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Doctor Hu

12/2/2024

“Help you, Miss?” A guy pushing a mop bucket asked.

Grace looked around. “Can you tell me where Dr. Hu’s office is?”

“Really? You look alright just as you are.”

“Oh, not as a patient. I’m supposed to maybe get some hours helping over the holidays.”

“Sure, that makes sense.” He nodded and pointed down the hall. “Just around the bend down there is a stairwell. His office is right across the hall on the second floor.”

“Thank you.” She smiled and hurried down the hall and up a flight of stairs. As promised, the sign across the hall bore the name, Dr. Dominic Hu, with the specialty listed as Aesthetic & Reconstructive Surgery. “This can’t be right.”

She looked down the hall in either direction. Only this sign showed Dr. Hu, so she entered.

“Good morning. New patient?” The receptionist asked.

“No, Dr. Wisler called Dr. Hu and arranged for me to put in some internship hours here over the holidays.”

“Dr. Wisler? That doesn’t sound familiar. I’ll ask Dr. Hu. Please take a seat.”

Grace sat down, crossed her legs and grabbed her knee. She was about to give into the tension and grab a magazine when a glamorous woman burst into the office.

She scanned the waiting room like a tiger seeking something to ravage. She shot a poisonous glare at the door to the medical rooms and the empty receptionist’s desk and set her attention on Grace. “Let me guess. Lip filler or liposuction. Am I right?”

Grace looked around, hoping the woman was talking to someone else. “No, I’m here for work.” She covered her mouth. ‘What’s the matter with my lips?’

Her scornful laugh came with a sneering smile. “Oh, honey. You’re totally not his type.”

The door opened, and the doctor emerged. “Good morning, dear. I can join you for coffee in a moment. Are you the young lady inquiring about…”

“Dr. Wisler said she called you to arrange some hours for me over the holidays.”

“Hours? Dominic, you beast.”

“There seems to be a mistake here. I don’t know anyone named Dr. Wisler. What sort of work were you expecting to do?”

“I’m a psych student and–”

He held up a hand. “I see. You’re looking for my sister. She’s up on the fifth floor and I’m sure she’d be glad of the help. Tell her I said hi.”

Grace smiled and backed out of the office. “Thanks, I’ll tell her.”

“Hours, Dominic? You wouldn’t last five minutes with that.” She could hear the yowling through the door as she raced for the stairwell.

Reaching the fifth floor, she waved to a passing nurse. “Can you tell me where to find Dr. Hu up here?”

“Follow me.” The stern, doughy woman led her to an office with a sign reading, Dr. Lian Hu, with the specialty listed as Behavioral Health. “Take a seat. Someone will be with you shortly.”

Grace entered the office and took a seat next to a young woman with red hair and an astonishing pattern of freckles. “Gee, I hope I’m in the right place this time.”

“Did you go to the plastic surgeon? I made that mistake my first time here.”

“Yeah, what are the chances of two doctors named Hu in the same hospital?”

“Really.” She had a thin, half-hearted smile. “I’m Sarah.”

“Oh, nice to meet you. I’m Grace.”

The door opened and an elderly man came out, followed by the doctor. “Good morning, Sarah. Who’s your friend?”

“She just came in. Said her name is Grace. You can take her first, if you want.”

“You’re Grace? Becca said you’d be in this morning. Sarah, Grace is a college student who is going to be helping me over the holidays. Isn’t that nice?”

Sarah nodded.

“Actually, I need to head downstairs a moment. Sarah, go ahead in. I need to have a quick word with Grace.”

“Yes, Doctor.” She wandered into the office and shut the door.

“Is everything alright?” Grace asked.

“I understand you met my sister-in-law.”

“The one yelling at your brother? Yes.”

“She’s still yelling and she won’t stop until I vouch for you.”

“She’s very glamorous. I don’t understand why she thinks he’d cheat on her.”

“The inimical Cyndi Lu-Hu is so irrationally jealous, it’s a wonder she hasn’t taken to wearing green contacts.”

“So, Sarah.”

“Yes, please have her fill out the forms in her packet on my desk until I return. She may need help to focus.”

“Yes, Doctor. Is there anything I should avoid talking about?”

“She’s not especially talkative, but she’s starting a new temporary position at Maslov’s this week. She’s apprehensive about it. Sarah has done this work before and she’s quite good at it.”

“Yes, Doctor. I’ll get her started on the paperwork.”

“Grace, Becca gave you a glowing recommendation, and if you’re even half as good as she says, you’re going to be a real blessing to me. Okay?”

She breathed out slowly. “Thanks. I needed that.”

“I figured. Cyndi can be a lot, even in small doses. I’ll deal with her. You go help Sarah until I return.”

“Oh, it’s not going to be a recurring thing, but my sister is getting an ultrasound this morning. She said that if the baby shows us which way the wind is blowing, I get a say in picking names.”

“That’s fine. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Grace nodded and headed into the office. “So, Sarah, I understand you have a new job?”

She nodded as she gnawed at her thumbnail.

“Me, too.” She opened Sarah’s file and pulled the forms out.

Sarah’s hazel-green eyes reminded Grace of Leo’s. “Doesn’t that scare you?”

“Sure, a little. I mean, I already turned up late because of the office mix-up, but everything’s okay now. Right?”

Sarah’s eyes darted from side to side.

“Dr. Hu said this is work you’ve done before?” She found a clipboard and secured the forms to it.

She nodded and blushed. “It’s dumb.”

“I heard you were very good at it. It can’t be that dumb if you’ve put in the effort to be good at it.” Grace searched for a pen.

“They were just being nice because they felt sorry for me.”

“Maybe or maybe not.” Grace shrugged and handed over the clipboard. “These are some forms for you to fill out. Let me know if you need help with anything.”

Her brilliant red bangs tumbled down as she looked at the clipboard. “It’s just dumb.”

“You don’t like it?”

“No, I do.” She scratched away at the paperwork.

“You like doing it and they pay you. What more can anybody ask? Right?”

“Sure, if you put it that way. I guess it’s alright.”

“Definitely. So, what do you do?”

“I’m a photographer.”

“A photographer? That’s not dumb. People really respect photographers.”

“Not if they’re in an elf costume.” Sarah squinted at one of the questions on the form.

“An elf?”

“Yeah, I take pictures of screaming, crying kids on Santa’s lap.”

“Wow, more power to you. Nice that you can get work you’re already good at.”

Sarah flipped the paper over to see if there were more questions on the back. “We’ll see.”

“Maslov’s is nice at Christmastime. I mean, it’s nice all the time, but–”

“Christmas makes it nicer. That’s true.” She nodded. “They like my costume, too.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. You have your own elf costume?”

“Meirhe made it for me.” She nodded. “It’s really pretty.”

“I hope I get to see it. Are you the only helper elf for Santa?”

“No, they have a few different girls, so none of us gets stressed out.” She held up the clipboard. “Do you know what this means?”

“Oh, that’s an insurance code. The doctor can fill that in when she gets back.”

Sarah paged through the forms and handed the clipboard to Grace. “I think I did it right.”

“Sure.” Grace nodded as she flipped through the forms. “Looks like you got everything. Are you starting tomorrow?”

“Tonight.” She clutched her hands in her lap.

“Oh, great. I hope you have some fun.”

Dr Hu opened the door. “Oh, good, my favorite word. What’s fun?”

“Grace said she hopes I have fun at work tonight.”

“So do I.” She took a seat. “Do you feel ready to get started tonight?”

“I washed my costume and I have it hanging up.”

“That’s a good start, Sarah.” She smiled. “Are you ready to put it back on?”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I think so.”

“I’m home.” Grace hung her coat by the back door.

“In here.” Her mom announced.

Grace filed through the kitchen to the living room. “Hi, Grammy. Emma, what are–”

“Sit.” Her mom said.

She took a seat on the Ottoman they’d placed as a hot seat. “What’s happening?”

Her mother’s expression was more haggard and dire than usual. “We need to understand what’s going on.”

“I’m just getting home from work. What?”

“Why were you making out with Leo at the coffeehouse on Saturday?”

Grace jumped up. “What? Who said that? That’s crazy!”

“Aunt Helena saw you, Grace. Don’t deny it.” Her mother crossed her arms and her legs. Her foot kicked in a furious staccato tempo. “I don’t know how you conduct yourself in Empire City, but back here in Pine Hollow, there’s more than your own hedonistic pleasure to consider.”

“Hedonistic? We had some fancy Christmas coffee before Advent got started. I took a sip of his and he took a sip of mine. We split a cookie. If that’s Aunt Helena’s idea of making out, she needs to get her eyes checked.”

“For Heaven’s sake, why Leo?” She planted her hands on her knees. “Of all people?”

“He was at Confession and he held Ronny’s case of Old Cas for me in line.”

“Flirting in the line for Confession?” Mom threw her hands up.

Emma and Grammy shared glances.

“When I got done, he was waiting for me.”

“Oh, so this is his idea? He’s just lurking around the church waiting to take you for coffee?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Grace, how can you be so naïve? You didn’t tell him about the Carol of the Bells, did you?”

Her jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me?” She jumped up from the Ottoman. “You think he was doing reconnaissance for the freaking Christmas lights? Have you all lost your minds? Should I get every one of you an appointment with Dr. Hu?”

“Nice try.” Her mother’s eyes hardened. “Classic ploy. Pretending to be mad to get out of–”

Grace shook her fists at the ceiling. “Who’s pretending? You guys are just nuts. Can I go to my room or do you have the thumbscrews and sodium pentothal ready?”

“I don’t understand why you don’t get how important this is to your father.” Her mom got up in her face.

“I. Don’t. Care!” Grace fixed her eyes on her mom’s. “I told Daddy he ought to skip this year so we can just have a nice family Christmas without all the lights and the carrying on.”

“Get for real, Grace. Your father and Josh and Ronny have been looking forward to this since Labor Day.”

Grace sat back down and propped her head in her hands. “I spent all day, seriously, all day in the psych ward and it was nothing compared to this. You should all be medicated.”

“Still the dodge. Pretending to be angry isn’t getting you out of this.”

“Again, who’s pretending? I was not making out with Leo. We were not talking about the gosh darn lights. He doesn’t care. I don’t care. If letting him taste my coffee is making out, then making out is amazingly overrated. Tell Aunt Helena to go soak her head.”

Josh emerged from the kitchen. “Yeah, I second that. Aunt Helena needs to get her meds checked. She thought I was having you know what with Mike Kistler, because I let him skip ahead of me in line at Burger Heaven.”

Grace turned around. “You and Mike? Why would she think that?”

Josh threw his arms wide. “She’s crazy. I let him skip ahead because he was in a hurry. I was reading a text from Dad and she thought I was ogling Mike’s caboose.”

“In fairness, Mike’s got a pretty nice caboose.” Grammy said.

Everybody turned to stare at her. She shrugged and grinned.