Man of the Year (Drake Story)

Chapter Enogtyve

The doctor finally called us in at eleven in the morning, two hours after we got there.

“Hello, Dr. Phite,” Amanda greeted him. She gave me Makonnen to hold and sat down on one of the doctor’s couches, resting her purse on her lap. I hadn’t been to a doctor’s office in a while (and the sign on the wall reminding patients that we had to get a check-up every six months didn’t make me feel any less guilty), but this one seemed to be exactly like the ones I remembered. The bed with the noisy sheet on top of it, diagrams of the body, the doctor’s desk and tools toward the back, and a computer to the side. There was even the same grumbling feeling in my stomach, but its cause was much larger than my resentment for needles. Makonnen leaned his head against my neck and closed his eyes.

“This is the little one you told me about over the phone,” Dr. Phite asked, smiling at the dosing little boy on my lap.

“Yes, that’s him,” Amanda chuckled. “We made sure to get here early enough for the results.”

“You want the same-day package?”

“Knowing the truth is kind of urgent for us.”

The doctor scratched his chin, screwing his face up into a disappointed frown. “That package costs a fortune. Do you have insurance?”

It was Amanda’s turn to frown now, looking away from me and the doctor to shake her head.

“Well I’m sorry that you don’t, but to be honest I wouldn’t use the same-day route if I was you.” Phite sat down on the examination bed. “I understand that getting some answers is important to you and your partner, but seeing that you don’t have insurance, the smartest choice would be to wait. There is a much cheaper four-day option available, and I believe it will be more appropriate for you.”

“We want the same-day option.” I don’t know why I said this or why everything I did was always so spontaneous, but it was already in the air. They already heard it.

“We don’t have the money, Aubrey.” Amanda looked at me. I was going to agree with her at first, to say that the doctor was right and the four days would go by in no time, but the utter humiliation and dissatisfaction in her eyes would kill me if I didn’t do something.

“You don’t.” I said. I should take it back.

Her eyes widened. “You’d really do that for me? You’d really pay for it?”

“Of course,” I grinned. Shut up. Stop talking. “Why wouldn’t I do it? It’s for us.”

Amanda, whose smile expanded from one ear to another, hugged me tightly. “You’re the best, Aubrey.”

Yeah, I was. I always was. I couldn’t not be, apparently.

“Alright, then let’s get going!” Dr. Phite shook my hand. “It’s a paternity test you’re interested in, correct?”

“Yes.” We said.

“Good. Miss Amanda, you may step out now. I’ll get the samples from Mr. —” He asked me for my full name, “—Graham and your son, and then all of you can sit in the waiting room until you’re called back in. It may take up to closing time, but the results are accurate and it’s worth the wait.”

“Thank you so much, Dr. Phite,” Amanda stood from her seat and hugged him. She turned to me, kissed her son’s cheek, and then scurried out of the room. Dr. Phite looked at me with a grin on his face, like he knew I wasn’t with Amanda and that I wasn’t excited about this, like he wanted to just ask me “You ready to see if she has you on lock?”. But instead, he asked:

“Are you ready to get these results?”

I shrugged. “I guess so.”

So the testing proceeded.