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“Okay,” the little girl said putting out her arm.
She didn’t seem that shy and timid to me.
“You want to tell me where you hurt?”
“I told you,” Julie said a little irritated, “she has a sore throat cough and a fever.”
“I'm just going to listen to your heart and your lungs now,” I said putting in my stethoscope.
I had to admit I hated this part of exams the most. The plugging of my ears usually just make the constant ringing that much louder, but I ignored it as I worked.
“You have beautiful eyes just like your Mama,” I said as I shined the light into each one of her honey brown eyes.
The little girl blushed. I couldn’t help but look over the rest of her and sense a familiarity. She had lush black hair that still had a bit of a baby curl to it. I assumed she got that from her father since Julie's hair was a vibrant red auburn color. Other than her hair, however, she had the generic look of a cherubic five-year-old.
“You started school yet?” I asked as I felt her tonsils.
I could tell they were swollen and her throat did look a bit inflamed.
“Yes,” she said. “I’m in Mrs. Gardner's class.”
“Mrs. Gardner, you say. She was my kindergarten teacher too,” I replied. “Does she still twitch her nose and sniff all the time?”
“Yes,” Emma said with a giggle. “Sometimes we call her Mrs. Bunny,” she added in a whisper.
“That’s very clever,” I encouraged with a smile.
“Can you just tell us whats wrong?” Julie said impatiently. “I need to get her home.”
I looked back up at her. I expected to see her irritated with me, even extremely anger. She wasn’t either. All my SEAL training kicked in as I looked her over. Her body movements and posture spoke of nervousness and fear. Why was she so afraid to have me look over Emma?
The only possible answer I could find was that she didn’t trust me. Maybe she feared me not doing a good enough job. I didn’t blame her for not trusting me, but I was a little hurt that she didn’t believe in my abilities.
“I think its just a bad cold,” I said to ease her worry. “I am going to do a strep swab and flu swab just to be on the safe side, but there really isn’t anything to worry about.”
“Swab?” Emma asked inquisitively.
“Yep,” I said back to her. “Just a little cotton ball in your throat and nose. It won't hurt. Might tickle a little. It will rule out any bad germs.”
I wheeled over to the small desk with computer to type in my prognoses and collect the items needed.
“So do you still swim?” I asked as I typed away.
“No,” she said solely.
Julie and I had met in college at the pool. She was on the swim team, and I was with the water polo team. We saw each other often enough between both of our practices, my games, and her meets.
I had fallen for her from the moment I saw her. I smiled at the memory of our first encounter. It took me a while to convince her to go on a date with me. We had the perfect relationship in my books. It was just at the wrong time.
I had to leave before I was tied down to this small town. I guess, in the end, it didn’t really matter for me. I was still tied to this small town, and all that I was free of was Julie. It was the one thing I would have rather not been free of.
I took my two swabs and quickly as possible. Julie's nervousness was setting off my own nerves. The last thing I needed was to lose my head in the middle of an exam.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes with the results,” I said more to Emma then Julie as I took the two swabs and headed out.
I walked out and over to the small lab where we did our basic tests. It wouldn’t take more than five minutes to get the results. I didn't think Julie's little girl had any severe conditions like strep or the flu, but it would be worth it just to cancel out those two options.
“So you saw Julie Jones," I heard my dad’s voice come from his office.
