I am still allergic to you

Image source: http://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/FERTILITY%20DRUGS%20DOCTOR%20PATIENT_26298
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It was well past 11pm. I was hungry, tired and my shift had just started. Junior resident doctors don’t have an enviable life. Especially not when you are a working in a trauma and emergency hospital located right next to a major traffic signal in a metro city.

Damn the guy who ordered that pizza. And the thunderstorm that took down the traffic lights. The pizza delivery guy seemed in a hurry to go down, literally and figuratively. But he did not go down alone. He took down two cars and a cycle with him. Not to mention the 4 pizzas he was carrying. What a waste, I thought as my stomach growled. The entire floor was empty as all the surgeons were in the operation theatre handling the half a dozen emergency cases. I was left out to handle the other less serious cases that pop up once in a while. Am I the only one wondering about the guy who had ordered that pizza?

There was a knock on the door. My stomach churned. I looked up as Eve stepped in. I recollected that in the olden days, my stomach used to churn after I looked at her, not before. Clearly, I had moved forward.

The surprise on her face was evident as her freshly eye lined eyebrows popped up just for a second. She had not expected to see me as the duty doctor. I looked at her eyebrows as they arched over her eyes which were faintly outlined by smudged mascara. Clearly she was in too much of a hurry to carry her umbrella. I followed the raindrop that gently trailed off her wet hair onto her temple and down the gentle slopes of her high cheekbones. In addition to the usual radiance, her skin was showing signs of some sort of allergic rash.

“Oh I am sorry; I didn’t know you work here now. I can go to someone else if it is a problem”, she said in a formal yet polite tone.

Always eager to walk out on me, whether in a bedroom or in a hospital. Eve hadn’t changed one little bit in four years.

“There is no one else available right now. Pizza delivery emergency. I mean, accident emergency due to pizza delivery. That rash looks like a minor food allergy. You were always prone to it weren’t you? Do come in. I am sure we can fix it up”, I said with all the amiability I could muster. I recollected how things had ended up the last time I assured her that I could fix something.

 She walked in and sat down gingerly in front of me.

“Lie down please” I said and waved towards the recliner. I had said this exact sentence to her many times in the past in a totally different context. Except for the “please” of course. I looked at my watch as I checked her pulse. For once I was disappointed that my patient didn’t have an increased heart rate.

“What did you eat this time? Doesn’t look like olives”, I said and began to understand the importance of past experience in my profession.

“No, I think it is coconut. It was very finely grated and I did not notice it.”

She must have been on a date. She never wears her spectacles on a date. No wonder she didn’t see the finely grated coconut. Perhaps I should prescribe contact lenses to her.

“Just a minor allergic reaction. Doesn’t look like anything serious. We might have to give you an injection and things should be fine in about an hour”, I pronounced my judgement.

She sat up straight and looked at me wide eyed. She always did that when she was really paying attention. “Isn’t there anything that doesn’t involve a needle?” she asked as she tried her best to hide even the slightest hint of a plea in her tone.

I diagnosed myself with selective amnesia and said “None that I am aware of” and managed to maintain a neutral expression. I know she hates needles.

She gazed up at the upper left corner of the room. I knew there were cobwebs and spiders there. I wondered whether the spiders had caught any prey tonight. Judging by the look on her face, I assumed that she saw at least a couple of moths dangling from the spider webs. She sat and fiddled absent-mindedly with the ring on her finger. I don’t know what made her more anxious. The prospect of getting an injection or the fact that she could see a spider web in a dirty corner of a room and not shout at me for it. Reluctantly, she turned towards me and curtly nodded her approval for my treatment.

“Just wait here, while I get the injection” I said and walked out of the room all the while trying to hide the spring in my step that was just urging to burst forth. I was finally beginning to enjoy my job. I think I will have pizza for dinner tonight after this is over.

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Epilogue 

The above short story (if you can call it that) was written as part of a session at Write Club on the 28th of March, 2015. It was hosted by Ashish and the overall theme was “Memories and Nostalgia”. The actual writing prompt I had received was “The doctor puts a hand on your arm and says: We can save only you or the baby”. It was a little hard for me to imagine myself in this situation, so I decided to deviate slightly from it in my actual story.

Thanks to Write Club, I managed to meet a lot of talented writers and there were many pieces read out in that session that I happened to enjoy. I thought it would be nice to share links to those who might have an online presence.

Ashish, the host of today’s session blogs here.

Kartik blogs at tumblr and reviews books and movies.

As always, this piece cannot end without giving credit/blame to Nikita for introducing me to Write Club. In this particular session, she happened to write a piece that I happen to rate as my second favourite of all her works that I have read so far. I failed to convince her to post it online. So, perhaps it is appropriate to mention that my favourite work by Nikita is her series Cycle Chronicles. In case you have not gone through it already, I strongly recommend reading it for the quirky humour and the unique characterisation of her inimitable blue cycle.