Lorelai is ten minutes from her house, when her primary care doctor calls her. She presses talk, and puts the phone to her ear.
"Miss Gilmore, Dr Graham would like you to come to the office. He wants to go over some of the test results from your annual exams with you."
"I was just there yesterday. Do I need to make an appointment?"
"He said you could come in anytime today."
"I am in Hartford now. I could be there in ten minutes."
"We will see you then."
She hangs up, and the nagging feeling she has been having periodically since her appointment returns. Her mind races as she heads towards the doctor's office. She wonders what could be wrong. He insisted on her participating in a mammogram earlier in the year, which came back clean. He performed a whole slew of lab tests with her physical exam this year. He checked her thyroid, and her liver, and her kidneys. He wanted to evaluate hormone levels. He explained he was going to check her B-12, and vitamin D, and calcium levels. After the fifth, or sixth test, she had stopped listening. She left his office to have her lab work drawn. It seemed like they removed twelve vials of blood from her, before sending her off.
She pulls into a parking space, and enters the office. She announces her presence to the receptionist, and expects to be corralled into the waiting room. Instead the cheerful twenty-something just smiles at her, and says, "Jenny will take you back." Lorelai furrows her brow. She has been seeing this particular primary care physician for more than ten years. He was an excellent doctor, but she fails to recall a single visit, in which she did not have to cool her heels in the waiting room for at least twenty minutes before her visit. Jenny leads her into an exam room.
"Have a seat," she instructs, "He will be right in."
Lorelai takes a seat in a chair, in the corner of the room. She glances at her wristwatch, expecting to wait fifteen to twenty minutes. The second she picks up March's issue of Vanity Fair there is a knock on the door. She looks up in time to see Dr. Graham crossing the threshold. He carries a manila folder as he closes the door. He stops in front of her, and extends his hand.
"How are you doing this afternoon, Lorelai?" He queries.
"I am not sure. Why don't you tell me? I am a little confused as to what I am doing here."
"I wanted to go over your test results with you," he answers, as he takes a seat on a wheeled stool.
"Let me guess, my cholesterol is elevated, and my triglycerides are out of this world."
"Actually they are better than last year," he admits, "Still slightly elevated, but they are improving."
"Luke keeps putting vegetables on my plate. After all of this time I have gotten tired of arguing with him. I eat half of them, and feed the rest of them to Paul Anka."
"I have a four year old who does that," he comments with a grin.
"We didn't have a dog when I was four."
"I didn't call you in here because of your cholesterol," he admits.
"Then why am I here?"
"Let's start with the easiest of the results first. You have a vitamin D deficiency. I am going to suggest a supplement."
"I will likely ignore that suggestion."
"You often ignore my suggestions," he points out.
"Why did you call me back into your office to discuss this?"
"I noted you came in for your annual exam a little earlier than usual."
"I usually only come every three years," she reminds him.
"You were just here last year. You were mentioning some symptoms that can be consistent with menopause," he reviews his notes, "Fatigue, and irritability, and hot flashes. We checked your hormone levels. They were definitely abnormal."
"So I am going into menopause?"
He flips through his notes, "When was your last menstrual period?"
She shrugs, "I don't know, sometime in July, maybe."
"I see," he makes a note. "Are you familiar with my associate, Dr. Jenkins?"
"Should I be?"
"As you know there are several different practices in this building. We are all associated with the local hospital."
"I believe I am aware of that. Why is it pertinent?"
"I am going to pass your case over to Dr. Jenkins."
"Pass my case over? How complicated can my case be? I take no medications, and despite my poor dietary habits I am relatively healthy."
"I have already spoken to Dr. Jenkins about your case. He is expecting you, after you leave here."
"He is expecting me? Why is he expecting me?"
"He is more equipped to handle your case."
"What do you mean? How complicated could it be? I am going through menopause. I am not certain what all the hubbub is about."
"I am going to let him give you that explanation."
"What?"
"He will provide a more succinct answer, than I would. Jenny will show you next door."
She sits in her seat wondering what is going on. The nurse enters the room, and instructs Lorelai to follow her. Jenny leads her to the end of the hallway. She takes her through a door, into an adjacent practice. She anticipates that Jenny will lead her into the waiting room. Once again, she is lead directly into an exam room. She has barely gotten settled in her chair, when Dr. Jenkins enters the room. A tall blonde enters the room. She smiles widely, and looks as if she has just stepped out of medical school. She washes her hands. After drying them she offers her right hand to Lorelai.
"Miss Gilmore, nice to meet you. I am Dr. Jenkins."
"I assumed as much."
"Dr. Graham referred your case to me."
"I don't understand why."