Crazy About You!

"What are you doing here?" Robbie demands as I walk into the restaurant Monday morning.
"I own this fine establishment known as Paper Trail." I say as I'm about to put my purse behind the counter.
"No, you have a doctor's appointment, remember." He says as he pushes me back out the door.
"You're really turning into mom!" I yell as I get into my car.

I drive the short distance to Dr. Anntics office and arrive minutes before eight o'clock. I sit in the plain and boring waiting room for the secretary to call my name.
"Ms. Brooks, before Dr. Anntics sees you, you must give us a sample of your urine." She says as she hands me a clear plastic cup with a green lid.
"Oh pleasant." I murmur as I make my way into the washroom at the end of the hallway. After performing the awkward request of filling the plastic cup with piss I hand it back to the secretary.
"Thank you. The doctor will see you in a few minutes." She says in a chipper voice. I sit back down in the waiting room and flip through a really old Times magazine.

"Ms. Brooks, Dr. Anntics will see you now." The oh so chipper secretary says as I make my way through the door.
"Ahh Ms. Brooks, so it's pain on your side." He says as he looks over the urine sample.
"Yeah." I say awkwardly as I sit on the examining table, swinging my legs back and forth childishly.
"Are you sure it's not muscle pain."
"I'm sure." I say confidently.
"Alright." He says pulling out small white test strips out of a glass jar. He dips it in the urine sample and looks it over. "Hmm."
"What is it?" I ask nervously.
"I'm not sure yet, so where'd you say it was hurting?" I point to a spot a little above my hip. "Lie down please." I do as he says and he presses his hand across the area that had been causing me pain for the past week and a half. "Ms. Brooks, I'm afraid you have an enflamed appendix."
"So are you going to put me on anti-biotic?" I ask casually.
"I'm afraid it's past that stage, you'll have to get it surgically removed."
"Surgery." I say nervously.
"Is it an insurance issue?" he asks looking over his clipboard.
"No, it's just I hate coming for check-ups so naturally I'm petrified of surgery."
"It's a routine procedure, there's next to no danger with this surgery and you'll be back to normal within a week." He reassures me. "Let's see we can perform the surgery four days from now.

I sit there in a bit of a daze as he writes the information down on a slip of paper.
"Well then Ms. Brooks I guess we'll be seeing you in a few days." He says as I head out of his office. I hated when people referred to themselves as we, it's so conceded.

I walk into my restaurant to see Robbie and Jelly rushing around clearing and setting tables before the lunch rush. Robbie stops in his tracks.
"What's wrong?"
"Enflamed appendix." I say straightforwardly.
"So did he put you on meds?"
"No, I have to have surgery."
"Oh, oh." Robbie says worriedly.
"It's okay, I had to get my appendix removed, it's no big deal." Jelly says in a more than reassuring voice.
"Really?"
"Yeah, trust me the worst part of the surgery is the hospital food." She says laughing. I start to feel a whole lot better; I knew Anjelica wasn't one to sugar coat things. "And even then I'm sure we can bring you some decent food."
"Thanks." I say as I get to work.

"Are you going to tell Tre?" Maggie asks having overheard the previous conversation.
"I guess." I say shrugging, "But I won't tell him today, I want to calm down first."
"Right." Maggie says as she checks over some muffins in the main oven.