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“I made a listof the ones to be seen in order of priority regarding theirillnesses.” Stepping into the room, she greeted the patientswith a smile. “Okay, guys, we have a new fill-in doctor fortoday. I am going to need you to be very cooperative. Can you do thatfor me?”
There was a chorus ofyes.
“I am sorry;what was your name again?”
“Rochester.”For the first time, he felt irritated at not being recognized.
“His name isDr. Rochester.” Moving forward, she swept the door open toreveal a small examination room complete with a narrow bed and a filecabinet. “The list of the patients is on the table, and you canfind their files in the cabinet. We have a very efficient filingsystem here, which makes it much easier to deal with all the patientswe receive daily.”
Walking over to thetable, she picked up the clipboard. “Your first patient is SaraGleason; she is diabetic and should be on insulin, which she isrefusing. Her file is in the second drawer. I will call her if youare ready to see her.”
“I am.”
“Good.”Sparing him a glance, she approached the doorway to call in thepatient.
“Now Sara, thisis a new doctor, and you are going to promise not to be as rude,”Brooke said, shaking her head. “As mean and rude as you havebeen with Dr. Graham, right?”
The woman gave her abroad smile, watery blue eyes twinkling. “This is a handsomeone, so no problem at all.”
“And noflirting,” Brooke ordered as she left the room.
Leaving the dooropen, she stepped into the room filled to the brim with patients whohad complaints as minor as the common cold to major ones, including abroken leg or arm, heart problems, high cholesterol, and the works.
Her heart contractedas her gaze swung to the teenagers who were swollen with babies -babies they had no idea who the fathers were. A never-ending cycle ofteenage pregnancy that pissed her off enough to have her marchingover to the black girl with the straggly curls, one hand pressed toher bulging stomach.
“Odette, pleasecome with me.” Without waiting to see if the girl was followingher, she moved swiftly out of the room and into the tiny space shehad designated to be her office.
“Leave the dooropen.” She instructed, going behind her desk. “Who is thedaddy?”
The girl lifted herchin defiantly, dark brown eyes blazing. “None of your damnbusiness.”
“It is mybusiness, seeing as I am the one who will be treating you.”
“I thought thecharming doctor would be doing that.”
“You are mypatient. Look, this is your second pregnancy, and you are onlynineteen. What the hell are you doing? Where is your little girl?”
“I left herwith Mama.”
“Isn’tyour Mama feeling ill?”
“So?”Odette had a belligerent tilt to the chin. “You expect I shouldleave her by herself? I am here for my monthly check-up, not to bequestioned and judged by you or anyone else.”
Brooke gave thedefiant girl a frustrated look and reigned in her temper. She wasright. The clinic was a no-judgment zone; she had made that clear.
It was part of thereason she had started it in the first place, along with the factthat these people did not have the required insurance to go to aregular doctor or hospital that would send them bills they couldnever afford to pay.
She also treated theundocumented who could barely afford to eke out a living without therequired papers, and she did so without questioning them, which keptthem coming back to this haven. But girls like Odette were different.She was born in the USA and should be able to take advantage of thevaried systems and opportunities.
“Is this whatyou want for your life?” She asked quietly. Sitting on the edgeof the desk, she gave the girl a steady look. “I am not judgingyou here; I am just concerned. You have a sweet little girl whodepends on you as her parent.
You were the one whotold me the daddy did not give a damn, and it is up to you to providefor her. Now you are bringing another human being into the world,another mouth to feed. What’s the plan here, Odette?”
The girl glared ather briefly before hunching her shoulders defensively. “He saidhe is going to do right by me.”
“I haveintroduced you to several contraceptives so that you can avoidgetting into this again. You are a smart girl, Odette, and you are amother. It’s up to you to decide which direction your life willtake.”
She rose at the soundof the commotion coming from the lobby. “Think about it. All ofit.” Pushing the door open, she hurried to the source of thenoise, her mouth tightening as she noticed the man stumbling in,blood dripping from his left shoulder.
