And in Time...

by Jettie Woodruff

  Alexis whispered to Paige, “Maybe we should dress more like that and that,” she said, pointing with her nose to the two females.

  “Aunt Lex,” Paige said with her eyes darting to both overdressed females. “Does that look comfortable to you?”

  “Hmm. Good point. Not at all. You’re right. Never change you.”

  “Never change you,” Paige agreed with a laugh.

  They sat and waited nervously—Paige, anticipating the violation she would soon endure, and Alexis, feeling uneasy about sneaking around and what her brother would say if he ever found out. She had his daughter in a clinic, getting birth control. He wouldn’t say anything. He’d just shoot her in the head and lock Paige in the basement until she was thirty. Ugh. Come on, Doc.

  A nurse wearing light blue scrubs with a dangling stethoscope finally called to the room of waiting people. “Paige McKinley.”

  “Do you want me to come?” Alexis asked.

  “Yes,” Paige answered with a nervous, squeaky voice.

  “Right through here. Stop at the scales there and remove your shoes,” the young nurse said with a wave to the left.

  After obtaining her weight, she directed them to the end of the hall. A nurse’s station on the right housed three busy nurses: one engrossed in a computer screen, one on the phone, and one standing at the counter. “Casey, could you get Jacob Moore a sucker and give his mother this prescription?”

  Alexis looked up, puzzled, when she heard the familiar voice. Her jaw dropped when he stopped just in front of her and she noticeably closed her mouth. Idiot.

  “Alexis! Hi, how are you?” Cory asked with the same jaw drop, sounding a little too excited to see her. “Excuse me for a second,” he said as he sidestepped the nurse to get to Alexis. Paige continued with the nurse, turning her head with a frown.

  “Cory, what are you doing here?” Alexis questioned with curved eyebrows, realizing a little too late how stupid her question sounded. The corner of her eye caught the nurses gawking at the two of them.

  “Well, I would say by the white coat and the stethoscope, I’m working,” he joked.

  “But, you’re a banker, not a doctor.”

  “I never said I was a banker,” he reminded her. “Aunt Rosaline said I was a banker. She’s quite nosy. I wouldn’t believe everything she says,” Cory amusingly teased. He ate this up, enjoying the uncomfortable position she’d put herself in.

  “You never said you weren’t.”

  “See, if you would have had that dinner with me, you would already know this,” he quietly said, leaning over to her ear.

  Great sky! He smelled incredible. Inhaling his aftershave or cologne, whatever it was, Alexis had to take a step back.

  “I have to go,” she said with a blush, noticing Paige in the doorway, waving her hand and mouthing for her to get in there. Alexis stepped around him with a flirtatious smile. Being around Paige sounded like the safer alternative.

  Cory called after her with his hand over his heart, just like he’d done the week before in the grocery store. “Shot down again.”

  Alexis sucked in her bottom lip to keep a straight face. Her eyes smiled at him when she closed the door behind her.

  “You can undress from the waist down and put this over you when you’re finished,” the nurse explained. She handed her a paper sheet and excused herself. “The doctor will be with you shortly.”

  Oh, crap. What if Cory Baker was the doctor? What if he is the one doing Paige’s exam?

  “Do you know him?” Paige asked while her clothes came off in a pile in record time.

  “I’ve never seen anyone get undressed that fast. Not really. I met him a couple times, that’s all.”

  Paige covered herself with the noisy sheet and smiled. “I’ve had lots of practice. Aunt Lex…he’s hot.”

  “You’re a brat. He’s not bad,” she modestly said and nervously waited, hoping he didn’t knock on the door. “Who do you guys play this weekend?”

  Alexis needed the distraction and the Brady County Dragon’s was the first thing that came to mind. Paige talked busily about the upcoming football game with the Blue Tornados. There were two things Paige felt that passionate about: football and photography. Okay, maybe it wasn’t really the football game, more like Jordan Casino. The sudden surge of adrenaline caused Alexis’s posture to stiffen. It was a good thing she’d come to the clinic. Her heart stopped beating, she’d need the doctor more than Paige did.

  “Hello, I’m Dr. Brock,” the also not-bad-looking man said, entering the small examination room with a smile. Alexis breathed a sigh of relief and felt the slowing of her heartbeat. She wasn’t going to die.

  Asking the typical questions, Dr. Brock asked what age she was when she got her first menstrual cycle, if her periods were regular, and if she was sexually active. He told her he would like to do a pelvic exam, and then explained the different forms of birth control. Paige decided on the Depo-Provera shot, knowing it couldn’t be found by her parents. He clarified that she needed to take other precautions until after the first week, and that she would need to come in every twelve weeks for the shots. After educating her on the side effects, he turned to Alexis.

  “Would you like to stay or step out?”

  “I think I’ll step out,” Alexis answered after getting a nod of approval from Paige.

  Alexis walked out, looking around and trying to figure out the way back to the waiting room when she saw Cory. He stood at the nurse’s station, patiently waiting for her, or so she thought he’d been waiting for her anyway.

  “Walk with me,” he requested.

  “Aren’t you busy?”

  “No. I have some time…this way,” he directed and led her to a back door with a red-lit “exit” sign. Alexis followed, not really knowing what else to do. He didn’t really give her a choice. Cory stopped and held the door with a grin. She stepped out to a small parking lot in the back of the building designated for doctors and staff. He gestured toward a picnic table situated in the middle a concrete slab.

  Cory removed the white coat, dropped it across his knee, and straddled the bench opposite her.

  “I cannot believe you didn’t tell me you were a doctor,” Alexis badgered right away. Cory Baker wasn’t a banker at all. He was a doctor. Why did that all of a sudden seem incredibly sexy?

  “Just when did you give me the chance to do that?”

  “Hmm. Good point. Do you work here every day? I mean, is this your job?” Oh for heaven’s sake. Everything that Alexis tried to say came out wrong. Small talk. That’s all she had to do and she couldn’t even manage that.

  Cory showed his bright white teeth, amused. “Actually, no. I agreed to cover here for another doctor one day a month while he pursues required training. I think it’s fate. You know, the day that I had to cover just so happened to be the same day you were going to show up here. That’s fate,” he assured her with a serious, matter-of-fact nod.

  “Or coincidence. I’ve been here many times. I had my tonsils taken out right up there,” Alexis said, pointing to the second floor above their heads. So what if she was seven. He didn’t need to know that.

  “I’m still going with fate. Now, if you would just let me take you to dinner, we would be letting fate do its job.”

  Alexis smiled. “I should get back.”

  “Is your doctor here?” Cory asked with narrowed eyes, ignoring her statement the way she did his.

  “No. I brought my niece here, my doctor is in town. Dr. Rice.”

  “Well, it seems that we will be getting to know each other more after all.”

  Alexis frowned at the smirk. “How so?”

  “That’s why I am in Cedar Springs. I took over Dr. Rice’s practice two weeks ago. He retired and moved to Florida to be near his daughter, or he’s moving anyway. I’m not sure if he’s left just yet. The office is getting a new makeover this week and some updated equipment. I’ll be open for business Monday.”

  “Wow, I’m sure glad he le
t me know so I could find a new doctor. Not that I ever go to the doctor, but it still would have been nice to know in advance.”

  “You should have gotten a letter about a month ago. I specifically watched the receptionist type up the letters to do that.”

  Alexis pondered with her eyes looking up in thought, remembering the letter she tossed in the trash. “I did get something about a month ago. I didn’t open it because I figured it was just junk mail, telling me it was time for my yearly physical.”

  “You really shouldn’t blow off your health, you know?”

  “You’re not my doctor. You can’t lecture me.”

  “Are you going to let me take you out to eat? Please. I’m pretty much free until Monday. You can’t tell me you’re busy every day. How about Saturday? We can go any time of the day, surely you can’t be busy the whole day.”

  “Actually, I already have a date on Saturday.”

  “You do?” Cory asked, disappointed. Alexis smiled at the sudden long face. It was cute.

  “I have a date with a paintbrush and a farm house. I’m going to paint my porch.”

  “You’re going to paint your porch?”

  “Yes. I have to get it done this weekend before I run out of pleasant weather.”

  Cheering right up, Cory had the perfect solution. “I’ll help you; we’ll eat there. I’ll even cook for you.”

  “Do you even know how to paint? Let alone cook?”

  “I will have you know, Miss Alexis, I make the best damn grilled cheese sandwich in all of Chicago. I can paint, too. Once in the third grade, I got into some trouble and had to paint a whole fence all by myself.”

  Alexis laughed. “A whole fence, huh?”

  “Well, maybe just a gate, but to an eight-year-old, that’s as big as an entire fence.”

  “I have to get back in there. Paige won’t know where I am.”

  “You know you’re just making up excuses, don’t you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The first thing teens do these days is text. She’ll find you,” he added matter-of-factly. She would have argued that, but it was the truth. Her phone would be buzzing any second. “She’s not sick, is she?”

  “No. She’s fine, and I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t mention to anyone in town that you saw us here.”

  “Oh, I see. So what you’re saying is…if I keep our little secret, you’ll go out with me?”

  “You are a really, really, really funny guy,” she replied while leaning in on her elbows and being over dramatic. She knew she’d come on a little strong, but she couldn’t stop it. It was fun. “But no, what I am saying to you is, I’ll sue your ass for breaking doctor-patient confidentiality.”

  “But I’m not your doctor,” he argued.

  “Thank God,” Alexis teased. Her fingers were all thumbs, trying to grab the phone from her bag. She would kill Bernie. For whatever reason, Bernie thought it was hilarious to screw with her phone. “Till the sweat run down your balls” sang from her phone, replacing the normal vibration.

  “Nice.” Cory smirked as he pulled his bottom lip between his lips and bobbed his head to the tune.

  “I swear, I didn’t do that. It was Bernie. She’s always doing stuff like that. You should see some of the pictures I open it up to.” Bernie was as good as dead. Alexis would make sure she died a slow, painful death.

  “I love that song.”

  Alexis stood while reading the text message from Paige, wondering where she was. “Yeah, sure you do. I’ve got to go, but it was nice seeing you.”

  “So, Saturday, right?”

  Alexis shook her head and smiled at is persistence. “Look me up.”

  “The number that you would like for me to call you on is…?”

  “I’m around. You shouldn’t have any trouble locating me.”

  “Hmm,” he said, opening the door for her, pondering what his next move should be.

  ***

  Alexis and Paige laughed, talked about her appointment, the cute doctor, her boyfriend, and school. They went to a few different stores, including the paint store where Alexis bought white paint for the porch. Paige bought a new hooded sweatshirt, some very colorful socks, and a key chain for Jordan with the Chevy emblem in the middle in red.

  By the time Alexis dropped Paige off at Jordan’s, it was almost six and she was starving. Paige wouldn’t eat out with her because Jordan ordered pizza. She knew where she stood.

  Alexis answered her ‘Get low,’ singing phone just as she pulled up to Jordan’s. “Hang on.”

  “Thank you so much, Aunt Lex,” Paige said with straight arms, leaning in for a hug. “You’re the best. I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, Paige, and you’re welcome, but if your dad finds out, I have no idea who you are.”

  “Yeah right, you’ve always got my back.”

  “I do,” she admitted with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “If you ever touch my phone again I am going to chop your fingers off one by one,” Alexis threatened Bernie.

  Bernie ignored her. She knew she’d do it again. “Please say you’re coming to the County Line.”

  “Yes, I’ll be there in ten, but only because I have got to tell you something crazy.”

  “What is it? Tell me now.”

  “No. I’ll see you in a few, but I am not staying long.”

  “You always do that. You know that drives me crazy.”

  “Yeah, and you know it drives me crazy when you put stupid shit on my phone.”

  “I’ll see you in a little while.”

  Alexis looked down to her blinking phone and shook her head. She turned the static-filled station to the news, happy with the weekend forecast. Finally, no rain.

  The bar was relatively empty. A couple of guys were shooting pool, a few people sat at the bar, and a couple of people sat in booths. Bob Segar sang “Like a Rock” on the jukebox, and Bernie stood at the bar, ordering a beer. Alexis grabbed a booth by the window and waited for Bernie to bring them beers.

  “Spill!” Bernie immediately demanded.

  “You’re not going to believe who I saw at the clinic.”

  “Who?”

  “Cory Baker… Dr. Cory Baker,” she added, still surprised herself.

  Bernie looked confused. “What? What do you mean, Dr. Cory Baker? He’s a banker and a doctor?”

  “No, doe-doe brain, he’s not a banker at all.”

  “He was just pretending to be a banker?”

  “No! Bernie, forget the banker, he was never a banker.”

  “Oh, my freaking God. You have got to be kidding me. You have a good-looking, single doctor chasing you? Maybe waiting around wasn’t such a bad idea after all. And if you don’t go out with him, I am going to quit my job, and I am never speaking to you again, right after I break both your legs. So did you talk to him?”

  “Yes. We went out to a picnic table while Paige was in with the doctor. He asked me out again for Saturday, but I told him I was painting my porch. He wants to come and help me paint and cook for me.”

  “Oh Lord, girl, you better let him paint something.”

  “Wait, that’s not all.”

  “There’s more?”

  “Yes, get this. Our doctor, you know Dr. Rice? He retired a couple weeks ago and Cory took over his practice, right here in Cedar Springs.”

  “Ah, Dr. Rice retired? We should have said goodbye to him,” Bernie replied with a sad face.

  “Forget Rice, he’s old. It’s time for him to retire.”

  “Oh, I think you like this guy, Lex.”

  “Maybe a little,” she admitted.

  “You do! Your face is turning red.”

  “We’ll see if he makes an effort to come around this weekend. I just don’t understand, why me? I mean, you should have seen all of the cute little nurses there, and the receptionist in her tight little mini skirt and boobs all hanging out.” Alexis shook her breasts in demonstration.

  “L
ex, are you brainless? Have you looked in the mirror lately? You’re beautiful. I have been jealous of your hair, your perfect complexion, your perky little boobs, your curves, and your slim waistline since like the fifth grade. What the heck is wrong with you? Any guy would be crazy not to want you. I mean, what other twenty-eight-year-old has what you have? Most of us have had a kid or two by now and are way past the stage of looking like we did in high school.”

  “Give me a break,” Alexis modestly replied, rolling her eyes and sipping her beer. “I have always been jealous of you. You always get the guy.”

  “Lex, come on,” Bernie disputed with a tilted head, looking at her like she was the silliest creature on earth. “I get the guy because I want the guy and you don’t. Seriously, you’re practically a virgin again.”

  “I have just had other things that have taken priority over men. Besides, there hasn’t been anyone I’ve wanted. I told you I was going to focus on getting my business up and running and then, once that took off, I had the farmhouse to restore.”

  “Okay, great. They’re both right on track. The house looks better than it ever has, the studio can’t keep up, and I know your bank account has to look pretty damn good. So now that all the priorities are in order, will you give this guy a chance?”

  “I might,” she nonchalantly stated with a shrug.

  Alexis and Bernie turned to the dark corner when they heard their names. “Hey, Alexis, Bernie, come on over and shoot a game.”

  They both turned toward Charlie Mitchell and Mike Stills, a couple locals from school.

  “No. I don’t want to. I need to get home to Mr. Dog. I’ve been gone all day.”

  “Come on, Lex, just one game,” Bernie whined.

  Alexis breathed a disgusted breath, knowing she was not going to win. She reluctantly slid out of the booth and followed with a heavy sigh. Bernie showed the bartender two dancing fingers and chose her stick.