Julie & Jill

Julie Welles exited the bus and headed for the medical clinic just up the street. It was just after 10:00 AM. She ignored the stares from the men and women she passed as she trudged through the hot California sun, aware she was attractive even though she never let it go to her head. It was early May, yet the weather already promised a long, hot summer. Julie wore white shorts and a bright pink tank top. Her medium brown curls were piled on her head in a loose bun. Oh, I hope this is over with fast! Julie thought to herself, as those yearly exams were never her favorite. She pulled open the clinic door. The cool air inside felt wonderful. She paused to let her eyes adjust to the dimmer interior, then headed for the elevator. She pushed the button for the second floor and stepped out once the elevator doors opened. She walked to the receptionist’s desk. A stout elderly woman was on the phone. “Yes, that’s it. Just tell her to keep taking the antibiotics until there’s no more left.” Julie waited patiently. “Okay then. Call back if there are any changes or if you have any more questions.” The receptionist hung up the phone and turned to face Julie. “Hello. Who will you be seeing today?” “Doctor Smith. Is she running on time?” Julie asked. “She should be. Just sign in and have a seat.” Julie wrote her name on the sign-in sheet and took a seat. There was only one other person present. The waiting area was open to the examination area, so she could see down a long corridor where the examination rooms branched off. She hadn’t been sitting for more than a few minutes when she saw her—a tall, slender nurse with straight, shoulder-length dark hair, chatting with a shorter, rounder nurse who appeared to be in her forties. Julie thought the shorter one might be a lesbian, judging by her more masculine looks and very short hair, although Julie knew anyone could be gay or lesbian. Julie herself was lesbian yet as feminine as could be. The short nurse entered a room, while the tall one walked further down the hall. What a great body! Julie wondered what her face looked like. A few more minutes passed, then Julie saw the nurse coming back down the hall towards her. Her heartbeat sped up. The nurse reached the doorway. “Julie Welles?” “Yes, that’s me,” said Julie as she rose to her feet and approached the nurse, who gave a quick, closed-lipped smile. Julie’s heartbeat seemed to speed up with each step closer to the nurse, who gazed into her eyes with what seemed to be a mixture of concern and curiosity. I must be shaking or blushing! The nurse’s hair was such a dark shade of brown that it was almost black, parted in the middle. For someone who generally preferred long hair, Julie thought her shoulder-length style looked very nice as it grazed her slender shoulders. Her eyes were just as dark as were her thick, finely sculpted eyebrows. She wore no jewelry other than gold studs in her ears and a thin gold chain necklace. She wasn’t as feminine as Julie, but she wasn’t like the other nurse either. Julie judged her to be in her mid to late twenties and possibly of Italian descent. Most of all, she judged her to be quite attractive. “Everything okay today?” asked the nurse, whose name tag read Jill. “Oh yes, just fine. I was actually noticing that you look remarkably like my favorite actress, Kate Jackson, when she was younger,” Julie tried to slow her heartbeat. “You just have a lower-pitched voice and no southern drawl.” “Yeah, I hear that all the time,” Jill said with a slight smile as she and Julie passed the other nurse. “Hop up on the scale there,” Jill told Julie. Julie tried not to tremble as she stepped up so Jill could measure her height. “Still five-two, I hope,” said Julie. “Yup. You haven’t shrunk or anything.” Both chuckled. “You’re so tall, you must be nearly six feet.” “Five-eight,” said Jill as she scribbled in Julie’s chart. Julie’s heartbeat sped up even more as Jill reached by her to slide the weights. She admired Jill’s long, tanned forearm with its taut muscles. “How interesting. I never thought you’d be over a hundred pounds, yet you’re just a tad under one-fifteen. You must keep in good shape.” “I try,” Julie said, stepping off the scale. Another nurse, closer to Julie’s age, came down the hall towards them. “Jill?” “Yeah?” said Jill, turning to face the nurse. “Should I put the stack of pink papers in the same file drawer as the white ones?” Ah, so you’re some kind of boss around here, huh? Julie thought. “No, and I told you this before,” Jill said with irritation. “Never put those in the same drawer. Keep the whites on top and the pinks below them. Understand?” Julie wondered if perhaps Jill was a real bitch. Just why was it that more often than not, the better-looking ones were such snobs, if not downright assholes? That was the only thing Julie didn’t like about Jill upon their initial meeting. She struck her as the serious type who didn’t laugh enough. Well, Julie thought, she may be impatient, intolerant, and whatever else that’s not good, but I know I wouldn’t do a damn thing to stop her if she demanded we get it on together in the privacy of one of these examination rooms. “Got it,” said the young nurse as she spun on her heel and walked away. Nurse Short and Plump stepped closer. “Still doesn’t get it, does she?” she said with a chuckle. “No, she doesn’t. In fact, I’m about ready to recommend her replacement.” “Yeah, I hear you.” “I mean, I don’t want to do it. I know she has a small child to support, but I’ve given her numerous chances,” said Jill. Nurse Short and Plump shrugged. “You gotta do what you gotta do,” she said matter-of-factly. “Want me to take the other one that’s still waiting out there?” “If she’s waiting for Smith, no. If she’s waiting for Miller, put her in room six.” “You got it. And by the way…” “Yeah?” “Remember Mrs. Hartley?” “The old lady who claims to be psychic?” Short and Plump nodded. “Well, she says you’re going to meet the love of your life real soon, but you won’t know it right away.” “Yeah, right,” said Jill, rolling her eyes. Short and Plump turned with a laugh and reached for a chart on the wall while Jill motioned Julie into the nearest examination room. “You don’t believe in psychics,” Julie said more as a statement than a question. “No, not really,” said Jill, glancing through Julie’s chart. “How’d you know that?” “Because I’m one of them.” “Oh,” she said with a shrug, then changed the subject as she glanced at Julie’s chart. “You’re just here for a regular exam, right?” she asked, raising her eyes towards Julie’s. Julie nodded. “Why are you requesting water pills?” “Because I turn into a real water balloon before my period.” “Just drink lots of water, and that’ll flush a lot of the water off you.” She looked through Julie’s file a moment longer before placing it down on the table. “Okay, hop up on the table,” she said. Julie did as she was told, placing her purse at her side. “You’re twenty-two, aren’t you?” asked Jill. Julie nodded. “How about you?” She laughed. “You’re psychic, so can’t you tell me?” “No. I can’t tell everything. If I could, I’d have won the fifty-million-dollar lottery drawing last night.” “I’m twenty-eight,” Jill said as she reached for the stethoscope hanging from her neck and placed it against Julie’s chest. She listened for a moment, her eyebrows rising. “Well, Julie…” “Yes?” “I’m not psychic at all, so how about telling me why you’re so nervous today? Your heart’s beating a mile a minute.” Julie wasn’t sure what to say at first, but then finally said, “Uh, actually, I didn’t think I was, to tell you the truth.” Wordlessly, Jill wrote in the chart. Then she turned to look directly at Julie and said, “If it’s any consolation, Doctor Smith is a very good doctor.” “Yes, I know. I’ve seen her before.” Jill chewed on her pen a moment as if contemplating the situation. Then, after she took Julie’s blood pressure, she checked her right ear and stopped short when she went to check her left ear, discovering that although there was an ear, there was no canal. “Surprised you, didn’t I?” Julie said with amusement. “Yes, I must admit you sure did. Were you born this way?” Julie nodded. “The doctor said the canal formed, then fused shut, and never reopened.” Jill picked up a tongue depressor. “Oh, please. I hate those things,” Julie protested. “I think you can handle it,” said Jill with a smile as she quickly checked Julie’s throat before she could protest any further. Bitch. “Okay, now just strip from the waist down, put on the gown that’s on the table, and the doc will see you soon.” How sad, thought Julie once she was left alone. She really does seem like such a serious, insensitive bitch. But that would change as Julie got to know Jill better in the months to come.