The Color of Rock by Sandra Cavallo Miller

Author:Sandra Cavallo Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction, General, Women, Medical, Literary
ISBN: 9781948908450
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Published: 2019-11-13T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Abby frowned. John Pepper was coughing again.

He insisted it was a virus, just a cold, but it had been almost a month and he was not better. If anything, he sounded worse. Frequently now Abby saw Priscilla hover about him between patients, offering him a chair and bending over him with a steaming mug of hot tea, tenderly expressing concern with her hand on his shoulder and her cleavage in his face, her hair drifting against him.

Both Ginger and Priscilla had left for the day, and Pepper was in the small office working on his charts as Dolores helped Abby finish up at the nursing station. The cough started again, harsh, repetitive. Abby and Dolores exchanged a worried look.

“Do something, Dr. Wilmore. He’s really sick. He won’t listen to me.”

Abby nodded. She put down her work and went over to sit next to him. In the tiny office, they were nearly shoulder to shoulder.

“What’s going on with that cough, John?” she asked. She hardly ever called him by his first name, but it seemed right now. “You sound worse.”

“Stupid virus.” His face was a little gaunt, his eyes deep. He briefly closed them as if to concentrate on not coughing.

“Have you lost weight? Because you look way too thin.” Abby was rather alarmed now that she studied him closely. His clothes looked loose, and his cheekbones stood out.

“Maybe a few pounds.” He waved her off, taking several careful inhalations, catching his breath. “I’ll be fine.”

“Dolores,” Abby called, “could you please bring us the pulse ox?”

“Hey, stop it. I said I’m fine,” he protested, but Abby took his hand and held it still while Dolores clamped the device on his finger to check his oxygen level. He had the longest, most expressive hands and fingers. He started to resist, but Abby glared at him, daring him to pull away. He rolled his eyes and submitted.

“Only ninety,” Dolores announced quietly. “Pretty low, Dr. Pepper.”

“That’s because I was just coughing,” he said as the cough took him over again.

“Let’s do this right,” said Abby briskly, vaguely aware that she still clung to his hand, as if letting go might abandon him to his illness. “Dolores, can you please get his vital signs and a chest X-ray, then I’ll see him in the exam room. We need to start a chart unless he already has one.”

“Hello, I’m right here.” He scowled at her, pulling his hand free. “You’re not—”

“Yes, I am.” Abby looked at him sternly. “I happen to be a doctor, and you need a doctor. If you can find another one anywhere around here, you’re welcome to go see them instead. No? No one? Guess you’re stuck with me.” She smiled. “Your lucky day.”

“Since when did you get so bossy?” he complained, reluctantly going with Dolores, who now had him firmly by the arm as if she expected him to escape.

“Since you started being so stubborn. And be sure to check his weight too, Dolores.” Abby winced as he broke into a fresh fit of coughing.

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