Harried
he hated begin harried
but then
if
she hadnt slipped into his shower before work
slipped
-- probably not the correct nomenclature -- he
snatched her out of bed as she stretched naked on their twisted
bedsheets
but she looked
too good to leave lying around
even if it was his
own bed
and for all that mornings
slippings
he Now was running late
and the traffic Christ was
heavier than he ever expected
and
that was a horrible statement to make of
The Kings Highway in rural California
but
it was
while he dressed she made
coffee
-- You didnt shave
-- Time
If Im too shabby Ill return after the appointment before heading into
work
-- Youre lucky I dig your woolly look
he
let her catch his expression reflected in the bedroom dressing mirror
Oh
you
and
yanked the bedsheet up covering her naked belly
Youre going to be late
-- Kiss me and Im gone
-- Your coffee
-- Thank you Now kiss me baby
he was five minutes late
but he thought Kiss my ass When is a doctor ever on time
Somebody do their fuckin job
signing in he was reminded he
was late
-- So the doctor will see me now
all he got in response was that
curt thats-a-stupid-question eyeroll
-- No Then
good morning to you
it was like torturing an anthill
with a magnifying glass
--
I got coffee in the car Interested
-- I had my coffee
-- Id guess not recently
nothing
anthills
-- I suppose this is where you say Take a seat
-- Please take a seat
he laughed to himself Christ
Harried for nothing
but he had his bag with him
so
even if they wanted to stonewall him for hours he had hours and hours of things to
do or read
or write to fill his time
he mentioned to those who knew
him
-- We aint called Patients without good reason
So go right ahead healthcare
professionals Take your best shot
-- Mr Stanley
The doctor will see you now
Not bad
Fifty minutes later
Wha . .
. really only fortyfive minutes late
his five minutes paled in
comparison
the Doc was nine times later than he was
or
nine hundred
percent later than him
he recognized his math skills improved
every time he visited a doctor
nevertheless
he wasnt buying it
even as he put away the letter he was writing - taking his sweet time -
and rose to
follow the nurse back
the protocol was inevitable
some smart ass somewhere was
struck by a lightningbolt
and someone above him pet his nose stroked his mane and fed him a sugar
cube
Genius
he
remembered when a genius was an Edison Wright Einstein Ford or Hefner
the least
the genius could have done was insist that the leading was led by a nurse
with
a sweet heartshaped ass
he didnt have any
idea what women would follow back
his nurse
deposited
him in an antechamber
outside
the actual examination rooms
-- So maybe you do get the tortured anthill bit
huh
-- Excuse me
his nurse replied
-- No Nothing
Talking to myself Thank you
-- Well be for you directly
Directly might be an
improvement on Soon
-- Thank you
and the nurse left him to his
own devises
which could prove to be dangerous if they gave him enough rope
he might hang the entire clinic with it
another nurse approached him directly
by the long
black hand on the industrial clock itd only been eight minutes
-- Mr. Stanley
-- Directly
I love it
-- Excuse me
-- You were Direct not Soon
-- Im confused
-- What kind of a name is that
he stood up from his coloured plasticshell chair
Family misfortune
-- Im confused
-- You said
Im Stanley Youre looking for
me
it was times like these he needed his girlfriend to remind him he was
either a step
ahead or people were just slow to a joke
And youre Confused Correct
-- I am
with their pleasantries
complete
he
followed Confused -- there was no escaping it now hed scanned her chest and she
wasnt wearing a
nameplate -- into an examining room
she did things rote
on the scale weight
height scribble
-- Any recent difficulties ER visits or
immediate concerns changes in medications
-- None
scribble
she opened
a laptop at the station leveraged off the wall beneath a cubby of shelves
enclosed in glass housing sundry medical supplies
-- Well take your blood pressure
and temperature Mr Stanley
-- Correct Confused
she knitted her brow as she
slipped her stethoscope into her ears
she pumped the blood
pressure bladder in her hand the column
of mercury rose 150
she turned the slender spigot to release its
air pressure the mercury began slipping
down a gentle pulsate showed slipping
pulse slipping pulse
and then her breath
slipped out her mouth as she recorded his systolic
diastolic numbers
-- Very good
114 over 71
Fortythree
she slipped a thermometer in
his mouth
-- Under your tongue
gosh he missed the old rectal thermometer --
Thatll wreck ya -- he often joked about
giving it orally many
times by mistake forgetting the cherry
red --
how appropriate --
colouring indicating it a rectal thermometer
and how he bitched that someone has really missed the boat
maybe
some other sugar cube boy Genius
how
they could have enjoyed and profited by a resurgent market if only rectals were
reconfigured with ribs and improved girth
-- which typically fell on deaf and
unamused ears -- why
hamstring humor by taking medicine out of it
there
was so very very much materiel to work with
-- 98.6 degrees And a pulse of 58
Fortypointsix
-- Youre quite the specium arent you
-- I try my best
-- Was there anything specific youd like to
discuss with the doctor when she enters
-- Yes
That miserable medicine Im encouraged prescribed to take I think Im beyond it
Its a waste of money
-- Okay
she
scoured the only medicine listed on his chart
This is the only medication you take
-- Correct
Confused
Knit her brows
She
still aint going to ask
-- And you take this medication at what time
-- Eightthirty Nine Mornings
scribble
-- Ill be sure to mention it to the doctor
she rose placed the chart on
the leanto beside him
-- The doctor will be in shortly
-- Not directly Or soon
-- Im confused
-- Youve said
she
furrowed her brow again
-- I hope youll have a beautiful
day Good bye
-- Thank you I hope for you the same Good bye
the door closed behind her
she wasnt either
in
spite of the fact that the genius could have insisted upon heartshaped asses
he was after all the Genius
he let his chart lay for a
moment longer
he was savoring
the deliciousness of every bit
of life was in savoring it anticipating
it
all
the Acts
in
its Play
relishing
their distinct individual moments
that were unlikely
to
ever occur again
far too many people stumble
through life
simply
not recognizing its sensational pinpoint moments so
very very remarkable poignant
theyre like bulls in a chinashop
smashing as they go
missing its
utter nearly indescribableness
crowding
dejectedly around them
glaring
them in the face
he sighed
hed waited long enough
the doctor would be in Shortly
not Directly or Soon
he smiled
he
was almost unable to bear the wait to share this with his girlfriend
he was definitely going home to shave
he took the edge of the
clipboard his chart was fastened to and walked it with his
fingertips onto his
palm
he purposely wasnt looking just
yet
it was unbearable
he wanted to cum
the doctor arrived sooner than
she meant
she
responded to the flurry of nurses in the hall outside his examination room as
they
had gathered
befuddled
listening
to him laughing aloud inside
-- Mr Stanley
he looked up at her and brushed a
tear from his smiling eye
-- Oh yes Sorry
I was suddenly tickled I couldnt
resist myself Sorry
the only clue
not that the doctor could have realised it
was that
his chart
was
slightly askew on the leanto
Confused wrote that he took his
medication in the morning at 8:39
begun
Sunday, 10 8. 14
bulk done Monday -- 11 8.
14 --
the day Robin Williams died
1416, Twosday, 12 8.
14
