Butterfly Kisses

Doctor Shale

I bit my lip, fiddling with my fingers as I sat on the hard plastic chair beside Chris. Chris had volunteered since he wasn't busy that morning, and I was kind of relieved. Michael would definitely figure out that there were a lot of discrepancies in my files, and I knew he would be suspicious. Jay was simply intimidating, Steve would treat me like an invalid and Theo was plain rude sometimes. Chris was sharp enough to get the gist of what the doctor was saying without knowing too much and getting me in hot water.

"Mr. Randall?" A nurse called me back.

I handed her the clipboard I had to fill out, explaining my past medical history as well as I could. She took my blood pressure, weight, and height, and then left us in an empty room.

There was a computer desk, a bed, and three chairs in the room, along with a small cabinet and sink in the corner. I shivered as a draft swept into the room.

Chris and I talked about meaningless things as we waited our twenty minutes for the doctor to appear. At last, a rap on the door heralded the doctor's entrance.

My doctor, Dr. Lang, was a tall, thin man who always made me think of a spider. He had lanky, thin hair that was the color of dirty snow, and his skin was so white I wondered if he was related to Casper the friendly Ghost.

This doctor was much different. He was slightly overweight, but only by twenty or thirty pounds. His hair was an ordinary brown, and his eyes were a gentle grey. He smiled kindly at me, introducing himself as Dr. Shale.

"How are you today?" He asked me, looking at my chart.

"I'm okay," I shyly responded.

"We were concerned since he fainted yesterday, and hit his head on the counter," Chris spoke up.

"Oh, my! Was he checked out?" Dr. Shale snapped his head up, genuine feeling flooding his eyes.

"My brother works in the ER, so he's used to all kinds of emergencies. He took a look and said he'd be fine," Chris shrugged. "But he wanted to figure out why Joey fainted in the first place because we need to minimize that sort of thing from happening again."

"I agree. Alright...this is a bit strange," Dr. Shale mumbled, peering at a couple of charts. "Joey, you've been seeing a Dr. Lang, right?"

I nodded, biting my lip. My fingers nervously knotted together as I tried to become invisible.

"It says here you had a check up about a month ago," Dr. Shale muttered, "But...no, that can't be right! Hold on, I think something must've been mixed up. I'll be right back."

My heart was pounding in my ears, and I was trying my best not to squirm, but I couldn't help but tap my foot on the floor.

"Sorry this is taking so long," Chris sighed, leaning his head up against the wall. "These things always taking longer than they should."

"It's okay," I bit my lip. "My head's just hurting a little."

It wasn't untrue. It was hurting from all the possibilities that could come from this one doctor appointment. I didn't have a plan.

"I'm sorry," Chris frowned. "I brought some Tylenol if you want that."

"I'll wait until I go home. Maybe I can take a nap or something then," I declined politely.

The doctor rapped on the door, announcing himself, and then reclaimed his former seat. I always wondered what it would be like to sit on those spinny stools instead of the chairs. Knowing me, I'd topple off of it though, and end up on the floor.

"Alright, so, I'm seeing some alarming changes from Joey's last check up," Dr.  Shale began, making Chris anxious. "His body weight for one, is extremely underweight."