Ch. 18
"Sally?" Howie whispered as he entered the small office. "You okay, honey?"
"Yeah, can I go back to the hotel now?"
The nurse shook her head. "Oh, no, sweetie, you need to stay the doctor is cocerned about your spell."
"Why? That test makes people sick all the time."
"Well, he's concerned with your weight loss and fatigue. He would like to run some tests to get to the bottom of your apparent problem."
"Apparent?"
"Calm down, Sally, look at yourself you're trembling- let's just stay." He faced the nurse. "I'll be allowed to stay at her side, won't I?"
The employee smiled. "Considering that red hair is natural and has a temper to match I would assume so, Mr.Dorough."
"Well, what do you say, Sal?"
"Fine, Howie, but they hurt me- you had better do some ass-kicking and drop that Sweet D. shit for me."
"Well, AJ's in the waiting room, we've got that covered."
******
"Howie, you might as well stop counting time. You've been gazing at your watch for the past four hours. If you're uncomfortable you should leav..."
"I'm not. I'm just worried."
"Don't be, they'll just say I have a vitamin defiency or anemia. I've been tested a lot."
"Why?"
"A kid at school would call me fat...I'd go without food a few days. Get lightheaded at school, so, the nurse called my mom they gave me a blood test and I was fine."
"No, you weren't. You had a problem, and they covered it up again and again."
"What problem? Anorexia, bulimia or anorexia nervousa?"
"How did you...."
"How did I know? Simple, you've only been hinting around the subject since we reached my home state, Howie."
"Why are you so calm?"
"What good would it do to get upset?"
"I don't get it....just awhile back you were bitching at me for thinking you had a problem."
"This test has taken longer in the others ,obviously, they're going to deal with this differently than all of the others. I'm not like the girls you see on tv. I know I have a problem, but I also know that I don't care."