Part 4: Thursday
"I made a doctor's appointment for three o'clock," Carol said as Doug walked out of the master bathroom.
"What are you going to do?" Doug asked her.
"I'm not sure. I really don't want to go through another pregnancy, but if I am, I'll have to suck it up and do it all over again. Except this time it will be a lot harder, and there are all the additional risks involved," she stated.
"Carol, you know this might not be about being pregnant," he said gently. They both knew what this meant. If Carol wasn't pregnant, there was one likely explanation.
"Can we talk about this later?" Carol asked.
"Of course," he told her. "Just remember I'm here no matter what"
Carol and Doug continued their morning routine, and a few minutes later the phone rang.
Carol picked it up and listened without saying much more than "yes" and "I see".
"You're kidding me," Carol said hanging up the phone.
"Actually, I didn't say anything," Doug replied.
"That was Marcy Evans from across the street. There is a power outage at Meg's school so classes are canceled," she told him.
"I take it there is a problem," he said.
"Yes, I have the doctor's appointment this afternoon, and I would rather not have Meg in tow," Carol snapped.
"Just bring her by the hospital. I'm off at six. She can spend the afternoon with me," Doug offered.
Outside their room, Kate was standing in the upstairs hall trying to recall the location of her left shoe.
"Mom, have you seen my other brown shoe?" Kate asked.
"Check the bathroom," Carol said from her room.
Kate looked in the bathroom, but there was no sign of her shoe. "It isn't in here," Kate yelled.
"Well, I don't know where it is," Carol told her with more than a little agitation in her voice.
"It's okay. I'll just wear my combat boots," Kate said nearly whispering the last part.
Kate went to her room and put on her boots. They completed her ensemble. She walked out of her room wearing a long sleeved black t-shirt and her plaid school uniform skirt. Except the skirt was from fifth grade when she attended St. Mary's School.
"Ha, I don't have to go to school, and you do," Meg teased Kate.
"Shut up," Kate said shoving her younger sister out of the way as she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
"Mom, Kate pushed me," Meg yelled.
"Well, she might not have if you wouldn't have been teasing her," Carol told her.
"No, messing around by the stairs," Doug told them as he stepped out of his bedroom.
Meg stuck her tong out at Kate and bounced down the stairs. She walked around looking for Tess so she could gloat.
Tess was curled up on the sofa watching TV in the family room.
"Guess what?" Meg asked.
"You don't have to go to school today," Tess answered.
"Aw, it isn't any fun if I don't get to tell you," Meg said.
"Sorry, I'm watching the local news, and they announced the closing," Tess explained. "Since you aren't doing anything go check and see if there are any Pop Tarts."
Meg walked into the kitchen and opened cupboard where they were kept. "There are chocolate and blueberry," Meg yelled.
"Bring me a blueberry," Tess told her.
Meg pulled out a package of two. She decided she wanted one too. She handed Tess the Pop Tart and joined her on the sofa.
"Tess, are you ready?" Doug called from the kitchen.
"In a minute," she replied. She turned of the television stuffed the rest of the Pop Tart into her mouth and gathered her books.
"What are you wearing?" Tess demanded upon seeing her twin sister.
"Clothes," Kate responded.
"You are such a freak. Is that your skirt from St. Mary's? Well, I guess you do get points for violating the dress code. That skirt is so short it almost looks good," Tess said.
"I'm glad I meet your slut standards," Kate told her quietly.
"WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP CALLING ME A SLUT?" Tess screamed.
That got the entire family's attention. Kate stared at her sister with a mixture of shock and pity. Tess' canoe was sinking fast, and she wasn't even attempting to bail out the water.
"We're going to be late," Kate finally said fumbling for the words.
Later that afternoon, Meg sat at the nurse's station looking around. She loved going to visit her dad at work. There always seemed to be something going on at the hospital.
"Have you been behaving yourself?" Doug asked from behind her.
She swung the chair around to face him. Meg nodded her head and smiled.
"Good, how would you like to go talk to someone?" he asked.
"Who?" Meg questioned.
"Andrew. He is a patient, and he hasn't had many visitors. So will you come?" Doug asked.
"Okay," she said jumping out of the chair and following her father down a large hallway then a smaller one.
Doug stopped in front of an open door he tapped on it and said, "Andrew, I brought Meg to see you."
Doug stepped into the room, and Meg followed closely behind him.
"What's wrong with him?" she whispered staring at the equipment surrounding Andrew's bed.
"Nothing that we can't fix," Doug told her. "Why don't you two get acquainted, and I'll come check on you in a little bit."
"Hi," Meg said shyly after her father left.
"Hi," Andrew replied quietly.
"How old are you?" Meg asked walking towards Andrew.
"Four," he answered.
"Do you like cartoons?" she questioned.
"Yeah," he responded.
"My favorite is Scooby Doo," Meg said.
"I like Scooby," Andrew told her.
"I wrote a story about Scooby's family at school. My teacher said it was good, and she wants me to enter it in the creative writing contest," Meg explained.
"I'd like to hear it sometime," Andrew said.
"I think I brought it with me. I'll be right back," Meg told her before hurrying out of the room.
Back at the nurse's station she opened her bag and pulled out her story. She walked back to what she thought was Andrew's room. Except she was faced with two eyes full of a completely nude nurse and a medical student groping each other. Meg turned around and sprinted down the hall. A few paces down hall, she ran straight into Doug who had just stepped out of a room.
"Hey, this isn't playground," he told her. He looked down at Meg noticing that something was different.
She almost appeared to be trembling.
"What's wrong?" Doug questioned with concern.
Meg just stood there, but tears started to run down her face.
"Come on we can go talk in private," he said leading Meg to his office.
Once inside Meg was still silent.
"What happened? Did Andrew do something?" he asked.
Meg shook her head.
"Sweetie, what is it?" he questioned. "Did you see something?"
She nodded.
"Well, at least we're starting to get somewhere," Doug thought. "Was it a patient?"
Meg shook her head.
"Can you give me a hint? I don't know what is going on," he requested.
"I think I saw something that I shouldn't have. I thought it was Andrew's room, but it wasn't," Meg stammered. She stopped to take a breath. "There were these people, and I think they were having sex."
"Where?" Doug asked.
"That hall where you were a few rooms down from where I ran into you," she told him.
"Stay here. I'll be back," he told her.
Doug stormed out of his office and walked to the hall where Meg had encountered him. He knocked on door after door. In the first three, he had found everything in order, but when he opened door number four, he found what he was looking for.
"Gonzalez, when you are finished up in here, I'd like a word with you," Doug told them.
"What are you talking about Dr. Ross?" the young medical student asked.
"As I said, I'd like to speak with you," Doug slammed the door and waited outside.
A few minutes later, the nurse scampered out of the room rather embarrassed. She was not his concern she was not from the Pediatric Ward. Gonzalez opened the door and strutted towards Doug. Doug reentered the room with Gonzalez and closed the door.
"You could not begin to understand how pissed I am right now," Doug told him. "Not only were you on my time. You were doing it on the Pediatric floor. There are kids everywhere. What in Hell were you thinking?" he demanded.
"You know how it is. Laina wanted to fool around. The room was empty so it shouldn't be that big of a deal," Gonzalez defended himself.
"No, this is a big deal. You can not do whatever you want with whoever you want in this hospital. Do you want to know how I knew you were in there? My eight year old daughter told me. She walked in on your little session," Doug told him.
"Sorry, I didn't think…" Gonzalez started to say.
"No, you didn't think. Go home. You are finished for today," Doug said before going back to talk with Meg.
Across town, Carol sat in an exam room waiting for the results of her pregnancy test. She looked at the magazines sitting in the room. "Parenting" Carol read the first title. She wanted to throw up. The doctor returned, and Carol prepared herself for the news.
"The test was negative," the doctor told Carol. "As nurse, I'm sure you realize you are beginning menopause. I don't want insult you with a lecture, but here are some pamphlets in case there is something you are unsure of."
She nodded politely and exited the room. She walked out to the parking lot feeling confused. She was disappointed about something she had not wanted. She started her car and looked at the clock. It was just after four. She stopped off at a deli on the way home and picked up subs for dinner. She did not feel like cooking anything.
Explanation from Banana Belle
I love it when people point out what I have missed, and I am glad to help clear my writing up when there is confusion. I really was planning on menopause, but I perceive Carol as the type who would believe she is too young for that. I didn't realize I had Doug saying they were actually having sex. I never intended to imply they were actually having intercourse. I only meant for Meg to believe that was what they were doing. Meg is a smart enough to draw her own conclusions about what was going on without "knowing what sex is". An eight year old attending any school especially a public school with two older siblings knows more than most adults want to believe. I hope I have cleared a few things up, and once again thanks for all for help everyone.
"I made a doctor's appointment for three o'clock," Carol said as Doug walked out of the master bathroom.
"What are you going to do?" Doug asked her.
"I'm not sure. I really don't want to go through another pregnancy, but if I am, I'll have to suck it up and do it all over again. Except this time it will be a lot harder, and there are all the additional risks involved," she stated.
"Carol, you know this might not be about being pregnant," he said gently. They both knew what this meant. If Carol wasn't pregnant, there was one likely explanation.
"Can we talk about this later?" Carol asked.
"Of course," he told her. "Just remember I'm here no matter what"
Carol and Doug continued their morning routine, and a few minutes later the phone rang.
Carol picked it up and listened without saying much more than "yes" and "I see".
"You're kidding me," Carol said hanging up the phone.
"Actually, I didn't say anything," Doug replied.
"That was Marcy Evans from across the street. There is a power outage at Meg's school so classes are canceled," she told him.
"I take it there is a problem," he said.
"Yes, I have the doctor's appointment this afternoon, and I would rather not have Meg in tow," Carol snapped.
"Just bring her by the hospital. I'm off at six. She can spend the afternoon with me," Doug offered.
Outside their room, Kate was standing in the upstairs hall trying to recall the location of her left shoe.
"Mom, have you seen my other brown shoe?" Kate asked.
"Check the bathroom," Carol said from her room.
Kate looked in the bathroom, but there was no sign of her shoe. "It isn't in here," Kate yelled.
"Well, I don't know where it is," Carol told her with more than a little agitation in her voice.
"It's okay. I'll just wear my combat boots," Kate said nearly whispering the last part.
Kate went to her room and put on her boots. They completed her ensemble. She walked out of her room wearing a long sleeved black t-shirt and her plaid school uniform skirt. Except the skirt was from fifth grade when she attended St. Mary's School.
"Ha, I don't have to go to school, and you do," Meg teased Kate.
"Shut up," Kate said shoving her younger sister out of the way as she headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth.
"Mom, Kate pushed me," Meg yelled.
"Well, she might not have if you wouldn't have been teasing her," Carol told her.
"No, messing around by the stairs," Doug told them as he stepped out of his bedroom.
Meg stuck her tong out at Kate and bounced down the stairs. She walked around looking for Tess so she could gloat.
Tess was curled up on the sofa watching TV in the family room.
"Guess what?" Meg asked.
"You don't have to go to school today," Tess answered.
"Aw, it isn't any fun if I don't get to tell you," Meg said.
"Sorry, I'm watching the local news, and they announced the closing," Tess explained. "Since you aren't doing anything go check and see if there are any Pop Tarts."
Meg walked into the kitchen and opened cupboard where they were kept. "There are chocolate and blueberry," Meg yelled.
"Bring me a blueberry," Tess told her.
Meg pulled out a package of two. She decided she wanted one too. She handed Tess the Pop Tart and joined her on the sofa.
"Tess, are you ready?" Doug called from the kitchen.
"In a minute," she replied. She turned of the television stuffed the rest of the Pop Tart into her mouth and gathered her books.
"What are you wearing?" Tess demanded upon seeing her twin sister.
"Clothes," Kate responded.
"You are such a freak. Is that your skirt from St. Mary's? Well, I guess you do get points for violating the dress code. That skirt is so short it almost looks good," Tess said.
"I'm glad I meet your slut standards," Kate told her quietly.
"WHY DO PEOPLE KEEP CALLING ME A SLUT?" Tess screamed.
That got the entire family's attention. Kate stared at her sister with a mixture of shock and pity. Tess' canoe was sinking fast, and she wasn't even attempting to bail out the water.
"We're going to be late," Kate finally said fumbling for the words.
Later that afternoon, Meg sat at the nurse's station looking around. She loved going to visit her dad at work. There always seemed to be something going on at the hospital.
"Have you been behaving yourself?" Doug asked from behind her.
She swung the chair around to face him. Meg nodded her head and smiled.
"Good, how would you like to go talk to someone?" he asked.
"Who?" Meg questioned.
"Andrew. He is a patient, and he hasn't had many visitors. So will you come?" Doug asked.
"Okay," she said jumping out of the chair and following her father down a large hallway then a smaller one.
Doug stopped in front of an open door he tapped on it and said, "Andrew, I brought Meg to see you."
Doug stepped into the room, and Meg followed closely behind him.
"What's wrong with him?" she whispered staring at the equipment surrounding Andrew's bed.
"Nothing that we can't fix," Doug told her. "Why don't you two get acquainted, and I'll come check on you in a little bit."
"Hi," Meg said shyly after her father left.
"Hi," Andrew replied quietly.
"How old are you?" Meg asked walking towards Andrew.
"Four," he answered.
"Do you like cartoons?" she questioned.
"Yeah," he responded.
"My favorite is Scooby Doo," Meg said.
"I like Scooby," Andrew told her.
"I wrote a story about Scooby's family at school. My teacher said it was good, and she wants me to enter it in the creative writing contest," Meg explained.
"I'd like to hear it sometime," Andrew said.
"I think I brought it with me. I'll be right back," Meg told her before hurrying out of the room.
Back at the nurse's station she opened her bag and pulled out her story. She walked back to what she thought was Andrew's room. Except she was faced with two eyes full of a completely nude nurse and a medical student groping each other. Meg turned around and sprinted down the hall. A few paces down hall, she ran straight into Doug who had just stepped out of a room.
"Hey, this isn't playground," he told her. He looked down at Meg noticing that something was different.
She almost appeared to be trembling.
"What's wrong?" Doug questioned with concern.
Meg just stood there, but tears started to run down her face.
"Come on we can go talk in private," he said leading Meg to his office.
Once inside Meg was still silent.
"What happened? Did Andrew do something?" he asked.
Meg shook her head.
"Sweetie, what is it?" he questioned. "Did you see something?"
She nodded.
"Well, at least we're starting to get somewhere," Doug thought. "Was it a patient?"
Meg shook her head.
"Can you give me a hint? I don't know what is going on," he requested.
"I think I saw something that I shouldn't have. I thought it was Andrew's room, but it wasn't," Meg stammered. She stopped to take a breath. "There were these people, and I think they were having sex."
"Where?" Doug asked.
"That hall where you were a few rooms down from where I ran into you," she told him.
"Stay here. I'll be back," he told her.
Doug stormed out of his office and walked to the hall where Meg had encountered him. He knocked on door after door. In the first three, he had found everything in order, but when he opened door number four, he found what he was looking for.
"Gonzalez, when you are finished up in here, I'd like a word with you," Doug told them.
"What are you talking about Dr. Ross?" the young medical student asked.
"As I said, I'd like to speak with you," Doug slammed the door and waited outside.
A few minutes later, the nurse scampered out of the room rather embarrassed. She was not his concern she was not from the Pediatric Ward. Gonzalez opened the door and strutted towards Doug. Doug reentered the room with Gonzalez and closed the door.
"You could not begin to understand how pissed I am right now," Doug told him. "Not only were you on my time. You were doing it on the Pediatric floor. There are kids everywhere. What in Hell were you thinking?" he demanded.
"You know how it is. Laina wanted to fool around. The room was empty so it shouldn't be that big of a deal," Gonzalez defended himself.
"No, this is a big deal. You can not do whatever you want with whoever you want in this hospital. Do you want to know how I knew you were in there? My eight year old daughter told me. She walked in on your little session," Doug told him.
"Sorry, I didn't think…" Gonzalez started to say.
"No, you didn't think. Go home. You are finished for today," Doug said before going back to talk with Meg.
Across town, Carol sat in an exam room waiting for the results of her pregnancy test. She looked at the magazines sitting in the room. "Parenting" Carol read the first title. She wanted to throw up. The doctor returned, and Carol prepared herself for the news.
"The test was negative," the doctor told Carol. "As nurse, I'm sure you realize you are beginning menopause. I don't want insult you with a lecture, but here are some pamphlets in case there is something you are unsure of."
She nodded politely and exited the room. She walked out to the parking lot feeling confused. She was disappointed about something she had not wanted. She started her car and looked at the clock. It was just after four. She stopped off at a deli on the way home and picked up subs for dinner. She did not feel like cooking anything.
Explanation from Banana Belle
I love it when people point out what I have missed, and I am glad to help clear my writing up when there is confusion. I really was planning on menopause, but I perceive Carol as the type who would believe she is too young for that. I didn't realize I had Doug saying they were actually having sex. I never intended to imply they were actually having intercourse. I only meant for Meg to believe that was what they were doing. Meg is a smart enough to draw her own conclusions about what was going on without "knowing what sex is". An eight year old attending any school especially a public school with two older siblings knows more than most adults want to believe. I hope I have cleared a few things up, and once again thanks for all for help everyone.