Grey: A Novella

Chapter 15

The next morning, I drove her to the doctor for her breast cancer injection. She was in and out faster than you could say, "Bob's your uncle."

"How did it go?"

"It went great. The doctor said they caught it in time. It's all gone. Isn't that great?"

"That's wonderful news!"

Dr. Ra-min came out. They were quite good at their job, but their bedside manner needed work. A lot of work.

"Dr. Ra-min, wait," I called.

"Yes, Mr. Morrow?"

"I was just wondering, my wife hasn't been feeling well lately. How did you describe it, honey?"

"My body feels like lead. I don't have the motivation to do anything. It's all I can do just to get out of bed."

"Hm, interesting," replied the doctor, tapping their mouth with one of their fingers. "This does not sound like breast cancer. Let me perform a couple tests."

The tests were ready within the hour.

"Hm, there seems to be nothing wrong with her body," replied the doctor. "Although her brain scan does look quite strange."

"What does that mean, doc?" I asked.

"I do not know. You see, the human brain is a very strange thing to us. None of our top scientists were able to figure it out."

"Are you saying our brains are more complex than yours?"

"Oh, perish the thought! No. The brain in sentient species is just so strange that no one can understand exactly how it works. We have not figured out our own brains either."

"That's a nice bit of trivia there, but what does that do for my wife?"

Ra-min wrote rapidly on their slip. "I will refer your wife to see a human psychiatrist. A trusted psychoanalyst, not one of those hacks who do lobotomies. They will be able to help more than I can."

"A shrink? Come on, doc, can't you do better than that?"

Their eyes narrowed. "Now, see here! I am doing the best I can for this woman, so I think I deserve a bit of respect. I will give your wife the slip. If you do not want to go, that is fine. Although, if you care about your wife, you will."

I bit my lip. This damn Grey had me speechless.

"Thank you very much, doctor," said my wife. "We will make sure to see whoever you recommend."

"At least your wife knows how to show proper respect," they replied.

No way was I going to admit I was wrong to a Grey. I grabbed my wife's arm. "Come on, honey, let's get outta here."