Home is You

Chapter 3

Liam:

I've been sitting here for at least twenty minutes past my appointment time. I don't understand how they make such a big deal about the patient being on time, when the doctor is rarely on time. I hate doctor offices. I feel claustrophobic in them and I don't need some doctor telling me what I should and should not be doing for my body. I'm generally healthy. I am a vegetarian for god sakes. I run four miles almost every day. I am never sick and I feel great, other than the recent back pain and sleeplessness. But it's all due to stress. Nothing that relaxation can't fix.

Maybe it's time for Steffy and I to go on another Mom and Dad vacation. It's been awhile since just the two of us have snuck off for a couple days together. As the kids have gotten older it's becomemuch more infrequent. I play on my cell phone for another few minutes become increasingly impatient, before deciding to get up and give them a piece of my mind.

"Excuse me?" I say to the lady at the desk, tapping my fingers on the ledge, deliberately watching my tone. I know it's not directly her fault that I am still waiting to be seen. "I have been waiting several minutes, thirty minutes or more, when will I be able to get in to see the doctor?"

"I'm so sorry," the lady replies giving me a small smile. "The doctor is running extremely behind today. You should be able to get into see him in just a few more minutes," she reassures.

Just as a plop down frustrated in the chair, my name is called.

"Liam Spencer?"

I rise walking towards the nurse in the scrubs.

"He will be in momentarily," the nurse says closing the door behind her.

Within a few more minutes there is a brief knock on the door, before the door opens and Dr. Sanders walks in.

"Liam, how you doing? It's been a couple years since you've been to see me. You are only here for a physical?" Dr. Sanders asks looking down at the clipboard that is in his hands. He chuckles softly looking up at me. "You've been coming to me for years and you've never been one to voluntary come in. I'm assuming that you are having some kind of issues and Steffy pushed you to coming in?"

"Uh—" I begin to say, with nothing following the words. I cock my head to the side before scratching my head in semi embarrassment. Dr. Sanders is one hundred percent calling me out and I can't even deny his accusations.

"I'll take that as a yes," he nodded in my general direction. "How are Steffy and the kids?" Dr. Sanders inquires placing his stethoscope on my back to listen to my heart and lungs. "The kids must be getting big now. How old are they now?"

"Kelly is 15, almost 16, Cooper is 13, and the twins are 8, almost 9."

"Wow, that happened quickly. I remember when you came in right after Steffy had Kelly."

I sigh to myself thinking about everything that's happened over the last 20 plus years. It sometimes doesn't seem like it's been that long. I can still hear Steffy clearly saying to 'Let me bring you back to life.'all those years ago. "Yeah," I finally say, "You don't realize how much time has gone sometimes until you are in your living room yelling at your stubborn sixteen-year-old."

Dr. Sanders gives me a small smile. "Mhm, that is the truth."

He quickly changes the subject, removing his stethoscope from his ears. "Talk to me, do you feel alright? Does anything bother you? Any pain? Like I said it's been awhile..."

"Nothing too much out of the ordinary, you know stress, back pain, on and off insomnia. I have had a little bit of blurry vision, but I am just contributing it to stress and the migraines I've been getting. I figure it's just due to getting older," I chuckle slightly looking down at my hands. "A little trouble focusing sometimes. I feel like I constantly have swarms of stuff going through my head, but again, I just feel like it's stress related, maybe some worry related to the kids, being a dad, you know?"