Practicing Partners (Maiden’s Bay #2)

Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17

ALTHOUGH SHE HAD set her alarm to go off early Monday morning, Aubrie canceled it sometime between four and five AM. The impending start of her new job didn’t afford her much sleep, let alone knowing she’d have to deal with a not-so-welcome coworker.

Once the blurriness in her sight cleared up with her increasing awakeness, Aubrie hit the shower. She was thankful to have had Sunday in town before starting work, giving her time to buy groceries at Mariner’s Market up the road and roam around town to get her general bearings of its layout. Fortunately, most everything she needed was close by, with a few specialty shops and restaurants sprinkled in the mix up the hillside.

She brewed herself some coffee and ate half a muffin. Her nerves were still alight, anxious about what was to come. Rarely did she ever have to perform surgery on a child patient, but when she did, the same wave of nausea, hope, and fear mixed up in her.

But no lives were on the line for this. Just her livelihood.

The practice didn’t start seeing patients until 8:15, but Aubrie arrived at 7:50. If anything, she could busy herself setting up the rooms, looking over scheduled patient charts, or even tidying up the waiting area if it led to that.

She walked downstairs out onto the sidewalk, only to turn back to the front door of the Family Practice of Dr. Bernard Jackson. The full name looked foreign to her. Funny she had only known him for a minute, but calling Doc Bernie anything other than that didn’t feel right.

The door was locked, and Aubrie waited by the glass facade until Edith showed up.

“Good morning.” She said with a smile. “You’re here early.”

“Didn’t have far to travel.” It was the truth, but not the reason she had arrived so early.

“I suppose not.” Edith’s keys jingled in the lock, and she held the door open for Aubrie.

“Thank you.” Aubrie stepped into the dark office. Edith pointed to the light switch on the left wall, and Aubrie flicked the lights on. The LEDs lit dimly, taking their time to brighten, as if they were on the morning sun’s timeline. A sun that didn’t show up over the hill very well through the thick, gray clouds outside.

Edith unraveled a light violet scarf from around her neck and took off her raincoat. “If you want, I can keep your purse with mine in the desk drawer.”

“Oh, sure. Thank you.”

“I don’t lock it, if that’s okay with you. I just put it in there to keep it out of sight. No need to worry about thieves around here.”

Aubrie nodded and handed over her purse. “So, what can I do to help out?”

Edith took a seat behind the check-in desk. “Well, Doc Bernie should be arriving in a few minutes. Usually, I check the phone for any voicemails left. Sometimes we get patients calling early to get a same-day appointment before I’m here to answer.”

“How about prepping the rooms?”

Edith waved a hand. “No need for that. I always tidy up, replenish the paper roll, that sort of thing before leaving at the end of the day. The one thing I didn’t get to was checking the supply of disposable gowns in the rooms.” It was like she was thinking out loud, and when she said the words, she snapped back into the conversation. “What am I saying? You didn’t get your degree and come all the way here to deal with supplies.”

“It’s not a problem, really. I like to stay busy.”

“Hmm. I’ll bet things were busy in the hospital you worked at.”

Aubrie nodded. It was definitely going to be a change of pace here. But perhaps that was a good thing. Half the time at work, she didn’t have time to take a break to eat. Here she could actually take breaks, get off her feet for a few minutes, and taste her food instead of scarfing it down.

“Where can I find the gowns?”

Edith smiled warmly. “We keep them in the top right drawer of the examining tables. Extras are in the supply closet at the end of the hallway, past the patient rooms. It’s where you can find a lab coat, also. If you’d like to wear one.”

“And scrubs?”

Edith giggled. “It’s a family practice.”

“Right.” Aubrie’s skin flushed pink. Having worked at a hospital, some things were so ingrained they had become second nature. It was going to take time to let go of them. Although, not having to wear scrubs came with a certain freedom.

She headed over while Edith listened to the voicemails over speakerphone. The supply room was a bit tight, as most of it was a utility closet. She spotted a broom and mop, a few other cleaning supplies stored in the rest of the space. She expected to see medical supplies on shelving, but then again, the size of the place meant most of that stuff probably fit in the cabinets of the examining rooms.

She bypassed the lab coat, having read too many studies on their affinity for carrying harmful microbes. Although there were other studies indicating patients were more receptive to their doctors wearing lab coats. For now, she’d enjoy wearing her business casual attire.

She refilled the folded paper gowns in each of the two rooms and checked her watch. 8:10. As if on cue, Doc Bernie came around the corner into the hallway.

“Ah, good morning, Doctor Turnbridge.” He winked. “Aubrie.”

“Good morning.”

“How about you come into my office? We can review the schedule for the day.”

Aubrie obliged and followed him to his office, taking a seat while he took off his jacket and traded it for a lab coat. Aubrie looked out the doorway. No sign of Bran yet.

“It’s refreshing that you’re here before me, although don’t feel obligated to do that every morning.”

“I like to be on time.” She tipped her head in jest at the oversimplification. “Early, to be honest.”

“No shame in that.” He checked his watch and looked out the doorway, no doubt wondering about Bran as well. “You know, you never told me about your motivation.”

Aubrie leaned forward in her chair, as if she hadn’t heard the words. “Sorry? What do you mean?”

“I mean what brought you here. Why you left pediatric oncology, after becoming one of the youngest in the country, I’d imagine. Did it become too depressing?” He shook his head. “I can understand how seeing sick kids—I mean, the really sick kids and their suffering—could take a toll on the best of people.”

Aubrie bit her lip. The question left a knot in the pit of her stomach. “Something like that.”

Thankfully, he accepted the answer for now. This was a new day, a new job, and she didn’t want to linger on the past.

“Well, this is going to be different. Sure, we see the occasional upsetting diagnosis, but for the most part, it’s pretty standard stuff.”

Edith walked in with two folders. “Here you are.”

“Thanks, Edith.” He placed the folders in front of him on the desk. “Oh, any sign of my grandson?”

Edith stopped in the doorway and shook her head. “Not yet.”

Doc pressed his lips in disappointment. Aubrie focused on not showing her delight in Bran’s predicament.

“All right.” Doc handed Aubrie one of the folders. “Let’s review these charts.”

The two folders represented the only patients with appointments for the first half of the day. Doc explained they kept a few appointment slots open for same-day visits, and they accepted the occasional walk-in as long as they were not too busy, which obviously wasn’t a common occurrence judging by the amount of free time Aubrie found herself partaking in.

It was clear into midmorning when Bran finally showed up. Doc Bernie didn’t make a big fuss over it. He simply filled Bran in on the two patients they had seen already.

Aubrie kept herself as busy as she could. The second patient, a five-year-old boy, had tested positive for strep for the fourth time in a year. After calling in her first referral to an ENT at White Bend Hospital, she studied the recommended order of antibiotics for frequent strep, then refreshed her memory on the details of the tonsillectomy surgery itself. There were a lot of things from med school she’d have to review, having not encountered them in a while.

Bran had a harder time finding things to do. He moped about the office, surfed on his phone, and when he exhausted those things, he turned to Aubrie.

“What are you reading about?” He slipped into the chair next to her in the waiting area.

“Tonsillectomy.” She didn’t bother to look up.

Bran let out a half-chuckle. “Preparing to perform that in-office?”

Aubrie closed her eyes for a second, practicing patience. “Just reviewing the details. Our patient this morning will probably have to undergo surgery.”

“So, again, why are you reviewing it?”

Aubrie closed the book. “I don’t know how you do things, but I like to be informed as much as I can, for my patient’s sake. It can be scary for a young boy to go into surgery. I like to know what to expect, to know whether or not I should refer a patient to an ENT for the procedure. And that can go for anything we encounter in this office. The more I know, the better I can serve my patients.”

Bran leaned back in his chair, wide-eyed. “I see.”

She opened her mouth to say more, but a woman rushed through the front door, holding a wad of fabric onto a teenage boy’s head.

Aubrie shot up out of the chair. “What happened?”

Bran met her at her side.

“He fell off a ladder cleaning the gutters. I told my husband he shouldn’t make him do it, but he wanted to teach him responsibility.”

“Let me see.” Bran approached the teen.

“Let’s get you back to a room,” Aubrie insisted. She eyed Bran, who obviously wanted this excitement for himself.

Aubrie held onto the woman’s elbow, while Bran walked on the other side of the kid, holding the cloth to his bleeding head.

They sat him down on an examining table. Aubrie guided the mother to a chair along the wall.

Bran slowly released the cloth and examined the wound. “Yeah, you got yourself real good.”

Aubrie stepped in front of the boy. “I’m Doctor Turnbridge, and this is Doctor Jackson. What is your name?”

“Darren.”

“Good, Darren.” She took out her pen light and examined his pupils. “No signs of dilation. Any ringing in your ears?”

“No.”

“Darren’s mom?”

“Irene.”

“Irene, any vomiting after the fall, confusion?”

“No.”

“Good. How about trouble walking?”

Irene shook her head.

In the time it took her to examine and question the mom and son, Bran had brought out a set of tools.

“Darren, I think a few staples should do the trick,” Bran said.

Aubrie hadn’t seen how well Bran examined Darren. She stepped forward. “May I?”

Bran raised his hands in the air and stepped back. “Go for it.” He smirked as he folded his arms across his chest.

Her assessment of the split came to the same conclusion, no matter how much she had hoped he was wrong. Her hope vanished when she realized it was the best scenario for the patient. Admittedly, guilt struck her for even thinking such a thing. “Staples will do.”

“Will do?” Bran scoffed. “It’s the best option.” His attention diverted to the doorway, and Aubrie’s gaze followed.

Doc Bernie stood there, watching. Who knew how long he had been there.

“Very well, go ahead.” Aubrie swallowed hard, but allowed Bran to clean and prep the wound.

“Doesn’t he need to be sedated or something?” Irene asked, worry in her eyes.

Aubrie stepped over to her. “With the size of the cut and position on the head, it’s not a problem. He won’t feel much when they go in. Not any worse than an injection to numb it.”

Irene nodded.

Aubrie turned and heard the snap of the surgical stapler. Another two snaps, and Bran was finished.

“Come back in a week’s time, and we’ll check to see if they’re ready to come out.” Bran turned to Aubrie. “Doctor Turnbridge here will give you the special care instructions to practice over that time.”

Aubrie raised her eyebrows, surprised. Sure, give her the task of dispelling information. Her money was on Bran not knowing the follow-up information.

Bran helped Darren down and walked him through the hallway.

Aubrie walked with Irene and was met by Edith. “This printout covers what you need to do and be mindful of.” She handed it to Irene and winked at Aubrie.

Aubrie mouthed the words, Thank you. “Keep watch for those signs of concussion we discussed,” she said. “It’s probably nothing to worry about, but call us if you notice anything or have any questions.”

“I will.”

After a few words with Doc Bernie, the mother and son went on their way. Bran stood incredibly happy with himself as Doc approached the two of them.

“Some good teamwork I saw going on there.” He smiled at both of them. “Bran, it was nice to see some of that trauma experience come into play. Not to say it was good for the patient to experience it.”

Bran nodded, hands on his hips in his smugness. “It wasn’t a big deal. Head wounds can look pretty bad at the surface. A lot of blood for a little cut.”

“And Aubrie.” Doc Bernie turned to her. “I was very impressed with the bedside manner. You kept the mother calm and did all the examining pieces Bran missed.”

“I wouldn’t say missed.” Bran rubbed his neck. “I simply knew she’d take over that aspect, while I focused on the wound.”

“You knew, huh?” The smugness hit Aubrie with Doc Bernie’s compliment, and she didn’t care about hiding it.

“Yeah. It’s like we have an unspoken rhythm.”

Darren may not have felt nauseous after his head injury, but Aubrie certainly was feeling it with Bran’s nonsense.

“Whatever you want to call it, I’m proud of you two.” Doc Bernie placed a hand on each of their shoulders. “We need those skills here, and it gave me some relief seeing them played out today.”

“Of course,” Bran said with a smile. “And we’re happy to do it all over again. Right, Aubrie?” He looked at Aubrie with a twinkle of slyness in his eye.

She swallowed the thoughts before they could reach her mouth. For Doc’s sake. “Right.”