AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cold sweat forms on the back of my neck and I rush back inside, wondering what to do. Dr. Townsend was clear. Timing is crucial for this injection. I have to get a replacement shot, and fast.
I put on my pea coat, scoop the broken syringe from the floor, drop it in the transparent plastic bag I brought it to work in, and rush out of the office.
As I speed-walk past Edna’s empty desk, I check that I still have the prescription for the trigger shot in my bag. I already used it, but it’s only to show the pharmacist that I’m not a crazy woman ordering hormones off the counter, but a person with a proper medical emergency. In my rush, I forget to look where I’m going or at the piece of chocolate splattered on the floor and promptly slip on it.
I try to keep my balance, whirling my arms in the air, but the leather sole of my left shoe keeps slipping forward inexorably, making me completely lose my footing and sending me falling backward. With an ominous squish, my white-pants-clad butt lands precisely on the half of the brownie not smeared under my shoe.
“Oh my gosh.” Edna rushes in carrying a stack of paper towels that she probably intended to use to wipe the floor.
She helps me up. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, nothing’s broken.”
“But your pants!”
I peek over my shoulder to my behind. Oh, crap—literally!
Edna uses the paper towels to remove the solid brownie residue from my derrière, then assesses the damage.
“I’m sorry, boss, but your pants look ruined. I’ll pay you back for them.”
I school my face into the most understanding expression I can muster. “It’s okay, Edna, I should’ve looked where I was going. It’s not like I didn’t know the brownie was there. Don’t worry about it.”
“You want me to go grab you a change?”
I stare at the clock above her desk: six fifteen. I don’t have time for this.
“No, it’s okay, Edna, I’m in a hurry, sorry.” I make my way to the elevator.
My secretary follows me. “But—but you look like you—”
“Pooped my pants? I know, but I don’t have time to change.” The elevator dings open and I step inside. “See you tomorrow.”
Mercifully, there’s no one else in the elevator car with me. I curse under my breath as I assess the damage in the mirrors. Of course, today is the day I wore white pants. My short coat doesn’t cover my butt, and the deep brown stain is impossible not to notice; it covers my entire right butt cheek, sneaking all the way to the front.
Oh, hell, a few New Yorkers will assume I had an impromptu bowel discharge. I’ve been through worse.
Outside my office building, I rush toward the pharmacy at the corner, heading straight to the prescription booth to explain my predicament to the clerk.
He listens to my panicked account but quietly shakes his head once I’m finished. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but without a valid prescription I can’t give you any medicine.”
“I have a valid prescription.” I—uselessly—wave the leaflet of paper in his face.
“That’s already been fulfilled.”
“Oh, come on, you’ve seen the broken vial.” I—equally uselessly—brandish the plastic bag in front of him. “It’s not like I’m asking for drugs.”
“Sorry, ma’am. I can’t help you.”
“Thanks for nothing. I’ll try another pharmacy.”
“Everyone will tell you the same thing. Your best option is to call your doctor and ask for an emergency prescription.”
Call Dr. Townsend. Of course! It’s not so late that he won’t be at the clinic. I get out of the pharmacy and dial the clinic’s number. After two rings, the line goes dead.
I stare at my phone, which is equally dead. Dammit. No battery.
Why is everything going south today?
