Don
Chapter 10

After his father had driven off, "Why are you here, Charlie?" Don asked.

"I'll drive you to the hospital, is your checkup today?"

"No, tomorrow. Charlie I can drive myself to the hospital, you don't need to come with me."

'Don, no problem, I really don't have classes in the morning and only one in the afternoon.
I've already asked Amita to take over for me.
We can take Trixie out for lunch and go somewhere if you want to."

"Alright, thanks. We can ask Trixie.
You want any breakfast? I'm still eating my pancakes"

"Nah... had my breakfast earlier on. I'll do some work and when you're ready to go give me a yell.
Hey, how's the shoulder?"

"OK, not too bad."

"OK, I'll be there." Charlie pointed towards the dinning table.

They went to the hospital around the same time as yesterday to avoid the mad lunch crowd.

Charlie opted to sit outside to wait for Don; he brought his laptop and sat in one of the garden's many benches.

Don went to Trixie's room and she was up and ready and reading one of her new books. She put it down when Don came to sit beside her.
Don saw that Mrs. Cameron was sleeping and he whispered,
"Hey."

"Good Morning Don. How are you?"

"Fine and how are you?"

"Nervous."

"Hey, there's nothing to be nervous about, oh good, here's Clara,"
Don said when Clara came into the room.

Clara wished them a good morning and said,
"Come on, Miss Cameron, let's go and get the cast off now."

They followed Clara to the clinic.

They sat in the room waiting for Clara to go and get Dr. Stewart.
They came in shortly. Don wanted to go outside but Trixie wanted him to stay with her; the doc nodded his head.
It was a simple and fast procedure. Dr.Stewart used a small handheld vibrating saw.
He ran it slowly down one side of the plaster cast of Trixie's hand.
After one side of the cast was cut, he turned it over and cut through the other side.

After both sides were cut, he spread the cast with a cast spreader, and cut through the webbing with scissors.

It was done and Trixie's hand was now free of the cumbersome cast.
Clara massages her hand and told her to try to move it up and down.
Trixie thanked Dr. Stewart and Clara before going back to her room.

Don again asked Trixie if she wanted to join him and Charlie for lunch.

Trixie very nicely declined, she said she wanted to have her lunch with her Mom. Her mom was feeling better and maybe they could go home by tomorrow.

Don asked if they needed transport to get home.

Trixie said, "No thank you Don, mommy said that Chandler will arrange transport to take us back. Chandler will still be with us all the time."

"Why?" Don was curious.

Trixie shrugged her shoulders, "Dunno, maybe if you will ask Mommy?"

"OK, never mind about that, how about a round in the garden and we'll go and talk to Charlie?"

"Is Charlie here?"

"Yea, he brought me over, he wanted to talk to you anyway, come on let's go."

They both went to the gardens where Charlie was sitting in the shade. He had abandoned his laptop for a game of chess with an elderly man.

Don and Trixie went near, there were a few others crowding round to watch too.

Trixie went nearer to the old man, she saw his move, and she coughed a bit. The old man did not look up but he changed his move and it went on for a few times and in the end Charlie lost to the old man.

The old man shook Charlie's hand and said, "This young lady is a very good player, why don't you have a game with her. She gave me the moves."

Charlie smiled at the old man and said, "Yep, I think she's a very good player, maybe next time, thank you for playing with me."

Don smiled at Trixie, "Good moves there Pixie, your throat must be very sore from all the coughing.

Trixie smiled at both of them, "Hope you don't mind Charlie, it was a very good game, I'm sure I would have lost if I played alone with you. We were both playing. The Mister was very good too."

"Aww now ain't that nice. OK, next time, if we have the opportunity we'll play. Now how about lunch?"

"Err... no thanks Charlie, I've told Don I'm having lunch with my mom. She's better now and we get to go home tomorrow."

"That's nice, then how about we get to the cafeteria for a drink before we scoot off."

ooOOoOoOoOoOoo

The next day, Don took himself to the hospital for the final checkup before he reported back to work.

Don declined Charlie's offer to take him this time.
Alan had to go and see Stan about their forthcoming fishing trip and the arrangements.

Alan had planned much earlier to go on this trip but Don's hospitalization had made him postpone the trip.
Don insisted that he go ahead this coming weekend. He said he would be going back to his apartment after the last checkup.

Dr. Stewart was called to an emergency when Don went to see him. Clara said Dr. Chandra was available and if he didn't mind, he could do his final checkup with him instead of waiting for Dr. Stewart. Clara said she couldn't be sure when he would be free.

Don said it would be fine and so he was in the waiting room, waiting for his turn.

"Don, Dr. Chandra is free to see you now." A nurse came out.

Don looked up and saw Jo, one of the familiar faces during his stay in the hospital.

"Hi Jo, How are you?"
"Fine Don, thanks. Your last checkup and you're ready to get back to work?"

"Yea, it's been a long time."

"OK then come on in, Dr. Chandra is waiting for you."
In a whisper, she said to Don, "He said, 'Oh that young man, oh dearie me,' now what did he meant by that?"

Don shrugged his shoulders and said, "Met him a few times and had a bit of misunderstanding with him. Well, now's the time to clear it up."

"OK then, come on in."

Don went in and Dr. Chandra sat behind a table and he looked up at Don.

"Good morning young man."

"Good Morning Doc, call me Don."

"Oh. Ok, you can call me Adrian."

"Oh, you're Dr. Adrian Chandra?"
"Yes, my full name is James Adrian Nathan Chandra."

Don made a 'O' and said,"Mine is only Don Eppes."

"Well, good name, good name, I'm only known as Adrian to my friends and before you ask, oh yes, you may ask. I'm a Christian and not a Hindu."

Don made another 'O' and said nothing.

"OK?"

"OK." Don replied.

"Hmm…. You are here for final time checkup?"

"Yes."

"You experienced any pain, discomfort, unable to let go?"

"No, no and unable to let go of what?" Don was getting confused.

'Like this, let go." Dr. Chandra made a fist with his left hand and moved his arm up and down at the elbow.

"Oh yes, I can stretch my hand."

"And here?" he then stretched his hand over his head.

"Yes."

"Um hmm…" he jotted down in his pad in front of him.

OK Get on exam table, I take your vitals and check your shoulder. Undress please."

Don got up and went to examination table; he sat on it and started unbuttoning his shirt.

"You want a nurse in there?"

"No."

After ten minutes of checking Don over, the doctor said, "You are in good condition, hmm…hmmm, ah!"

"Ah?"

"Your right shoulder is colorful, blues, grey and black, what did you do? "

"I didn't do anything, I got hit."

"Someone hit on you?"

"Ye….es, er someone hit me on my shoulder yesterday."

"You were fighting and in your condition?" Dr.Chandra accused Don.

"Doc, no, you got it all wrong, I was attacked in fact my brother was with me and we were attacked here, in the hospital grounds."

"Why is everyone hitting on you?"

"No, no, not hitting on me, I got hit on the shoulder."

"Well, that's what I said, hitting on you."

Don wanted to explain but he was afraid that it might lead of a lot of other explanations, so he said, "Remember that Logan who sprained his leg and wanted to go into the free clinic?"

"Yes?"

"Well, he..he's the one coming after me."

"Oh my goodness gracious me! Call the cops to catch him before he harm you more, you have to be very careful young...eh...Don."

"Thanks Doctor. Er… About that day, I'm sorry about stopping you from getting to your bay."

"OK, young man, I understand. They told me that there was a bomb under someone's car."

"Someone put a time bomb under my father's car and he was the one who put the bomb there, so Doctor, if you see him, don't panic just tell someone without him knowing of course. Get that someone to call me."

"OK, if I see him, ayaiii, this is scary."

"Don't worry Doc, he won't do anything to you or anybody else, just don't antagonize him if you see him."

"Yes, yes, that I will do. Ok, we continue here, the scar on this shoulder will fade after some time and here now this freshly hit shoulder…do you have pain here?" the doctor poked at the spot where he was hit.

"Ow, yes Doc, pain there."

"OK I think we go get X-ray photos and check."

"Er... No need Doc, it's painful but see I can let go." Don quickly moved his right hand to show the doctor.

"OK, righto then, take care of that freshly hit shoulder and I will prescribe an ointment rub. Three times one day you do on your shoulder, then you are good."

"Yes and thank you Doctor." Don shook his hand and said, "Err, my contact," and handed him his card.

After saying goodbye to Dr. Chandra, Don went up to see Trixie.
She looked very happy for her mother had finally improved and would be discharged in the afternoon.

My thanks to my beta Mikis 