Ivy's Tangle (Legend of the White Sword - Book 1)

Chapter 15 - Friendship Lost

In the days following my talk with Mr. Ryan, I did my best to be nicer to Ivy. That wasn't always successful because we both had strong, and, if I'm being honest, somewhat abrasive personalities. Two hotheads jammed together all the time were bound to have arguments, but I did try to keep my cool. Unless I imagined it—Ivy did the same.

The garden grew far beyond what I'd have believed possible, and we were already harvesting and eating the vegetables at mealtimes. One Tuesday evening I discovered that my family doctor would be staying at Gran's for the last weeks of summer holidays. I'd forgotten my annual physical until I saw him sitting at the dinner table.

Dr. Davis was so old and wrinkled, he made raisins and elephants look smooth by comparison. For my entire life, Dr. Davis had been my physician, and it didn't matter if I stayed the year at my mother's or my father's. When I got sick, Dr. Davis showed up, old-fashioned black bag in hand. I was ten or eleven before I realised most doctors don't make house calls, and none travel cross-country to do so.

I chocked it up to being wealthy.

Every summer, for as long as I could remember, Dr. Davis had showed up out of the blue to give me a detailed physical examination. Then, minus a bout of illness, I wouldn't see him again until the next summer. Since I was the last person to arrive for dinner, Ivy, Mr. Ryan, Gran, and Dr. Davis had started without me.

"Hello, Jack," Dr. Davis said. His raspy voice sounded like he'd just risen from the crypt, but he was nice enough.

"Hi," I said, sitting between Ivy and Mr. Ryan. "Annual physical time again?"

"I've become predictable," Dr. Davis said with a chuckle.

"Isn't it unusual for a healthy boy Jack's age to get a physical every year?" Mr. Ryan asked.

I'd asked my mother the same question last year and received no answer.

"It's required by his father's... insurance policy," Dr. Davis said. "To keep the premium down."

Why couldn't my mother tell me that? I wondered.

"I see," Mr. Ryan said.

A little small talk about the weather, and how tasty the fresh vegetables were, followed. Ivy gave the good doctor more than a few suspicious looks over the course of the meal. Dr. Davis informed me he was taking a short vacation at Gran's and would work in my examination sometime over the following weeks. The physical was never a big deal, and I soon moved on to thinking about other things.

***

Ivy had been hanging out in my room every night after my evening practice with Mr. Ryan, for weeks. I wasn't as tired anymore, and I suspected the movies remained her primary motivation, but it was still nice. That evening, after I showered, I asked Ms. Mopat if there was any popcorn in the house. She nodded, and made me two huge, butter-covered bowls with an ancient-looking air popper. I added bottles of iced tea from the fridge and headed up to my room. Ivy met me on the stairs, and I handed her half of the food. As soon as my bedroom door clicked shut, she set the bowl on her chair.

"Who's this Dr. Davis?" she asked, looking concerned.

"He's just my family doctor." I wondered what had her so worked up. It was Ivy... she might not know about doctors.

"There's something about him I don't trust."

"What?" I sat in my chair and crammed a huge handful of popcorn in my mouth.

"I don't know. He's not what he seems. Like Mr. Ryan, but in a different way."

"He's always been nice enough," I said, losing a few kernels, "The way he comes running when I get a cold... my dad must pay the guy a fortune."