Mama Eva's Home for Bayou Witches

Chapter 1: No News is Good News

Chalene sat in the waiting room, finding herself scrolling through mundane posts and tidbits from her friends and pseudo-acquaintances on social media. Someone had a baby. Great. Someone had a birthday. Awesome. When she came across an inspiring post about positive energy, she grinned and liked it. She shared it on her Aunt Eva Mae's feed. If it was about light, hope and mysticism, her auntie was all about it. 

Every now and then, she'd lift her head when a nurse opened the door to call in the next patient, but so far, for the past twenty minutes, the name hasn't been hers. 

Bored with social media, she opened her messages and read over the last text her aunt sent.

Happy Birthday Cha-Cha Chere! Can't wait to see you in June!

<3 Auntie :) :)

A warmth held her for a moment just reading the message again. It was a vacation she planned months ago and was excited to spend some time with her. A tinge of guilt chilled her as it was a while since they connected. Sometimes chere, no news is good news, her aunt would say. Perhaps that was true.

She looked at the time on her phone and scowled when a petite redhead in superhero-themed scrubs opened the door. Her eyebrows raised with anticipation.

"Taylor Houlihan?," she announced to the office with a smile leaning her back against the entrance.

A tall dark-haired woman in her twenties stood up and hobbled towards the nurse as if she'd won the lottery. The Brunette had a pretty good speed to her walk considering the booted right leg. Chalene rolled her eyes as they quickly exchanged pleasantries and then they both disappeared behind the wooden portal to medical assistance.

Her sighs of discontent were among many others in the waiting room, so she was in good company. This was supposed to be a quick follow up for her medication. "Okay. I've enough of this." She stood up, hoisted her laptop bag over her shoulder and made her way to the registration desks. As if one could hear the determined clacking of her heels on the linoleum as a war march, the braided-up woman who checked her in placed a "Closed - See other Desk" sign on her side and high-tailed out the side. That left the poker-faced registrant with the all black scrubs and thin lips that seemed perpetually pursed. Once she approached, the registrant looked up and visibly sighed. Chalene pulled a smile together. "Hi."

But the woman looked at her with an expression that a nurse would give an annoying patient. "Can I help you?"

Smile. Still smile. Even though she clearly wants you to just. not. be. here. "Maybe you can. I have an appointment with Doctor Friedan at 8:30 AM and--"

"Yeah, I see we checked you in already."

The assistant's dismissive interjection faded Chalene's hard erected smile. There was no more need for feigned honey talk to someone armed with vinegar. Take a breath, Cha-Cha. "Yep. That's correct. And it's been a while, are you sure I'm checked in?"

Her long bony finger reached out and pointed at Chalene's scrawled name on the spreadsheet. "Yep. Done. See?"

Lawd, give me strength. "Okay, because it's been nearly a half hour and I'd like to know how much longer it's gonna be."

The assistant turned to her screen disconnecting from eye contact while she moved her mouse around. "Ma'am, the doctor is dealing with other patients. Did you fill out the paperwork?"

"I filled out the paperwork as soon as I got here. Gave it to the other woman and she said and I quote, 'The nurse will call you shortly. That was thirty minutes ago.'"

She sat back and hunched her shoulders. "So ma'am, then what's the problem?"

Chalene matched the assistant's unwavering demeanor. "The problem is I was here at 8:30 AM on the dot. Not 8:31, or 8:45 which would have imposed a $40.00 charge for being late. However, I'm here waiting for nearly a half-hour for an appointment that's only about 10-15 minutes long. If you have a policy that requires me to be here on time, I would appreciate the doctor's office to be just as respectful of my time as well."

She had to be honest, this was still new to her--the whole setting boundaries with people. Her mother taught her not to make waves. To sit down, be quiet and go with the flow. A product of the deep South, no one liked an outspoken woman. Loud and difficult women had a name and it wasn't a good one. But her Aunt Eva never had a problem standing up for herself and others for that matter. She believed that people wouldn't know what you need unless you told them and that your needs mattered. To shake it off and dismiss your needs was a doorway to self-neglect and other's disrespect. 

The assistant took a breath. Her angst crinkled her face and made her reply a surprise. "Let me check on your doctor and see what's going on alright?" Not waiting for Chalene's response, the visibly annoyed woman left her seat to the back.

"Thank you." 

About two minutes passed and she came back and sat down. "Doctor Friedan's nurse will call you in a minute." 

"Okay." Chalene turned around, trying to ignore the people sitting watching her as she made it back to her seat. Did they expect her to feel ashamed or something? Nope. In fact, her muscles released tension and weight lifted from her thoughts sticking up for herself. 

"Eva Mae Micheaux?" The petite nurse announced against the entrance.

"What did you say?" Chalene asked the nurse.

"I said Chalene Micheaux. Hope I didn't butcher it. That's you right?"

Chalene grimaced and rubbed her head. "Yes, sorry, I thought you said something else." She followed the nurse inside. 

After getting her vitals, she sat quietly on the papered exam table and took a few breaths. She could've sworn the nurse called her aunt's name. It rang in her ears clear as day but didn't make sense. Aunt Eva traveled a lot, but she wasn't a patient here. Hell, she didn't even live in Austin, she lived a whole state away in Old Coteau. 

There was a tightness in her chest and took a couple more breaths. They were shaky and each deep breath suddenly didn't seem like she was getting any air. What's going on? She braced her hands on her knees and leaned in pain. Something was wrong. "Help me!" she staggered off the table and leaned against the wall when a nurse came in.

"What's the matter?"

Gripping her chest, Chalene's eyes welled up with tears. The pain ached like heartbreak. "I can't - I can't breathe." A vision of failing over an old oak chair flashed into her reality. Her knees ached and her windpipe constricted. "I feel like I'm dying."

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Tune in next Sunday for another chapter! Thanks for reading!