Blindside

Episode ONE

Roni

Glancing down at her smartwatch, Roni tried not to be impatient. Noah would be there as he promised. As much as she hated to admit it, she'd been a wreck ever since she'd begun to suspect little Jack might be autistic. Noah had been so quick to dismiss her concerns about it; he'd almost been angry. Not that he'd be mad at her for suggesting it, he just said she always read too much into everything. Especially when it came to their son who she worried way too much about.

"Mrs. Quintanilla," the young girl who'd checked Jack in for his appointment smiled when Roni looked up. "Dr. Hidalgo can see you now."

"Oh." Roni straightened out in her seat but hesitated to get up. "But I wanted to wait for my husband to be here so we could both be present during the evaluation. He should be here any minute now."

"Well, in that case, you can go on in and get started with the interview part of the process. It'll be a while before he gets to the actual screening part with little Jack. I'll let your husband in when he gets here."

Still hesitating, Roni stood up, motioning for Jack who was playing at the busy board table with a few of the other waiting patients. "Come on, baby. Our turn."

Jack pushed a few more buttons and turned a few knobs on the activity table before making his way toward her. Holding Jack's hand with one hand she pulled her purse strap over her other shoulder and texted Noah to find out where he was. A few seconds later, he texted back to say he was just a few blocks away but as usual the Los Angeles traffic was brutal. Still, he assured her he'd be there in a few minutes.

The moment she walked into the doctor's office he was on his feet behind his desk. It surprised her that he did look like his online photo when she did her research on pediatric developmental behavioral specialists. After doing the math on how long he must've gone to school for plus the fifteen years of experience his website boasted, she'd assumed he had to be pushing fifty and the headshot on his website hadn't been updated in a few years.

Despite being completely bald—but the kind of bald that was by choice—this man didn't look a day past forty, and even that made her nervous. Experience was by far what weighed heaviest on her choice. Trying not to frown, Roni remembered reading online that some doctors included their residency as part of their years of experience.

"Good morning. Come on in." He peered at her for a moment before reaching across his desk and shook her hand. "I'm Dr. Hidalgo, but please call me Mateo."

"Nice to meet you." After shaking his hand, Roni took a seat in front of his desk. "I'm Veronica, Jack's mom; my husband is also on his way."

Mateo nodded before bringing his attention to Jack who stood next to Roni's chair, still holding her hand. "Hey, little guy, you must be Jack."

Jack leaned into Roni, turning his head away and resting it against her arm. Roni's stomach bunched with worry. "He doesn't talk much yet."

Nodding, the doctor glanced down casually at the open folder he'd been reading when she walked in and took a seat. "He's two?"

Refraining from wincing, Roni nodded, rubbing Jack's back. "Well, two and three months now."

The doctor glanced up and smiled. "Is that what worries you, Mrs. Quintanilla? That he's two and three months, and he's still not speaking much?"

"Uh," Roni cleared her throat, feeling a little silly but determined not to have her worries undermined. "You can call me Veronica err—Roni actually."

"Roni?" Strangely, that had his eyes brightening.

"Yes, it's uh... what everyone calls me." She cleared her throat, anxious to explain herself. "But yes and no. I mean at his age I feel like he should be saying a little more. I know kids younger than him that do. But there are other things. It's all in there." She pointed at the folder in front of him. "I filled out that long questionnaire and explained at length all the things that as a whole have me here today."

"Fair enough." Mateo held her gaze for a moment before looking back down at the folder. "First of all," he said without looking up. "Let me assure you that not speaking in full sentences or having a very limited vocabulary at his age is perfectly normal, especially for a boy. They're usually a little behind girls when it comes to this." He looked up at her and their eyes met again. "You should never compare him to other kids, by the way. It's the worst thing you can do." The sudden warm smile coupled with the twinkle in his welcoming eyes eased the tension Roni had begun to feel again. "For your own sanity that is. No two kids are alike, not siblings or even twins. You'll drive yourself nuts if you compare."

A few minutes into his interviewing Roni about her biggest concerns, there was a knock on the door. The door opened with the same smiling girl who'd walked Roni in and Noah behind her.

Mateo and Noah exchanged greetings as Noah took a seat. Once settled in, the doctor caught Noah up a little with what he and Roni had been discussing. They got through the interviewing part fairly quickly. Though Roni wasn't thrilled about most of her concerns being blown off. It seemed everything Roni threw at him, Mateo dismissed as normal toddler behavior.

It wasn't that Roni was hoping Jack would be diagnosed with autism. She'd just read that, when it came to autism, is was imperative to act quickly. If caught early on, some of the behavior could be reversed before it was too far gone. At the very least they could get started on the aggressive therapy that would be needed sooner rather than later. She'd hate to waste precious time on possible misdiagnoses.

Midway through the screening, Noah seemed distracted by his phone a few times until Roni finally turned to him, arching a brow in question.

"I'm sorry, babe." He turned to Mateo. "I apologize, doctor. Seems we're having a bit of a crisis down at my gym." Turning his attention back to Roni, he frowned when his phone buzzed again. "Gio is supposed to be meeting with those guys who flew in from Colombia, but Bianca took a spill on their staircase today, and he's in the ER with her now."

Roni's jaw dropped as Noah went on to explain why they couldn't get a hold of any of the other owners. They all had good reasons. Most were out of town and Gio was in the hospital with his wife. It's why Roni couldn't even fault Noah for checking his phone during what was beginning to feel like his son's not-so-necessary autism screening.

"It's not necessary that you be here for the rest of this." Mateo sat back in his chair. "I can't make a full assessment yet, but at this point I'm not feeling too concerned. If you need to go, we can finish up without you, and Roni can bring you up to speed with anything you missed."

Noah, who'd been reading something on his phone, glanced up at the doctor but said nothing. He turned to Roni with a strange expression and she had a feeling why. He was feeling guilty about considering leaving. "Go ahead and go, babe. I can finish this out today, and you can come back with me next time."

"Next time?"

"Yes," Mateo explained. "We do the screening in two parts. Next time I see him we'll do some cognitive testing."

After further explanation, Noah took them up on the offer to leave and rushed out. It wasn't long before they were finished with the screening. A good thing too, because Jack had begun to get a little testy.

As he'd done earlier, Mateo held Roni's gaze only longer this time after shaking her hand good-bye. "I'm sorry." He shook his head when he realized he hadn't let go of her hand either. "You look so familiar. I've been trying to place where I've seen you before ever since you walked in here. Have we met before?"

Roni took him in a little closer then shook her head. "I don't believe so, but maybe you've seen me at 5th Street?" Roni offered. "The boxing gym in East LA? My husband and I are part owners and we spend a lot of time there."

"No." He shook his head. "I don't think I've ever been." Pressing his lips together and looking a little frustrated, he shrugged. "Maybe by the time you're back it'll come to me."

Without further comment, Roni was out of there. It wasn't even until the long ride home in traffic, and after pondering her day, that it dawned on Roni. She'd been so caught up with her concerns over Jack she hadn't given it much thought, even when Mateo asked if they'd met before. Come to think of it, he had looked a little familiar to her, even when she'd first seen his photo online. Great now it was going to drive her crazy until they figured it out.

Thoughts? Ya think Noah has anything to worry about with the doctor?