Socio

Not wanting to seem overly eager, Shannon waited a day and then called the number Dr. Warren had given her. She expected some kind of answering service to answer for her but was surprised when the doctor herself answered. "Hello?" "Hello. Who's this?" "Well, who is this?" "This is Shannon Owens. Is this Dr. Warren?" "Yes, it is. Hello, Shannon. How are you this evening?" "I'm fine. Is your offer still good?" "Yes, ma'am." "That's nice to know, though honestly, I don't mind helping you out as a favor. You don't have to send me to the doctor." A slight laugh could be heard from the other end of the line and then the doctor said, "Going to the doctor is part of the favor you would be doing me." "Okay, then. If you insist." "Are you sure?" "I'm sure. What do you need me to do?" "I need you to come to my office after hours tomorrow. Would that be okay for you?" "Yes, that would work." "I need you to wear something casual but not sloppy or overly fancy." "Okay." "Nothing with any writing or logos but rather a solid color." "Pants or a dress?" "Either one is fine." "I have a simple short-sleeved pale pink dress that falls to just above my knees." "That should be okay." "I take it my shoes don't matter?" "No. That is up to you." "Any hair or makeup requests?" "Little to no makeup. The hair doesn't matter unless you intend to dye it bright green or something like that." Shannon laughed and said, "Definitely not." "I will see you at 5 PM then." Shannon hung up feeling a strange sense of anticipation. She actually looked forward to doing the video. Not because she wanted to be in a video, since anyone could make a video of themselves these days. And definitely not because she was eager to go to the doctor, paid for or not. It was something about the doctor herself. She wasn't sure what it was, but for some reason she couldn't understand, she was looking forward to seeing her again. It wasn't that she was attractive. If anything, she ranged from ugly to ordinary. She wasn't sure what to make of her personality. Even though she had chatted with her at lunch and asked some questions about her, she had the feeling that the doctor wasn't usually very friendly. She didn't think she was exactly unfriendly either but just quiet and indifferent-appearing. Shannon was usually pretty good at reading people and she sensed that the doctor wasn't a very emotional person overall and probably had a rather dry sense of humor as well. But she liked the woman. She didn't know why but she did, even though she knew next to nothing about her. She had trouble sleeping that night as she thought about her upcoming meeting with the doctor with the plain face and the beautiful hair. But eventually, sleep did claim her until the vibration of her Fitbit brought her back to wakefulness several hours later. It was Thursday, so that was her day off. It was going to be a long day. Normally, she had the luxury of not setting alarms on her days off. But this morning she had some errands to run and she decided not to sleep in. It seemed like forever had passed before it was time to take the train over to the medical center. She went to the third floor and the suite that Dr. Warren had instructed her to go to. She arrived a few minutes early, according to the clock on the wall behind the reception desk. "Are you Shannon?" a tall, slim black woman asked her once she stepped into the area. "Yes, I am." "Dr. Warren is waiting for you. I'll show you the way." Shannon followed the woman through a door and into a smaller waiting area where the doctor stood chatting with a younger guy. When she heard them coming, she turned to face her and said, "Oh, she made it. Good for you." "Hello there," said the guy with a smile and a nod. "I'm your cameraman today." Shannon smiled and said, "Sounds good to me." The doctor slowly gave her a once-over, inspecting her appearance. "Looking good. Okay then, Miss Shannon. Let's head on into this exam room right here." The doctor motioned toward a room a few feet away, reached in and turned on the light. Then she swung the door open wide. After it was decided where Shannon would sit and where the cameraman would be, the doctor spoke to her while he set things up. "You just have a seat in this chair right here. I'm going to appear to examine your thyroid as if you were a typical patient of mine." The doctor wheeled a chair over toward the center of the room and Shannon sat in it as she held the back of it. "Ready?" she asked her. "Sure." "Okay, we're rolling," said the cameraman. Remaining behind her, the doctor reached around in front of her neck and began to gently feel along where the thyroid gland was located at the base of the neck. "Now, I'm just going to check for any signs of enlargement like I would with patients experiencing thyroid issues. And then I am going to come around in front of you, sit in my chair, and we are going to chat until we are told we can stop." "Okay. What should we chat about?" asked Shannon. The doctor smiled and she heard the cameraman snicker toward her right. "Tell me how you feel right now," said the doctor. "What's the first thing that comes to mind?" "Well, I'm sitting in a doctor's office for what's probably the first time in close to a decade and it smells like someone recently peeled a lemon in here." The doctor smiled again just as the cameraman said he had enough video shot. His camera had a small playback screen and after they observed a few minutes of film and approved it, they all prepared to leave. The cameraman and woman in the reception area left first, leaving Shannon alone with the doctor. "Tomorrow's Friday," the doctor said. "All day." The doctor cracked a smile, exposing a set of gorgeous white teeth that matched her white coat. "Will you be free tomorrow at 1 o'clock?" "I can be. What do you need?" "For you to see this doctor." She pulled a piece of paper from her white physician's coat pocket. "Dr. Coleman is a wonderful doctor. She's up on the fifth floor. I want you to go talk to her tomorrow at 1 o'clock. She will do a basic exam then." Shannon took the piece of paper from the doctor. "Okay. I'll let you know what the results are when I have them." The doctor nodded and thanked Shannon for her time as she locked her office and the two headed out to the main reception area. When they went downstairs and exited the building altogether, the doctor said, "Are you parked close by?" "No. I travel either by train or my bike. I trained down and was going to take the train back up to my place." "Where do you live?" Shannon told her. "I know where that is." "It's just a dumpy old studio and the neighborhood isn't the greatest but it sure is cheap for being in New York." "Come," she said with a nod of her head. "I will give you a ride." "Oh, thanks, Doc. I really do appreciate it because lately, this so-called spring weather has felt more like winter." "It has," the doctor agreed. Once in the doctor's luxuriously comfortable car, Shannon found herself feeling a bit self-conscious and unsure of what to say. "You sound younger than you are." Now, why in the world did she feel she had to say that? Smiling but keeping her eyes on the road, the doctor said, "And you look younger than you are." "But you don't know how old I am." "You don’t know how old I am." "Late thirties?" "Forty-five." "Wow, not bad, Doc. Should I call you Doc even though you're not really my doctor?" "Doctor, Doc, Angelica... take your pick." "I kind of like Doc. That's what I'm used to anyway." "You look like you're in your early twenties but I know you're thirty-three." "Right on, Doc. How did you know?" "I have my ways," she said as they pulled up to her four-story apartment building. Shannon noticed the doctor looking around warily, eyes flicking from a suspicious-looking guy hanging on the corner of the street to a small group of men loitering across the way. "Yeah, I know. Not exactly the greatest hood." "No, it isn't. Even though my car may stand out a bit, I'd like to walk you to your apartment and see that you get in safely." Shannon laughed. "I'm flattered, Doc, but somehow I don't see how you could protect me unless you're packing, and you don't seem like the packing type." Without a word, they exited the doctor's Infiniti. Shannon decided she really did like this doctor very much.