Keeping Sweets by Cate Ashwood Read Free Book Online Page B

clinic was clean and brightly lit. The waiting room was almost empty, with the exception of one very nervous-looking teenage girl, and one man in a business suit reading a magazine. The woman behind the desk looked younger than him and smiled as he walked through the door.
    “Can I help you?” she asked pleasantly.
    “Uhh… yes….” Evan stammered. He hadn’t expected to be this nervous. “I need to get tested.”
    “For anything specific or full screening?”
    “Full screening, please.”
    “Sure.” She handed him a purple plastic clipboard and a pen. “Just fill this out please and when you’re finished bring it back on up here.”
    “Thanks.”
    Evan took the clipboard and filled in all the necessary information on the form. When he was finished, he obediently returned the form to the woman behind the desk before sitting back in the vinyl chair to wait his turn.
    The nervous girl had gone in while he was filling out his paperwork and a few minutes later walked back through the waiting room and out the glass doors with a brown paper bag. She looked relieved.
    The man in the suit was next. Standing with easy confidence, he followed the receptionist through the door to the back of the clinic. When she returned, she called Evan’s name. He stood, wiping his sweaty palms down the front of his jeans.
    The girl led him into a small room. It looked like every doctor’s office he had ever visited. Same posters, same rough paper cover on the small vinyl bed against the wall. There was the same black rolling stool, various forms, and jars of cotton balls and swabs.
    “Have a seat. Someone will be with you in couple of minutes.”
    “Sure, thanks.” He nodded.
    He heard a familiar crinkling sound as he sat down and the paper folded and crumpled beneath him. His feet hung down over the side of the table and he swung them back and forth, then in circles as he waited. He already knew what the results would be, but Evan didn’t like needles much.
    A different young woman entered. She didn’t look like a nurse, dressed in soft gray pants and a navy blue blouse. She greeted him warmly and perched on the stool.
    “Hi, Evan. I’m Dr. Reynolds. How are you doing today?”
    “Nice to meet you. I’m doing okay. I need… an… uh… STD screening.”
    “Alright, I just want to go over a few things not included on the form you filled out since this is our first time meeting. Is that okay?”
    “Sure.”
    “Alright, Evan, I just need to get a little bit of information about your sexual history. Do you suspect that you’ve been exposed to any STDs in the past?”
    “No.”
    “Okay. Are you sexually active?”
    “No.”
    “Any recreational drug use?”
    “No.”
    The doctor looked up from the chart.
    “I need the results for a job,” Evan stammered
    Nodding her silent understanding, she simply said, “Alright, well let’s get started.”
    Evan was relieved there weren’t any more questions. He knew the doctor’s office was a zone of absolute confidentiality, but it didn’t mean that it was completely removed from judgment. He didn’t want to have to explain exactly what kind of job he needed an STD screening for, but she didn’t push the issue, and he was glad to let it drop.
    She stood and opened one of the drawers to her left. From the top one, she pulled a long rubber band and a syringe. Evan held his arm out so his palm faced up. The doctor’s fingers were cool and felt nice against his heated skin.
    “Just breathe, Evan. This will only take a second and I’ll do my best to make it completely painless.”
    Evan gave her an uneasy smile. “I’m okay,” he said, more for his benefit than hers.
    She grabbed the tourniquet and secured it tightly against his upper arm before reaching across the counter and pulling a cotton ball out of the jar. After dousing it in alcohol, she rubbed it over his inner elbow. She opened the syringe.
    “You don’t need to look if you don’t want to. Sometimes it helps