"Say your name for me one more time," Eve heard Scooby prompt the camper he was checking into the health station.
"Timothy Gibbons," the rotund boy said again with a slight wheeze.
"Okay, Timmy -"
"It's Timothy." The camper said firmly, cutting Scooby off mid-reply.
The kid pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his freckled nose and Eve had to bite the insides of her cheek to keep from laughing.
"Timothy," Scooby said tightly, "do you have any medication to check in?"
The kid let out a giggle,
"Uh, yeah, just a few," Eve looked over as Timothy hefted a large plastic bag full of pill bottles and inhalers onto the table with a resounding thud, "these are my traveling medications."
Eve's eyes threatened to bug out of her head. She sifted feverishly through the stack of health forms in search of a Timothy Gibbons, to no avail.
"Timothy, did your family bring a health form in along with your registration?"
Timothy wheezed another giggle,
"Sort of. My doctor should've faxed everything over this morning."
"Faxed?" Eve echoed, her eyebrow hitching.
Timothy nodded with amusement,
"Oh, and my mother will most certainly want to speak to you before she leaves. You know, about my needs."
"Oh, and what a treat that promises to be..."
Eve swallowed her negative thoughts and glanced to Scooby with a forced smile,
"I'll be right back, Scoob. Maybe Sandrine has the fax from Timothy's doctor."
Timothy Gibbons was the last camper of the day to check-in. This was the first big group of the summer, topping off at 125 attendees, and Eve was truly feeling the pressure. She scooted back her chair and began clipping toward the front office, all the while wondering what "needs" Timothy could possibly be referring to.
She was about to find out. The file Sandrine, the office manager, handed her with an apologetic smile was rather thick.
"Holy moly," Eve breathed, scanning through the pages with her thumb.
She tucked the filed under her arm and fixed a neutral expression on her face before heading back out into the lodge. It was a matter of seconds before a blonde woman who could only be Timothy Gibbons' mother approached her, a broad smile on her round face,
"You must be Eve? The health officer?"
Eve returned her smile,
"That's me! Mrs. Gibbons, I'm guessing?"
Mrs. Gibbons nodded emphatically,
"You guessed it! Do you have a moment to go over Timothy's medical needs?"
"Sure," Eve replied, "let's have a seat at the health station where we can speak in private."
She ushered Mrs. Gibbons toward the back corner of the lodge where they happened to run into Timothy, who was being escorted to his cabin by a CIT Eve couldn't remember the name of for the life of her.
"Timothy, baby!" Mrs. Gibbons gushed, "Come give mummy a hug goodbye!"
Eve fought to keep her expression neutral. Timothy looked to be at least 12, and she would've been pretty mortified at his age if her mother had decided to address her that way. It didn't seem to phase Timothy, however, and he launched into his mom's arms for a big hug.
"Bye, mommy," he sang, "I'll write you lots of letters."
"Good for you, dude," Eve thought with a small smile.
"That's so sweet," she said aloud as Mrs. Gibbons waved goodbye one more time.
"He is a very sweet boy," Mrs. Gibbons replied with a proud smile.
The pair took a seat and Eve opened Timothy's file, ready to take notes.
"So," Mrs. Gibbons dove in, "as far as his dietary needs, the kitchen should already have his soy products and know what to do with them. My concerns are with Timothy getting his hourly sunscreen application and inhaler treatments every four hours."
Eve jotted that down and fought valiantly to maintain a neutral expression,
"Any particular reason for the ample sunscreen I should be aware of?"
"He will blister within minutes," Mrs. Gibbons replied with wide, worried eyes, "it's quite painful."
Eve nodded,
"Got it. Any sensitivity to mosquito bites?"
Mrs. Gibbons paled a bit,
"Not that I'm aware of... why, should I be concerned?"
"Way to give her ideas, dumb ass! "Eve inwardly chastised herself.
"Not at all. I just want to cover all of the skin irritation bases."
Mrs. Gibbons seemed to relax a bit.
"I have his morning, afternoon, and evening medications color coded," she explained, "he will need to be reminded to take them."
Eve smiled,
"I do medication calls at every meal," she assured Mrs. Gibbons, "and for his inhaler treatments I will go to wherever he is on camp grounds."
For a moment Mrs. Gibbon's eyes got a bit misty,
"I appreciate this so much, Eve. I know I probably sound like a mama bear, but Timothy was born with so many problems related to prematurity. He was a micro-preemie, actually," she sniffled, "I do whatever I can to alleviate his discomfort, but it's a lot to handle on my own."
Eve gave her a genuine smile and tried to convey utmost confidence.
"While Timothy is here I'll be his camp mama bear," she jested, "and if anything comes up I will absolutely give you a call."
Mrs. Gibbons rose to her feet with another sniffle and a satisfied smile.
"Thank you, again Eve. He is so looking forward to his week at camp. I'm glad we are able to make it work for him."
Eve stood as well and began leading Mrs. Gibbons to the front deck,
"He is going to make amazing memories."
They said their goodbyes and Eve shuffled back into the lodge, feeling a bit dazed. She didn't notice Zayne's presence until he cleared his throat.
"You handled that beautifully, Evie," he said, emerging from the office.
She startled at his appearance and had to chuckle.
"That was slightly overwhelming," she confessed with a laugh, "but hearing Mrs. Gibbons say how thankful she is for Timothy to be here reminded me why I love medicine."
Zayne broke into one of his dazzling smiles.
"That's the beauty of camp life, Evie! We sincerely make a difference for our campers."
"I am starting to get the idea," she concurred.
Zayne casually slung an arm around Eve's shoulders as they walked toward the infirmary,
"You're going to have an awesome week," he assured her, "it's pretty cool seeing camp in full swing."
Eve appreciated the encouragement.
"First I need to organize this mountain of medication."
Zayne checked his watch and shrugged,
"I've got some time until we need to go down for swim tests, I'll help."
"Really?" Eve stumbled over her own feet in surprise.
"It's no problem," he chuckled, squeezing a steadying arm around her shoulders, "I like helping in as many areas as I can."
Eve lifted an eyebrow coquettishly,
"Oh really? In any area...?"
There was a pause as Eve's joke hung between them.
"You really are becoming one of us," he commented dryly at her masterful innuendo.
"Lord help me, you may be right."