"Mommy am I getting a shot?"
"No baby girl. Doctor T is just going to check up on you; maybe give you some medicine to help your tummy feel better." I say and she nods going back to coloring.
"Josephine Matthews."
"That's us baby." I say and she puts her crayons away then we walk toward the doctor.
"Hi Josephine, how are you doing?"
"I'm okay."
~~
"Miss Matthews, please sit." He says and I gently do so. I left Josephine up front with the child care so I could come talk to Doctor Theodore.
"So, is everything okay?" I ask clearing my throat and scooting my chair up.
"Your daughter's levels are a lot lower then they should be at any 8 year old's age. Now, we won't get test results back for a few days so I don't want to jump to conclusions just yet, however, I feel it is smart to go ahead and refer her to my friend at the Young Children's Hospital, about thirty minutes from here."
"The hospital? But you said there was nothing to be concerned with right now."
"Nothing immediate, however, when a child's levels drop as low as your daughter's have, it's automatically a concern."
"How uh- how low are her levels?"
"Take a look at this for me." He says handing me over a sheet. I flip it over and scan the graph.
"Oh wow." I say and he nods.
"I will hold off until the test results are back to send you and your daughter to the hospital, but from the look of these, she needs to go there." He says and I nod.
"Okay, well thank you Theodore"
"You're welcome Olivia, I will call as soon as the results are in. Would you rather talk over the phone or in person?" He asks
"I'll leave Josie with my mom and just come in."
"Okay. I will call you in when the results are back."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, have a good rest of your day Olivia."
"Thank you." I say then leave his office. I shut the door behind me and lean back against the door taking a moment to collect myself. I take a deep breath then walk down the hall and turn the corner smiling as Josie looks over at me.
"Hi mommy."
"Hi baby, you ready to go?" I ask picking her up and smiling over at the child care people.
"Thank you." I say and they nod then I leave the medical center.
"What did Doctor T say?" She asks as I buckle her in.
"Nothing for you to worry about baby. How does peppermint hot chocolate sound?" I ask and she nods wildly.
"Good." I say then drive toward the coffee house.
~~
"Hi, welcome back." The older woman from earlier, I believe it was Donna, says.
"Hi, thank you."
"White peppermint mocha, correct?"
"Yes that would be great but also, a peppermint hot cocoa." I say picking Josie back up.
"Oh and who is this?"
"I'm Josephine Matthews, you can call me Josie though." She says all polite and Donna laughs.
