of how to answer that. After a few seconds of more uncomfortable staring, I nodded, "Yes, ma'am."

She cleared her throat and turned around, placing her clipboard on the nearby table and grabbing a stethoscope. "Pearl asked you all the questions, correct?"

I shifted on my seat slightly, "Yes, she did."

She turned back around and looked at me with another quirked eyebrow, "Do you have anything more than 'Yes, ma'am,' in your vocabulary?"

"Um, yes, ma'am?" I answered now completely and thoroughly confused.

She smirked, an almost-flirtatious look in her eye, "Okay then." Flirtatious? I scoffed at myself. Had I even just thought that? I was most likely twenty years younger than her. Plus, she was married. Pearl must have gotten these thoughts in my head.

I smiled at her when she came over with her stethoscope, but did not say anything. She just went on to check my heart, my knees, my ears, and everything else that doctors check in check-ups. But strangely, the more she did, the more uncomfortable I felt. I could not pinpoint what made me uncomfortable, but something did.

By the end I was nearly squirming on my seat and could not wait to be done. I was thoroughly relieved when she told be she was leaving and coming back in a few minutes with some tools to test my eyes.

I sighed and closed my eyes again. I would finally get what I needed for my eyes, and the source, however vague, of my discomfort was gone for a few minutes. I thought for a few seconds, trying to figure out what had made me uncomfortable, but could not come up with anything. So I put my mind on God to ask him what had caused it. 

My prayers were interrupted again as I heard soft footsteps enter the room. Already? I cringed to myself and opened my eyes, but was delighted to see it was Pearl, not Dr. Williams.

She smiled at me and turned towards the work table, but did not say anything. I waited to see if she would initiate a conversation, but after a few seconds could not wait any longer, "How long have you been in the army, Miss Pearl?" I smiled as she turned around and glanced at the door.

"I don't think we should be talking, Private Reagan. Dr. Williams was pretty upset with me."

My lips dropped slightly as a slight disappointment filled me, "Why?"

Pearl merely shrugged and turned back to her work. I watched her. She was certainly very intent and seemed very smart. I glanced back at the door and closed my eyes again. She had asked me not to talk, so I would respect that. I heard her shuffling and tried my best to quell my curiosity about her. Her shuffling suddenly stopped but I did not open my eyes.

"Mr. Alexander?" her soft voice said.

My eyes popped open, had she just called me that? "Yes, Miss Pearl?"

When she just looked at me, red rising in her cheeks, I decided to partner with the rashness I was feeling, "Do you want to meet up and talk sometime? Not here? Somewhere where Dr. Williams can't come and flay us both alive?" I smiled at her, biting back a chuckle, especially when I caught her trying to hide a smile behind her hand.

She glanced up into my eyes. Her eyes were very pretty when they twinkled, "Sure."

I glanced back at the door when I heard footsteps coming down the hall, "Tomorrow? By the entrance to the food hall at 7:30?" I said in a low voice.

Her face had regained its serious look. She nodded once before gathering up her things and leaving the room again, just as Dr. Williams came back in. I stifled a groan. What is this, God? I did my best to ignore the feeling while Dr. Williams was checking my eyes, and thankfully was pretty well able to do so. It was quite distracting to find that I could not read the letters more than three rows down the letter chart. But the discomfort was not completely shaken off until she finished the check up, I got my prescription, the glasses-guy fixed up some glasses for me, and I finally left the place. 

I sighed and pushed the new glasses I had been prescribed farther up my nose. They had said my sight was -5.0 for my left eye and -4.7 for my right. I shook my head at myself. How had I even been functioning? As soon as I had put the glasses on, it was like a whole new world. I could see again! I had completely forgotten what it was like to see that clearly. My eyes were truly way worse than I had expected. I realized now that my eyesight must have started slowly deteriorating a few years ago. Probably about one and a half years before I was forced into the army. I shook my head, changing the direction of my thoughts. I had no desire to dwell on anything that happened before--well, the army happened to me.

I had been able to choose really nice frames though. The type that I had always thought I would want if I ever had eye problems. Large and stylish black Ray Bans. What would Jonathan and Owyn say about them? I smirked. They would be all over me for weeks about how I had not noticed the problem. They probably would not even notice the glasses past their laughter. I paused. What would Pearl think of them? Would she like them on me? I shook my head again, I was being ridiculous. Meet a girl once and care what she thinks about your glasses?

My heart jumped when I remembered our meeting the next day. I smiled to myself again. I was not sure if I should tell Jonathan and Owyn about that. Although, they would probably find out. They knew me too well. They would see me acting either overly excited or overly subdued--trying to hide my excitement--and force the information out of me. I snorted again then glanced over at myself and my new glasses in the window I was walking by.

I froze. Those glasses, that stronger frame. Not as strong as in the-- I shook my head. The glasses. I met my own eyes in the glass that was mirroring my face back at me, gaping. They were the same glasses from the dream. Now there was no way I was not going to tell Jonathan and Owyn.