I could die.
Of all people, I should know about the infallibility of humans. I was an orphan with no one or anywhere to call home. If I didn’t work at my hourly job, then I would not be able to make rent. There was no way that Victor would let me take off for a week. He was a hard-ass like that, and he didn’t give a fuck if I was sick or on my death bed. He wanted his work to be done, period.
The doctor had left me in there for almost fifteen minutes before my eyes grew heavy again. Either I was tired, with the sickness causing fatigue, or just the excitement of what I would have to face hit me more than I realized. Somehow, I drifted off, and then the next thing I knew, I was being shaken awake by the doctor who had my winter coat in his hands.
“Let’s go. I’m going to need an address,” he stated, causing me to blink a few times.
“An address?” I murmured as I stood to my feet, much slower than I had earlier. “What’s happening?”
“I’m taking you home because you can’t drive that car. I don’t trust those shared rides, and you’re sick and will only get sicker. Honestly,” he explained.
“Doctor, you don’t have to do that,” I told him. “Honestly, I’ll find a way home.”
He turned to face me while holding the office door open. “This is not up for discussion, really. You have the flu. Let’s go.”
“Okay.” I nodded as I don’t think I had a choice. It was clearly unorthodox, but I had no one here in the city. Shit, I had no one, period. If the man wanted to show kindness, I could not be the one to stop him. That was for sure.
Shit, I needed help. The lights in the building were off, and it looked like everybody had left.
“You’re the last one here?” I asked as I followed him through to each room as he checked each one.
“Yeah, this is normal. It’s my clinic. Therefore, I am usually the last one to leave,” he shared with me.
“Cool.” I nodded as we made it to the front of the clinic. He pulled out a set of keys, unlocked the lock on the gate that had to be pulled down, and then used those muscles I saw under his doctor’s scrubs to close up shop.
“Thank you,” I blurted, realizing that I had not thanked the man. “I really appreciate you taking the time to do this.”
“It’s fine. You need help, so I took an oath, which will not let you go out in good conscience,” he answered and opened the car door for me.
It was a late-model sedan, nothing fancy or what I would have expected from a doctor. I must have been borderline delirious because I actually said that to him.
He laughed, turning on the car, the heat, and then the seat warmers.
“Well, I believe in being sensible. Plus, this car is paid off. I have student loans to pay off.” He shrugged.
I nodded and looked out the window as I said, “I hear that. Same here.”
“What do you do?” he asked me as he played with his phone.
“Waitress,” I told him. “Hence, why I can’t be off.”
“Yeah, but your boss ain’t shit if he is going to let you infect customers, that’s for sure.” He mounted his phone. “Where do you live?”
“Over on 38th Street, near Girard,” I told him.
I felt his eyes on me, so I faced him to see him with one finger raised as he said, “I’m going to need an address.”
“Oh.” I laughed. “Yeah, sorry.”
After giving him the address, he pulled off, and we headed towards our destination. There was no traffic, so we were able to get there in fifteen minutes.
He put the car in park, and he said, “Look, I’m concerned about you. The flu is a serious thing and should be taken as such. What are you going to do this week?”
I sighed as I thought about what he was asking me and shook my head. “I don’t know, really. I simply don’t know.”
“The pharmacy is closed tonight, so I got you some medication that would help you sleep, as well as heal the fastest you can,” Dr. Ian informed me but remained there with that worried look on his face.
“I appreciate all that you have done,” I told him. “Really. This is very nice.”
“No worries.” He handed me a white bag of medicine and then got out of the car to open the door for me.
“Thank you.”
“What floor are you on?” he asked.
“I lucked out, and I’m on the first,” I shared with a slight smile. “Have a good one, Doctor, and thank you again.”
“Get well, Ivory,” he said as he watched me unlock the door and go inside.
This was really the weirdest day. I plopped on the sofa bed of my studio apartment and shook my head. I was hot. Then chills outlined my body. Then I grew hot again, so I opened up the bag to see meds and pamphlets on how to take them, along with a note to excuse me from work for the week.
I nearly scoffed because what that meant was I had to find another job. Sickness did not matter to Victor. Plenty of girls got fired because they were sick for one day, forget a week.
As I contemplated plan B, I took some of the medicine that he prescribed and passed out again. The only thing that woke me up was a knocking on my door.
Nobody knew me or where I lived. I wasn’t due to work until noon the next day, and it was—
Holy shit, it was noon! I realized as my eyes adjusted to the digital clock on the bookcase that served as a gadget holder.
Again, jumping up too fast had me falling back down on my bed, as I grew light-headed. My clothes were soaking wet from the sweat, but my teeth were chattering.
The knock came again, but this time, I took my time getting up. When I opened the door, I saw the doctor in plain clothes with two bags in his hands.
“Dr. Ian?” I asked but without asking a question. “What are you doing here?”
“I came by to check on you, obviously.” He nodded at me while standing in the doorway. “Well, I brought you lunch. Well, not really since it’s soup.”
He was laughing.
“You mean drunch?” I asked, trying to keep up.
“That involves drinking,” he said. Then it hit him because he laughed and said, “Yeah, I guess it is drunch. The soup is hearty, but it’s good for the stomach.”
“Well, thank you, Doctor.” I nodded and waved for him to come inside. “Sorry about the place. I wasn’t expecting company.”
He looked around. It was dingy, dark, and pretty bachelorette-ish. Single woman syndrome with no home training. Well, at least that is what it looked like.
He walked in but didn’t really take in the place. He mostly kept his eyes on me.
“You should sit,” he instructed.
A little bossy, I see. His arrogance from last night never went away, so I guess the man was consistent.
“Fuck,” I erupted as I shook my head. “I got to let Victor know that I won’t be in. I’m supposed to be in right now.”
I realized this as I was about to lock the door and my eyes lanced on the clock.
“I can call him.” Dr. Ian looked me in my eyes again. “Give me your phone and sit down. You need to rest.”
Just as he said it, I grew extremely weak and followed the man’s instructions. As a matter of fact, I lay back down, apartment be damned. I pointed to the phone plugged up on the bookshelf that held it, and he took it off the charger and brought it to me.