Chasing Butterflies Chapter 51: The Doctor is In (Patreon)

Tuesday morning, Olivia found herself once again in the passenger seat of her dad's sedan. The shrieking electric chords of 80's rock blared through the radio, occasionally giving way to the cheesy and borderline overstimulating car crash that was supposed to be a transition between songs. A DJ's voice reminded her that they were listening to "81.8 Rockin' 80's"—as though the song selection wasn't a big enough hint.

I honestly forgot how allergic old media was to dead air. I mean, that never entirely went away. The quick cuts and attention-grabbing edits of modern videos do the same thing, not to mention shortform content as a whole. But when you attempt to do that through audio alone... it's a bit much.

Her dad took a left turn off the main road, weaving away from the school. They wouldn't head that way until much later. Today, they had other things to do.

"Nervous?" Her dad asked.

Olivia thought about it. "A bit, maybe. But I'm honestly more curious than anything."

Today was the day of her doctor's appointment. The day where she'd finally start to get some answers about her health. Was diabetes one of those things that she'd always had without realizing it? Or had it truly developed during her pregnancy with George?

She had her suspicions, obviously. But she'd never dreamed she'd actually get to confirm them.

A loud groan wrenched itself free of her midsection. Her dad glanced over with amusement. "Seems like your stomach is nervous at least. You sure you don't want anything to eat?"

"Positive. I won't be able to take the test if I'm not fasting. And I don't want us to have to schedule another appointment."

"Miss Responsible over here, trying not to miss school." Her dad shook his head in disbelief. "Aren't kids your age supposed to be getting out of class every chance they can?"

"It's not about school. It's about you. Taking me to the doctor means you can't be at work." Olivia pointed out.

But her dad just flapped a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about that. This is more important."

Olivia wanted to object, but she understood. Her kids had always taken precedence over her own life and practically everything else as well. But that didn't mean she wouldn't try and cut down on the burden she imposed where she could. Besides, her curiosity didn't want to wait another week or two for a follow-up.

Her stomach grumbled again as her dad chuckled. "We'll make sure to load you up afterwards. You remember to bring a snack?"

"Of course." She leaned down and patted the little insulated container at her feet.

"Good. Wouldn't want to get my head torn off by a starving teenager."

The hospital came into view a moment later. The boxy white structure was still relatively new to Ridgeview at this point, its walls still pristine and almost painful to look at. Even the painted on the parking spaces was bright and immaculate.

They headed inside, navigating through the mazelike corridors and checking in with the receptionist for Olivia's family doctor. They settled into a pair of plastic chairs in the waiting room alongside a few others reading magazines or simply staring at the decor.  One little girl played with a stuffed rabbit, making the little toy dance in her lap as her mom talked on the phone.

It felt strange, seeing a waiting crowd like this without a single smartphone in sight. Their absence still caught her off guard. For so many years, she'd grown used to seeing crowds of waiting people hunched over their individual glowing rectangles like zombies. Heck, she'd been one of them—at least until having kids more or less put an end to that luxury.

As much as I miss the convenience... Maybe there is something to be said about the good old days sometimes.

The mom smiled at her daughter, ruffling her hair as Olivia pulled out a sketchbook and pencil. Given that the glucose test would take a few hours to complete, she'd come prepared.

Olivia started drawing Moose's dopey face as her dad retrieved one of the many colorful magazines sitting on an end table. The floppy ears and long, lolling tongue quickly took shape before her eyes. She tried to challenge herself by capturing him lying on his belly and politely requesting scritches. But the initial outline was looking a bit more "dead cockroach" than she'd intended.

“Whatcha drawing?” Her dad leaned over to look.

She shrugged. “Just a dog.”

"Olivia Miller?"

At the nurse’s call, they both rose and were led into a small, sterile room. After a few brief questions from the nurse, a balding man with thick glasses and a clean shaven face arrived.

"Mr. Miller? Olivia? Wonderful to see you. I'm Dr. Hopkins." The man greeted them with a smile before settling on a stool with his clipboard. "Now, what can I do for you today?"

Olivia took the lead. "I'm here to check if I have diabetes."

She described her symptoms and suspicions as the doctor nodded along. "Ah, yes yes. That certainly sounds like a reasonable suspicion. You're right to be on top of this. I see here a note that you have a family history?"

"Yes. My grandmother." Olivia's mom may have as well, but she'd either never been diagnosed or simply never mentioned it. Not even to Olivia's dad, considering his silence on the matter.

Dr. Hopkins bobbed his head. "Right, right. Well, then. The best way about this would be to order you a fasting plasma glucose test. We’ll have you come in fasting, usually early in the morning, then take a blood sample and see how it looks.”

Olivia frowned. “That… might not work. My diet keeps my glucose in check. It shouldn’t spike to abnormal levels much at all, much less after fasting. Would it be possible to get a glucose tolerance test instead?”

The doctor blinked and chuckled. “My. Someone is informed, aren’t they?”

She scratched her head. “Well, I try to take my health seriously."

“A commendable thing, especially in one so young.” Doctor Hopkins praised. “Usually, we start with the FPG since it’s simple, quick, and easy. But if you insist, we certainly could do a glucose tolerance test. That’s where we'll have you come in fasting, then give you a sugary solution—kind of like one of those sports drinks, but even sweeter—and see what it does to your blood sugar. Though it sounds like you already know that.”

Olivia nodded. She'd heard it all before.

"I'll order the test and have the nurse schedule it. They should be able to get you in next week, though don’t quote me on that. There’s a reason I’m not the one running the schedules." The doctor chuckled. "In the meantime, are there any other questions you have for me?"

"Actually... would it be possible to do the test today?" Olivia asked. "I'm already fasting."

Her stomach growled to punctuate her statement as the doctor's bushy eyebrows rose. "You are? Goodness, someone truly has come prepared. Well, then. I believe we can make that happen. You will have to wait a few minutes for the nurses to get ready, however. The test itself will also take about two hours in total, in case you have places to be."

"That's just fine." Olivia's dad confirmed. "We planned for that.”

Well, Olivia had planned for that. But it was a small correction that felt too pedantic to make.

"Excellent. Then, you wait right here while I inform the nurses. A pleasure seeing you."

With that, Dr. Hopkins rose and left, the door clicking shut behind him. Olivia's dad exhaled. "Well, that went smoother than expected."

"Right? I didn't actually think we'd be able to get it in today." Olivia agreed.

"And you still starved yourself anyway?"

"I told you, I don't want to take you away from the shop more than I have to. The fact that you'll be stuck here waiting with me for two hours is bad enough." She shrugged. She'd known how long the test would take, of course, and she'd warned her dad as much. But that didn't make her feel any less apologetic.

He chuckled. "Sweetie, taking care of you is my job. Besides, Tanya's got the shop taken care of. If anything, she'll be glad to not have me looking over her shoulder. I bet she’s pruning and deadheading all of the flower displays right now."

Tanya was the sole employee of her dad's garden shop. She was a gray-haired woman that Olivia had only met a few times, but had heard about plenty. Her daily visits to the shop and constant fussing over the organization of his flowers eventually led to her dad offering her a job, and she'd surprisingly accepted. Apparently, talking people's ears off about the best remedies for root rot and how to best arrange a bouquet of springtime blossoms beat the relative boredom of retirement. Her dad liked to joke that it wasn't even much of an expense, considering half of her paycheck went right back toward buying more plants anyway.

Tanya had passed away during senior year. Olivia had gone with her dad to the funeral. She'd never seen so many flowers in one place.

Her dad turned serious. “Are you absolutely sure about this, sweetie? You don’t have to go through with it.”

Olivia tilted her head. “I am sure. Seems like a waste to come all the way here just to back out now. Why?”

“Well, you know… Like you said, you’re already eating healthier. And I’ve obviously got no objections to you getting answers. But if you get scared and change your mind about the test, or even just have second thoughts…”

Olivia was about to ask what her dad meant when another knock came at the door, more quickly than anticipated. A nurse appeared, pushing a small tray of needles, gauze, and bottles ahead of her.

"All right, darling!" The chipper lady said. "Are you ready?"

Olivia stuck out her arms. "Ready. Any preference?"

Her dad blanched as the woman chuckled. "I was about to ask you the same thing. It's no matter to me! I've got plenty of practice on both."

Olivia nodded and held out the arm closer to the woman for convenience. With practiced motions, the nurse cleaned and prepared the site. She barely felt the needle as it slid into her arm, relaxing and clenching her fist as the woman instructed. When the bright red blood began to flow into the vial, Olivia averted her gaze, waiting patiently. In no time at all the needle slipped back out and was replaced with a small piece of gauze.

"There! Stick number one, all done! You're halfway there." The nurse chirped, setting the now-full vial onto the tray.

"You've got a great needle," Olivia praised. "That was painless."

The woman beamed. "Thank you! I appreciate that, sweetie. Though not as much as you do, I'm sure."

Olivia chuckled, quickly downing the sugary drink that the nurse provided before they were led back to the waiting room. She settled back into one of the plastic chairs to find her dad staring at her strangely. He’d been quiet since the nurse entered.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said. "Just... you took that really well, is all. I thought you hated needles."

Oh. That’s what he meant.

"I do." She looked at the little piece of gauze wrapped against the inside of her elbow. "But she's really good."

Needles were one of those things you got used to during pregnancy. With the sheer number of times she'd had her blood drawn, figuring out how to deal and not freak out about it was a matter of necessity. After three pregnancies? By now, it was practically mundane. She still didn't like the process, but, well...

Her dad shuddered. "I'll take your word for it."

The next couple of hours flew by. Olivia and her dad sat, chatting, reading, and watching the other patients come and go. At some point, her drawing gave way to playing tic tac toe and a game about making boxes by placing lines between points on a grid. The latter Olivia crushed at. It was nice to beat someone else for once, considering how many times she'd lost that very game to Jason.

Soon enough she gave another sample of blood and they were finally on the way. By then, the mixture of sugar in her blood and lack of food was really getting to her—enough that she barely tasted the ice-cold egg scramble she'd stored in the car.

Her dad gave her an amused look as she wolfed down the last mouthful. "Well. Ready for second lunch, then?"

She nodded vigorously, wiping her mouth with her arm. "Yesh, puhlease."

"Ricky's?"

Her head bobbed as her dad started the car. The radio blared to life and they rumbled back onto the main street.

Finally. Just a bit longer, then I'll have some answers.

Maybe her suspicions would be totally off. Even if that was the case, it wasn't like it would change much. Olivia knew what she felt when she ate wrong, and a negative test result wouldn't suddenly cause those effects to disappear. At least she'd know.

But that was a concern for another day. For now, all she could think about was a nice plate of steak and eggs from Ricky's.