Doctor

One cool fall day in Mineral Town, Naomi finds herself sick in bed with a cold. She has been working very hard throughout the season, doing her best to grow enough food for the whole town before winter. Now she is under her over sized quilt coughing and sneezing. Her friends, the nature sprites, have already took care of the chores around he farm for the day. Even so, she hopes to recover soon so she can get back to work.

Just before Naomi drifts herself off to sleep, she hears a knock on the front door. She stares at the door for a moment, wondering who might be visiting her today. She was not expecting anyone at all. “Come on in, the door is unlocked,” she shouted at her unexpected guest.

The door opens, and the town doctor walks in. Her heart skips a beat as soon as she sees him. She has had a crush on the young doctor for as long as they’ve known each other. Having him see her ill embarrasses her. She hides her face while peeking over the edge of the quilt. Her face has no make-up, and her face is clammy and pale from her cold. Of all he days he could have come over, she was hoping he would when she is healthy enough to offer him a drink at least. She was not prepared to see him today.

“Pardon me. I didn’t mean to drop by unexpectedly. Mayor Thomas told me that you were not feeling well today and asked me to do a home visit,” said the young doctor.

Naomi blushes as she continues to hide her face, “I don’t mind. . . I was just caught off guard, that’s all.”

The young doctor pulls up a seat next to her bed, then rests his medical bag on the floor. Once he is comfortable, he pulls out a thermometer from his bag, “open wide. I’ll need to take your temperature to make sure that you don’t have a fever.”

Naomi nods, then lowers her sheet to open her mouth. The doctor then places the thermometer under her tongue. As he waits for the thermometer, he pulls out a notepad and a pen. “I’ll need to ask you a few health related questions. Please don’t speak, just shake your head yes or no.”

Naomi nods again. The doctor starts to write a few sentences before asking, “it rained a bit yesterday. Did you do any field work or other type of physical labor outdoors?” Naomi nods yes. “Have you taken any medicine for your symptoms yet?” Naomi shakes her head no. Doctor continues to ask questions for a few more minutes, Naomi answers them without issues. After the questions, the doctor pulls the thermometer out of her mouth and checks the readings.

“You’re in luck,” said the young doctor as he wipes the thermometer clean. “You don’t have a fever, so I diagnose you with a common cold. I have just a thing for that.” He then tears the pages he wrote on the tablet, adding them to a file that he had in his medical bag. Naomi quickly recognizes the file in his bag. It is the same file he had in his hands when they first met. She can remember that day like it was just yesterday. It was her first week living in Mineral Town. She was introducing herself to all her new neighbors, the clinic was the last place she decided to visit.

That day, she walked into the clinic and quickly met Elly working the front desk. After introducing herself, she is then taken back to the doctor’s office where she saw him for the first time. His office was very neat, and his desk only had a name plaque with only “Doctor” written on it. He was reviewing a medical file at that moment. She felt attracted to him at first sight. His fresh cut black hair framed a very handsome young face. His while lab coat and navy blue pants were clean and pressed. His face always carried a serious look to it, but that didn’t change the fact that he was the heart throb of town. Despite being a fully licensed doctor, he appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. To this day, she wonders why is this young doctor not married yet.

“Hello doctor. My name is Naomi, and I run the farm in the other side of town. I heard so much about you, but everyone didn’t warn me about how handsome you’d be.”

The doctor doesn’t say anything in response. He just closes the file in his hands, and puts it away in a drawer under his desk. Naomi notices that the file has her name on it. “You were looking at my file?”

“Mayor Thomas asked me to evaluate your health and make sure you are healthy enough for farm life. I could have given you a physical, but I figured that it would be easier to request your medical charts from your physician in your hometown. I am impressed, your charts says that your health is in top form. You are more than capable of running the farm. I still recommend that you take it easy for a while until you get used to the work.”

“I see. I promise I’ll do my best and follow your advice fro now on.” Naomi chucked, it has been two years since they’ve met that day. So many things happened since then. She tried her best to flirt with him and get his attention, but they’ve only remained friends. She hopes and dreams that someday they can be more than that.

Back at her house, the doctor pulls out a small jar with some strange green liquid. He hands the jar to her, saying, “take this medicine. It’s a blend of herbs, grasses, and mushrooms that I’ve made myself. It should help with your symptoms.”

She nods just before she takes a sip of the medicine. She immediately starts coughing in disgust. “It’s so bitter, and it smells terrible.”

“I am aware that the taste is unpalatable, but I guarantee that the medicine works. I have tested it on several patients with the common cold, and it had great results. I do apologize for the taste, try not to smell it as you drink.”

She takes a deep stressful sigh as she takes another look at the medicine. She wants to turn it down, but how can she when the man she likes made it himself. Instead, she pinches her nose and chugs the medicine as quickly as she can. “It’s so gross,” she said in a hoarse voice.

The doctor then pulls out a small notepad from his jacket pocket and started writing down notes. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“Just jotting down some constructive criticism. I am not a fan of artificial flavors, but I think I can adjust the recipe to make it easier to drink. After all, nobody is going to take the medicine if they don’t like the flavor.”

Naomi gasps as she blushes a bit. She remembers herself telling him that very line to the doctor that one time as they hung out. She is impressed that the doctor remembers it after all this time and takes it seriously. She begins to wonder what other things the doctor remembers about the time they’ve spent together.

About a year ago, Naomi went to the clinic on a Wednesday. The clinic was closed, and Naomi always found the doctor walking around town doing chores or getting some fresh air. She always pretended to run into him and helps him with his tasks. As he locked up the clinic, Naomi walked out of her hiding place and casually and walked up to him. “Oh, hello doctor. Nice day we are having today.”

The doctor looked at Naomi with a serious look on his face and nods. “How are you today. Are you feeling ill? The clinic is closed today, but I can give you a quick check-up if you want.”

She shook her head, “no. I was just wondering what are you up to today? Going shopping? Taking a light jog around Rose Square?”

“Actually, I am planning to go to Mother’s Hill. This season is perfect for gathering medicinal herbs and grasses. I am currently doing research for medicine.”

“That sounds interesting. Can I come along?” she asked.

“You can come, I don’t mind,” he answered in a casual tone.

And so, they both walked together through town and the farm headed to Mother’s Hill. Naomi tried her best to chat the doctor’s ear off, but he just nodded or gave one word responses. At no point did the doctor seem annoyed or bothered, so she just kept chatting away until they got to Mother’s Hill.

Halfway up the hill is a field that people commonly forage for wild berries, medicinal herbs, and colored grasses. The doctor spent more time staring and examining the plants while taking notes. Occasionally, he would pick some specimens and placed them in his satchel. Naomi was a bit bored, but watching the doctor study plants for medicine fascinated her. There was plenty to pick, but he was extremely selective with his samples.

“Hey, what are you doing?” she asked while the doctor was pinching the leaves on a random herb.

“I am testing the potency of the plants. I have been depending on Basil to deliver me some grasses for my medicines, but he tends to harvest them too early. I am writing some notes for him so he can pick some better plants for me in the future.”

“Actually, I’m sure that he picks them that way on purpose. He once told me that plants that are young are not as bitter as ripe ones,” she explained.

The doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise, “but young herbs are not as effective as mature ones. Why would people make medicine if it won’t work that well?”

Naomi folded her hands behind her back and swayed her hips in a cute manner as she answered, “well, nobody is going to take the medicine if they don’t like the flavor.”

The doctor made a shocked gesture before writing a few things in his notepad. He then immediately excused himself and returned to the clinic. Naomi then returned to her farm, wondering if maybe she said something to upset him. The conversation never came up for them to talk about it. Seeing how he still remembers her advice after a year, she now knows that she inspired him that way. He just didn’t know how to show it that day.

Back at her house once again, the doctor pulls out a stethoscope out of his medical bag. He sticks the ends into his ear and holds the round diaphragm up saying, “I’m going to need you to lift your shirt up for me.”

Her face turns red as a tomato as her imagination goes out of control. She hides her face behind her quilt once again as she asks, “why do I need to undress?”

“Please don’t misunderstand. I just need to listen to your breathing for a bit. I just need you to expose your back, you don’t need to undress yourself.”

She breathes a sigh of relief, but still feels embarrassed. She has not taken a shower today since she is ill, and she is not wearing anything under her pajamas. She hesitates for a moment, but she remembers that he is a doctor. Her back will be bare, and the doctor will notice the lack of a bra. But she does like him, so she wont mind too much. She can trust that he won’t think any indecent thoughts. So she sits up and lifts her shirt over her head taking great care not to expose her chest. She feels a bit naked, but she knows that the doctor will take care of her.

The doctor sits on the bed behind her and places the stethoscope on her back. She gasps as the cold metal makes contact on her skin. “Take a few deep breaths,” said the doctor as he moves the instrument around her back.

She breathes hard. She wonders if maybe the doctor can hear her heart beating hard and rapidly. She can’t see his face but she wonders what he might be thinking. She soon begins to fantasize about the doctor running his fingers down her spine gently. She wants to hear him whisper words of romance in her ear. She quickly finds herself enjoying the exam. Time after time, she would imagine him embracing her and saying much he loves her.

If she knew he was coming over, she could have worn something sexy under her clothes. Give him something to think about when he returns to the clinic. Anything to show him how she feels. She always have found the doctor to be handsome, mild-mannered, intelligent, caring, and hard working. He may look and act serious all the time, but she still dreams about heading to the clinic where she would sit on his desk waiting to be held. The doctor would kiss and tell her how much she means to him. Then one day he would give her the blue feather and they would get married only seven short days later. They would live together at the farm. She imagines them raising two kids together and live happily ever after. She planned a whole life with him, and he is completely unaware of it.

“Okay, you’re done,” said the doctor interrupting Naomi’s daydream. She opens her eyes and finds the doctor packing up.

“Is that all?” she asked curiously as she puts her shirt back on.

“Yes, your breathing is fine. But I can hear some minor irritation when you breathe, most likely a sore throat. Quite normal for a cold, but I do have something to treat that.” He then pulls out a strange device out of his bag and places it on the nightstand next to her bed. “This is called a Negative Ionization Therapy Machine. The fumes it makes has a relaxing effect while you sleep and treat your sore throat. I’ve developed it myself.”

“It looks expensive. How much will this treatment cost me?” she asked.

The doctor shakes his head no, saying, “there is no charge. Consider this home visit a gift from the clinic.”

“I see, thank you.”

The doctor nods, “now if you would excuse me, I’ll need to return to the clinic now. My nurse must be wondering when I’ll return.”

As soon as the doctor is all packed up and ready to go, he says his goodbyes and heads to the front door. Just before he touches the knob, Naomi shouts, “doctor, please wait.” As soon as the doctor turns around, Naomi continues, “will you please tell me your name?”

“My name? Why are you asking so suddenly?”

“Well, it has been a couple of years since we’ve became friends. I mean-” Naomi then takes a deep stressful sigh, “never mind. I shouldn’t have asked, I’m sorry. It’s none of my business.”

There is a quiet pause for a few minutes. She thinks that maybe she made him feel uncomfortable asking for his name so suddenly. She knows that he never told anyone his name, not even his nurse. Nobody knows why he keeps it a secret. He always keeps to himself and rarely talks to anyone other than close friends or his usual patients. She can only pray that he is not too upset and they can at least continue to be friends.

“It’s Trent,” he answered. The sudden answer shocks her. She looks up at the doctor as she continues, “my name is Doctor Timothy Trent.”

She tilts her head down and blushes happily. “Thank you Doctor Trent. For everything.”

“It is my pleasure. If you need any more medicine, please speak to Nurse Elly. I’ll make sure she has some prepared for you.” With that, the young doctor leaves the house and makes his way back to the clinic.

Meanwhile, Naomi continues to lay on the bed giggling happily. “Mrs. Doctor Timothy Trent? Has a nice ring to it. Someday. . .”

Back at the clinic, the doctor takes off his jacket and hangs it up close to the front door. Elly then approaches him asking, “how is Naomi?”

“She’s fine. It was just a common cold. How was the clinic while I was out?”

“Jeff and Rick came by earlier to pick up some medicine, but nothing else. The clinic has been quiet all day,” she answered.

The doctor nods, “good job. Why don’t you take the rest of the day off and spend some time with your family? I’ll take over from here.”

Elly nods, “thank you doctor.”

Once Elly leaves, the doctor takes a seat in his desk. He sits there quietly, getting lost in thought for a few minutes. He then opens his drawer, and pulls out a photograph he took with Naomi some time ago. A selfie she took with her cell phone. Naomi is smiling cheerfully as she lays on his back making a peace sign playfully. He just looks as serious as usual.

The doctor takes a deep breath and whispers, “someday, I’m going to get over this shyness and tell you how I feel. I wanted to say something today, but I lost my nerve. Maybe next time. . .”

He puts the picture away, then closes his drawer. He the folds his hands on the desk and continues to wait for patients Will he ever tell Naomi about his feelings, or will she need to tell him first. Only time will be able to tell for certain.

The End