"We put some ice on it as soon as we could," Harley explained.
"Did you? Well, that was smart." the doctor said.
Very carefully, he began to examine my ankle, moving it every way and watching my face. He felt around it.
"Might be fractured, but I doubt it," he said.
"Looks more like strained tendons.'
"That's what she said." Harley remarked.
"Oh. You practice medicine, too, do you?" Doctor Richards asked with a smile.
"No sir."
"Her father is a therapist." Harley continued. "She knows a lot about first aid and stuff"
"Oh. That's good," Doctor Richards said nodding. "Good to have a little knowledge if you don't abuse it. However, there's also that business about a little knowledge being a dangerous thing. Too many people think they can hang out a shingle like mine these days. Bad for business." he added with a silent laugh. "Well, let's get some more cold packs on this and get it strapped up. You've got to stay off it for a while, maybe a week or so, maybe more.
"You all staying with someone here in town?" he asked. Harley glanced at me quickly. Doctor Richards caught that.
"Or are you just passing through on your way to civilization?" he followed.
"No sir. We're visiting someone. Fletcher Victor," Harley said.
"Fletcher?" his wife Anna asked.
"That must be Buzz's real name," Doctor Richards told her. She smirked as if he had said a very silly thing,
"I thought it was Ed. We know everyone here, of course, but the Victors are a family that keeps to themselves. Come to think of it. I don't recall ever asking Buzz what his real name is."
"He wouldn't volunteer it," Anna muttered. "I'm surprised he sent you over here," she added. "Why didn't he have that woman work her magic instead?"
"Woman?" Harley said.
"You hav
en't been there yet?" Doctor Richards asked.
"No sir. We came here as soon as I saw your shingle. We've just arrived."
"No better advertisement for a doctor than a shingle," Doctor Richards quipped. His wife just pulled her shoulders up, lifting her small bosom.
"Yes, well, let's fix you up," he told me.
When he was finished taping my ankle, he gave me some pills for the pain and a crutch.
"You can borrow this until you have to leave," he said. "How long you planning on staying?"
I looked at Harley.
"We're not quite sure yet, sir," he said.
"Okay. No problem."
"What kind of health insurance do you have?" Anna asked me.
I did have my family's medical card. Daddy insisted I always carry it in my wallet. I gave it to her. She turned it in her hands as if she wanted to be sure it was not fake.