The Doctor's Assistant

Holidays

The first Christmas without my parents was pretty heartbreaking. I tried my hardest to be happy, to look on the bright side of things, but my moodiness showed. I know that I called Madds someone I looked up to as father-like, and that's not wrong in a few ways, but he's nothing like how my dad was. My dad was the tough, strong-as-hell, family guy that dragged in a six foot tall tree every year. ( Mom would 'complain' about the immense amount of pine needles now carpeting the wood floors and they would laugh it off together. ) He was the type of person to work hard and spend any remaining time in his day with Mom and me. All he wanted was to see me grow up into a person that could change the world for the better, so did Mom. I feel like I failed them. God, I wish I could go back.

"Elliot? Are you alright, Elliot?" Madds was tapping on my shoulder, prompting me to turn around. I was isolating myself in a corner of the lab, losing my gaze off into the distant Christmas lights across the room. I was suddenly aware of tears slowly rolling down my face, collecting in a damp pool on my festive sweater. Ignoring the doctor would prompt him to ask the question again while saying that I was fine would cause him to point out that I wasn't. Madds had a bad habit of not leaving things, or in this case people, alone.

Turning to say something, I heard a faint ringing in the other room. It was the phone. I stood up to get it while Madds brushed it off. "They are probably just telemarketers. Even on Christmas they call, eager to waste your time." I kept walking toward the ringing, running even, to catch it before it stopped. Even if it was a waste of time, I needed a distraction. I got so much more than a distraction.

Picking up the phone, catching it on the last few rings, I heard a heavily accented woman's voice on the other line. "Hello?" She called. "Do I have the wrong number? Perhaps he changed it after all these years." I knew she was about to hang up so I said;

"Hello."

Her response: "Oh, um, hello. Who is this?"

"My name is Elliot, I'm the assistant to Madds Addison. Is he who you were hoping to speak to?"

"An assistant to him? He must be getting older. And yes, I was calling him. Can you put him on the phone? Tell him Mawi is on the line."

This is the point where I nearly had a heart attack. Of all the times in the world to call, she calls now? Didn't Madds say that they divorced years ago? Oh boy.

"Well, Mawi, he is a bit distracted at the moment. I don't think he can make it to the phone right now."

"What? How so? What is happening?"

"Well, um," It was time to lie. "It appears that he accidentally knocked over the plastic tree in the lab. Oh no, the branches are on fire since one of the light bulbs got overheated. And now the lab's on fire, oh god."

"If you actually expected me to believe that then you need a better acting coach. As for Madds, he is sleeping, right? That is his usual reason for not picking up the phone."

'She called multiple times before?'

"Yep, he's actually napping on the couch right now." More lying. "Can you call back at a different time? Maybe tomorrow?"

"Fine. Thank you for answering the phone, you are good at your job."

"Heh, if only this was what the job was. Um, nevermind. Goodbye."

I hung up before her, the ending beep ringing in my ear. Didn't realize that my finger was directly over the 'end call' button the whole time.

Placing the phone back in its cradle, I then sat down on the chair placed next to it for when Madds needed to make long phone calls. A sigh escaped my chapped, parted lips as I slumped in my seat and observed the kitchen, giving it a tired once-over while taking everything in. There were two small roasts resting on the stove, one beef and one human. Madds made things separate for me because I still refused to give into his dietary habits. I had already demagnetized my moral compass enough.