The Reunion

Miles

“M-Monroe?” I stutter in complete shock as I take in the woman standing in front of me.

Her eyes are wide and her face reddens as she just stares at me, not saying anything. My daughter Melody is standing now, tugging on my hand but I can’t bring myself to tear my eyes away from the only girl I’ve ever loved. The girl whose heart I shattered eight years ago. The girl that I still dream about to this day.

She looks incredible. The teenage girl I remember is now a fully grown woman and even in a pair of light blue scrubs and a white doctor’s coat, I can tell her body is killer. She looks the exact same as I remember her. Except so much more mature.

Her dark, dark brown hair is the same as I remember except it’s several inches longer now. It falls in waves down to her navel and freckles still smatter her nose. It’s her eyes though that nearly break my heart in two. Those deep emerald green eyes were my ultimate weakness and even now, as they glare at me in pure, absolute hatred, I’m nearly knocked on my ass by them.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Aaron. I am going to have to request a different doctor to see your daughter. Excuse me,” she finally says, clutching her chart to her chest and leaving the exam room without another word.

I want to follow her, but I can’t. I’m still in complete shock over seeing her. After a minute, I’m able to snap out of my trance and I turn to my daughter who is pouting and crossing her arms over her chest.

“Daddy, why did my doctor leave?”

“Um. I’m not sure princess. Stay here.”

I’m about to reach for the handle, when it turns and a very stunning, but very pissed off Monroe Marsailles, walks into the room. Her glare is deadly when she meets my eyes, but in an instant it smooths over and she breaks out into a wide smile. For Melody’s benefit, no doubt.

I watch as she completely ignores me and turns to my daughter.

“Alright Melody, sweetheart. If you’ll just sit right up here for me we can get started.”

Melody grins back at Monroe and she helps my daughter up onto the examination bed, chair thing. I watch as Monroe begins to check Melody’s ears, her throat, and her heartbeat. The way she smiles at Melody adoringly makes my heart race and I still just cannot get over how damn amazing she looks.

When Melody’s checkup is finally finished, Monroe shows her where she can pick out her sticker, and then returns to the exam room where I just stand staring at her like an idiot. She pulls her latex gloves from her hands and tosses them into the small garbage can.

She finishes scribbling on some kind of form and then hands it to me.

“Mr. Aaron, Melody is perfectly healthy. All of her immunizations are up to date. She’s slightly under weight for her age and height, but it’s nothing to worry about. That sometimes happens as children become pickier with their food preferences.

“Where her asthma is concerned, I recommend she continues her albuterol inhalers, nebulizer treatments when necessary and she’s of age now where she can begin taking Advair so I’ve filled out a prescription. You can schedule her next checkup at the receptionists’ desk. She most likely won’t need another one for another six months, but if she begins having any kind of adverse reactions to the new medication, I would cease use immediately and we can find her something else...But Mr. Aaron?”

The way she calls me Mr. Aaron makes me cringe internally. She’s pretending as though she doesn’t know me and while I know that it is her way of disassociating herself from the situation, it guts me.

“Yes?” I answer.

“In the future, I suggest you request one of the other five doctors in this practice, just to ensure this doesn’t happen again. You understand.” Her voice isn’t even angry. She’s speaking to me as though I’m just another patient’s parent to her, and in this moment I wish she would scream or yell or curse me out. Because the way that she acts as if she doesn’t know me, feels like a knife to my heart.

“Monroe—”

“Have a good rest of your afternoon, Mr. Aaron,” she interrupts me with a single nod and exits the exam room.

I follow her out of the door and watch as she walks off, calmly and disappears behind the door to another room.

“Daddy! Look! I got a princess sticker!” Melody calls out to me, excitedly. I take my eyes off of the door that hides Monroe Marsailles from my view and scoop my four year old into my arms.

What the fuck just happened?