The Problem with Dreams

Chapter 5 - The Tidings of an Early Morning

Greg and Susan were up an hour earlier than they usually were on Wednesday morning in order to arrive at Dr. Daniels' office in Malibu in time for their appointment. Susan received a call from the nurse asking them to come an hour early for some additional tests, and so they were on the road by seven fifteen to ensure they arrived on time. Susan drove, parking their car in the parking lot she'd been to every morning that week thirty minutes later. Then together they went inside, directly to the receptionist's desk.

"Oh good, you're here. Take this to the lab right away," the receptionist told them. "Do you know where it is?"

"Yes, I was there yesterday," Susan told her.

"Which explains this," she told her with a smile. "The doctor wants the results for your appointment."

"Oh, but I've already eatten!" Susan told her. "I didn't know."

"For this, it won't matter," she assured Susan.

"Okay," Susan agreed. "I'll be back," she promised and led Greg out of the waiting room.

"Where to?" Greg asked.

"Just down the street," Susan said as they went back to their car. "It's not that far, but it did sound like they wanted us to hurry."

"Shall I drive?" Greg offered.

"Yes," Susan said as they got in.

She explained where to go then studied the lab form in her hands as Greg drove. She could think of two reasons Dr. Daniels would be requesting this particular test. One was if her test the day before was positive, the other was if it was negative, which gave her no clue as to what their situation was or what the doctor was thinking.

The lab wasn't far, only about a mile and a half away, and they were shortly parked in a different parking lot and speaking to another receptionist, this one at the laboratory.

"The doctor ordered his ASAP," she read. "You'll be next. Please have a seat. They'll call you in a moment."

Compared to the routine blood draw Susan had the previous morning, this one was  quick. They were finished less than fifteen minutes later, and by eight thirty were once again on their way back to Dr. Daniels' where Susan checked in again for her appointment.

"Please have a seat," they were told and they sat down in the dramatically lit waiting room to wait.

The minutes passed as they tried not to watch the clock, entertaining themselves by talking softly and inspecting the room.

"Doctor Daniels does have a dramatically lit waiting room," Greg remarked as he studied the place. "Quite different from what one typically sees in medical places."

"I suspect that's on purpose. It's quite possible to hide in plain sight in this room," Susan told him.

"Is that important?" Greg asked her curiously.

"Sometimes it is. This room holds people experiencing extreme joy, and utter devastation, and sometimes they need the visual privacy from one another, just to get through it," Susan explained.

"It's necessary for their patients," Greg realized.

"I think so," Susan said. "I didn't understand that when I first visited, but I do now."

Greg nodded. He thought of telling her about the discussions with the production company the previous day while they were waiting, but now didn't seem like quite the right time.

"Mrs. Abernathy?" The nurse called Susan and invited Greg to follow them beyond the waiting room doors. "Sorry we had you waiting so long. Doctor was waiting for the report from the lab. We just got it, so you can go in."