Meghann leaned over the desk. “Write this down: Severe headache. Short-term memory loss. ”
“That’s right. I forgot. ” Claire smiled weakly.
The receptionist frowned at that and shoved a clipboard across the desk. “Fill that out and give me your insurance card. ”
Claire retrieved the card from her wallet and handed it to the receptionist. “My family doctor thinks I need to exercise more. ”
“They all say that,” the receptionist said with a little laugh. “Take a seat until we call for you. ”
An hour later they were still waiting. Meghann was fit to be tied. She’d yelled at the receptionist three times and in the last twenty minutes, she’d been throwing around the word lawsuit.
“They’ve got a lot of nerve calling this an emergency room. ”
“Look at the bright side. They must not think I’m very sick. ”
“Forget the headache. We’ll both be dead from old age by the time they see you. Damn it. ” Meghann popped to her feet and started pacing.
Claire considered trying to calm her sister down, but the effort was too much. Her headache had gotten worse, which she definitely did not reveal to Meghann.
“Claire Austin,” called out a blue-scrubbed nurse.
“It’s about fucking time. ” Meghann stopped pacing long enough to help Claire to her feet.
“You’re a real comfort, Meg,” Claire said, leaning against her sister.
“It’s a gift,” Meg said, guiding her toward the tiny, birdlike nurse who stood in front of the white double doors of the ER.
Bird Woman looked up. “Claire Austin?”
“That’s me. ”
To Meg, the nurse said, “You can wait out here. ”
“No. ”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m coming with my sister. If the doctor asks me to leave for the exam, I will. ”
Claire knew she should be angry. Meg was being herself—pushing in where she didn’t belong—but truthfully, Claire didn’t want to be alone.
“Very well. ”
Claire clung to her sister’s hand as they pushed through the double doors and entered the frightening white world that smelled of disinfectant. In a small exam room, Claire changed into a flimsy hospital gown, answered a few questions for the nurse, relinquished her arm for a blood pressure test and her vein for a blood test.
Then, again, they waited.
“If I were really sick, they’d rush to take care of me,” Claire said after a while. “So this waiting is probably a good thing. ”
Meghann stood with her back to the wall. Her arms were crossed tightly, as if she were afra
id she’d punch something if she moved. “You’re right. ” Under her breath, she said, “Shitheads. ”
“Did you ever consider a career in health care? You’ve got quite a bedside manner. God knows you’re calming me down. ”
“I’m sorry. We all know how patient I am. ”
Claire leaned back on the paper-covered exam table and stared up at the acoustical tile ceiling.