Doctor Bonine adjusted the stethoscope
around his neck and turned to face Tucker.
“Everything sounds good. Your
blood pressure is good. Your anti-depressant
is still working? How are things in
your life?”
“Great!
Just great. I feel good. Damn dyslexia is a definite inconvenience,
but you don’t have a pill for that, do you?”
Tucker smiled hopefully.
Doctor Bonine smiled sadly. “No, Tucker, I sure don’t. Wish I did.
Just keep doing the little things you do to offset it. You probably know more about it then I do.” His eyes stopped on one line of the test
results and he glanced up at Tucker, who was watching him closely. He cleared his throat. “Now this bothers me. Your PSA is elevated. I would like to run another panel on
that. Not right now, but give it a
couple weeks and then come in and visit the lab. It could just be a mistake of some sort, or
something you ate that skewed the numbers.”
He snapped the notebook closed and held out his hand to Tucker.
The two men shook hands and the doctor left
the room. Tucker thought back to several
years earlier when his PSA had gone haywire.
Prostate Cancer. He had the
procedure done that entailed planting radiation seeds and hoping they
worked. He had taken a “chemo” shot every
three months and the problem seemed to be under control. Well, Dr. Bonine would stay on top of
it. He was the doctor, after all. Tucker’s job was to furnish the warm body for
Dr. Bonine to take care of and keep running.
So far, so good.
Tucker pulled his tee shirt over his head
and tucked it into his jeans. Tightening
his belt he glanced in the mirror. He
reached up and patted a couple stray hairs into place then turned and opened
the door. He was not sure that he would
mention the results of this visit to Cynthia.
There really wasn’t anything to worry about. He would get another blood test and it would
be fine. The lab probably got his mixed
up with someone else. Sure, that was
it. No worries.
Cynthia was looking out the window facing
west when he entered the waiting room.
He stopped at the desk just long enough to schedule his next visit in 3
months and then joined her at the window.
“Those have got to be the most beautiful mountains in the entire world,
don’t you think?”
Cynthia turned and smiled up at him. “Well, they are the only ones I have ever
seen. You know when my husband was in
Semper Care in Colorado Springs, the cafeteria window faced Pikes Peak. I would eat my lunch there if Rick was having
his nap. I had planned on spending New Year’s
Eve with him and I would have had a front row seat for the fireworks they set
off there every year, but it was socked in that night so I just stayed home. I had already made arrangements to sleep
there, but the best laid plans of mice and men, you know.” Her voice trailed off and Tucker realized she
was lost in another time and place. He
placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned into his embrace. Tucker smiled.
He was doing it right! He knew it
instinctively. Tucker Fuhrman was
comforting this little creature who needed him and it made him feel good. He smiled inwardly with pride.
Cynthia pulled away first and smiled at
him. “Thank you, Tucker. You are getting good at this. Are you ready to take me to your Bagel
Paradise?”
And side by side, not touching they walked
down the hallway, down the wide stairs and out into the bright sunshine. Yes, life was good… he hoped.
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