[https://i.imgur.com/yEQYowO.jpg]

Part 4 - Honest (cont.)

Lina complimented me and then asked, "Should my hair be back too?" I assured her she was fine as I gave my hands a fine coat of apple-scented lotion. I offered her a dollop and she applied a nice, fragrant layer. 

Before the first of the other employees arrived, I made Lina a little clip-on badge with the company logo and her name. She wandered a bit, peeking into the office, and noted, "Hasn't changed that much over the years. Lots of memories..."

I watched her reaction when I flicked the light on in there. No lingering on Greg's desk, his paperwork, or the decorations. No wait, she smiled at the classy band posters. But, that was it. 

Sliding her sleeves up, she asked, "Where do you need me?"

Pretty much everywhere. We'd be understaffed. But should I put her out front to take patient information and answer calls or deal with John's stuff? I already knew the answer. Both.

I couldn't just throw her off the deep end though. I put her at the front desk but also joined her. 

Fortunately, I had an old cheat sheet with important numbers from when I started out. It was laminated. While we still had time, I walked her through it.

Not enough time to take her through the full privacy policy and billing forms but I jotted down a few notes as they occurred to me. Monday would be heavy with the orders spilling over from Friday. Greg considered getting a tablet for data entry, but I could scan and fax faster than getting that lazy brick to wake up and get a good connection when I tested one. Just point me to a copier and I will whip the fucker so hard it doesn't even think of paper jams.

Calls came first. I answered with it turned so Lina could listen in. Routine orders. Copy of a drug test for employment. TB testing. Check on a lipid panel. And a wellness exam. It would have to be scheduled with the nurse practitioner. Lina was quick, making her own notes on a nearby pad. I started some sheets and relayed the details to her. Soon the fax machine would be humming.

Walk-ins followed after that. A panting lady with a motorized wheelchair. She handed a paper to Lina and she asked her to sign in. Lina kept a calm, kind smile even as I noticed her shoulders were tensed. I chimed in and asked our first patient how she was feeling today and if she needed something to drink. I also considered hypoglycemia but without the benefit of a chart on her yet.

To my relief, she'd just been yelling at her ex-husband on the drive over. Here for an x-ray of a hip injury. After the next few people, I started to ease away from Lina because I needed to get these processed and sent back to the others, who I heard milling about already. Deb would show up soon with her googly-eyes, plume of over-permed dirty blonde hair, and big mouth. 

Still, they were at the other end of the office, so it would take a while before Deb noticed Lina. I buried her in work. The others got their orders as soon as I could request back copies that didn't look like charcoal tracings because someone's scanner contrast was shit. Or they had monkeys banging on the buttons. 

I responded by drawing "RESEND" in whiteout across the front. I was tempted to say more but I knew to restrain myself.

If I had to name one single, great timesink around the office, it was charting. Now, we didn't have the crunch of a full-scale medical office or even the horrors of an ER, but it amounted to sooo much time taking down and organizing information. Making sure that printouts were error-free, that forms got to the right places, billing was processed properly according to federal laws, and it was all archived accurately. So busy. And that was when I didn't also have to pull on some gloves and ferry an extremely-full cup of dark, sloshing pee with a broken lid to the right place. 

At least the back was doing their thing. And then, Deb asked, "Will Greg be in today?"

I answered quickly between sorting forms, "No. Personal matter." And, just as quickly, I gave her a request which I knew should take her a while.

Back up front, Lina looked a little frazzled. She had a line before the desk and was torn between processing, calls, and people asking her stuff out of turn. I headed off the third group. Some of them I knew well. 

First, they included people who were sure we had somehow caused some problem like weight gain, higher cholesterol, or pain, because of our procedures. They were to be kicked back to bitch at their referring physician. 

Then, the bill dodgers. Some of them had legitimately-misfiled claims and I wanted to work with them. Others were delinquent on agreed billing from months ago. Now collections was harassing them and it was our fault. My favorite was a woman who claimed her husband was dead, so she didn't have to pay a bill. He made an appearance in the office that same afternoon. They mostly made me smile till they threatened to sue us for one thing or another.

We got the drug reps before they pushed on to the greener pastures of other offices and a handful of people who swore by the tablets I swore at. So far, it was better than I expected. We survived. Probably my favorite moment of the morning was when a young woman asked Lina for medical advice on a red skin spot because she thought she was a doctor. 

[https://i.imgur.com/YFvMO8m.jpg]

Lina moved around a lot, crouching, hustling, and tending to calls and paperwork. She still had a line, but it was soon under control. However, I noticed Lina hadn't gotten up to use the bathroom yet. I wasn't keeping a careful count but, due to its location, it was hard to miss whenever someone went over there. That worried me.

During a lull, I rolled up a chair beside her and asked her if she needed to take a break. She stretched her feet and asked, "Am I supposed to?"

I shrugged and leaned close to privately whisper, "Don't you need a restroom break?"

Lina frowned and curled her mouth. She remarked, "Now I do."

I took over her queue as she excused herself. I tried not to kick myself and did my best to leave her alone until lunchtime. She did go back several times but less as the lunch crush approached. 

As I filed sent orders, Deb crept over and said nervously, "Greg. Isn't here today."

"Personal matter."

Her eyes wide, Deb added, "But that girl is. His cousin. Who has only come by on three instances I know about. For John. But John isn't in today either. More personal matters?" She sneered.

I adjusted my glasses, held my gaze, and told her, "That girl...is Angelina Rose Owlswatter. Her family pays our bills and she is running the front office by herself because she was needed. No more rude questions or you'll have to find somewhere else to poke holes in people for a half-day."

Her sneer slipped away to a scowl. "I've been here since before you. You can't talk to me that way. I've known Archie for years. He would never stand for this."

"He retired. Greg is the boss now. And, when Greg is away, I'm in charge. And I take care of the staff, those who are present, those who can't be here on a given day, and those who won't be here for long." I folded my arms and told her, "Make sure you're the first group and there'll be no problems."

Deb tried to stare but she didn't have it in her. Instead, she muttered, "I do my job. Just see people missing. And last night. Saw a bright light in the sky."

I held my eyes on her. "It's called the moon."

She flipped a hand dismissively. "I know the sky. I have a telescope in my yard. Something strange. Going on..."

Oh, for fuck's sake. Probably for peeking through the trees at other people's windows. 

"Yeah, it's space invaders, Deb. Every single one of us." 

Lina just happened to be passing by on her way to the restroom. She halted and chirped in, "Space Invaders?! Where? I have a top fifty score on the DS registered with Twin Galaxies."

Deb bent her head back but said nothing. I smiled and answered, "I'll tell you at lunch." 

Lina smiled with her hands in front of her and said, "Okay! Back soon."

Once she was away, I let out a deep breath and told Deb, "I should be at my mother's wedding this week, but I am doing what is needed of me. I don't need gossip and I will not tolerate unprofessionalism in our workspace. So, are we good now?"

Her mouth quivering in a faint pout, Deb gave me a passive nod and said, "I'm ready. For whoever....you send back next..."

I left without emotion or grandstanding, but I punched the air with a grin once I was inside a private nook of Greg's office. Felt good. Of course, I couldn't really fire Deb because she was contracted through an agency, but it would be incredibly easy to get someone else. 

Archie used to credit her with more hours than she would report to the agency and paid her more than she would claim in taxes. Greg put a stop to the first part, but she still hadn't been audited. Yet. 

Was all that necessary? Not really. Did I enjoy it? Fuck, yeah. Deb did the bare minimum unless I was on her. Archie (bless his heart) considered her like family, so she took advantage. She could bitch at him next time they met, whatever. I did my job. 

And I got back to it.

Somehow, we finished up the whole load and the walk-ins. The last was Darren, a young boy with growth hormone deficiency. He looked small and stout for his age. I'd seen him in once or twice. He stared at the floor with hot, flush tears in his eyes. Though I did my work, I kept an eye on Darren.

Lina crouched beside his chair and talked to him with a smile. I caught only snippets, bits of Lina's life she'd shared with me too. She gave Darren a tissue and he blew his nose loudly. His mother stroked his short, brown hair. 

After a few minutes, Darren made his way back while holding Lina's hand. She guided him to Deb's chair. His arm tensed up and wouldn't settle. Lina brought up something called "Smash Bros". I knew nothing about it but Darren did. He chatted with her as Deb worked. He flinched when the alcohol swab came out but Lina kept his attention on her. Special attacks. A video online with characters making silly sounds. He smiled despite his red cheeks.

Deb announced, "All done." Darren looked quietly at the little pumpkin patch band-aid on his arm and said a quick, "Thank you."

On his way back to the hallway with his mom, he turned, wrapped his arms around Lina in a hug, and said, "You're a nice lady, Misses Owl. Thank you!"

Lina sent him off with a wave and beamed as she returned to her work. 

After that, it was just making sure nothing had been fucked up and we were set till the second half of the day. I just had a few calls and some confirmations. Once those were done, I asked Lina where she wanted to go for lunch.

"Your pick", she told me with a grin.

Any of the nearby pubs would've been fine but I decided to go with Culver's. Lina waited in my car while I set aside my afternoon work and closed up the office. Once in the car, I took a deep breath and looked over at Lina. 

Quiet tears were running down her cheeks with blooming redness around her eyes. Her lips curled but she didn't whimper. 

I leaned over. "Aww, why are you crying?"

Her tears flowed as she blinked. Through a stuffy nose, she answered, "Cause I got a hug and he called me nice..."

It's hard to hug someone when you're both sitting together in the front seat but I did my best, rubbing her shoulder as she shuddered and sobbed. It was ever harder not to think of who she was supposed to be but I focused on who she was in that moment. 

She added, "He's a good kid and....he should be a happy kid." I nodded and gave her a little time to collect herself.

As I drove, she had little relapses where she needed a tissue from her bag. She even admitted quietly, "I dunno why I'm crying so bad but...he's a sweet kid..."

With a sniffle, she said, "I know boys are supposed to be a handful but I wanna have one someday. A boy and a girl. I'll teach them both to love games and not destroy each other, except in a friendly match." She chuckled warmly through the last of her tears.

She didn't dwell on her words but I did. As we both ordered a salad, some chili, and custard, I returned to that thought. Children. Babies.

Greg-as-Lina could have them. Maybe. Was she on a pill or an IUD? She wasn't sexually-active but plenty of women used birth control for concerns beyond pregnancy. It begged the question: Did she have a cycle? It would likely be normal for her unless she said otherwise. But I didn't want to encourage her ideas. 

If she somehow got pregnant from sex. The idea caught in my head with the fragment of my dream. Sure, the forces that oversaw and controlled bets couldn't make things permanent, but they also weren't unfair or cruel. And they definitely would not unmake an innocent, unborn life. 

If she got pregnant, then she might actually become Lina for real.