Against my palm, Mel sighed with relief, but that very action ended in a soft, wet cough.
"Are you feeling any tightness or pressure right now?"
"A little. Ever since the elevator..."
Guilt clawed at my throat, and I dropped my hand to resume my seat on the stool. Melissa dragged her wavy locks over her shoulder, revealing her slender shoulders. Now that she wasn't wearing a jacket, it was obvious how delicate her frame was.
"I mean— I'm not irresponsible about my asthma, so telling me to be more cautious is kinda redundant. I'm already careful."
"Have you done a sleep study?"
She shook her head.
I hummed softly as I clasped my hands between my knees. "I'll write you a referral for one, and when we get the results back, we'll see what to do about a CPAP. Sound good?"
"How long will it take?" Eagerness tilted Mel's voice.
I inhaled deeply through flared nostrils. "Once you do the tests, I'll have the results back a few days after. It's a bit of an adventure, but it should help determine the severity of your attacks. Then, it's just a matter of trying to tame your allergies. Have you been to an allergist since the onset of your symptoms?"
I had the feeling Melissa was tired of doctors when she nodded again, and I arched a brow quizzically. Licking her thin lips, her delicate, birdlike face tinged with annoyance. If she weren't my patient, I'd try to make good on that lie about our date tonight.
I mean, it wasn't like I could pass her off to my partner because I didn't have one right now. Transferring here by request meant being the only pulmonologist for this rich town's only hospital. True to small-town nature, there weren't many on-call specialists, and some patients actually had to be referred out to bigger, more equipped hospitals.
Eva was a pediatric ears, nose, and throat doctor who took one look at me and decided to make my life Hell with her 'affection'. The irony there was the fact that this was an old, rich town without many kids. She had told me that she liked this town because it was easy, but I couldn't help thinking she was just negligent. Who becomes a doctor for an 'easy' job?
Shaking my head at the distraction, I reached to grab Melissa's folder again to flip through it. Above the thick edge of the manila, she frowned as she got lost in her own thoughts.
Saint Benedict's Hospital had a hard enough time poaching me after my residency, so the chances of me getting a partner soon were slim. When Melissa showed me her card, it hadn't even said my name because I was so new. I shared the office with an allergist, but he wasn't even here today— a fact I'd forgotten when I bumped into Melissa downstairs.
"So... is that all we're going to do today?"
The question caught me off guard, and I glanced up as Melissa's eyes widened a little.
"Not that I wanted to go on the date tonight, even though I do... I mean— I'm... here, for my appointment...?"
Trailing off, her porcelain skin turned beet red, hiding her thick smattering of freckles. Melissa was invested, though, keeping eye contact even as mortification flickered in her green orbs. Smiling slightly, I couldn't even remember the last time I felt flattered by a woman, and I closed her file to clear my throat pointedly. Warmth suffused my chest when she perked up, but as cute as she was, I'd spent countless hours being pounded in the head with ethics.
"Unfortunately, you're my patient, Melissa, so I'd rather not complicate things. Going on a date with a patient is an ethics violation under my contract. Lying about it earlier wasn't a problem because I wasn't your doctor, but now..."
She actually looked a little disappointed, and my cheek twitched as I pursed my lips thinly. Damn. The moment I opened Melissa's chart, before I even put two and two together, I'd realized my mistake.
"But, yes. That's all we're going to do for today. I won't need you to come back in until after you do your sleep study to discuss it and get you a machine, if needed."
"Oh, okay. Should I make an appointment now?" Even though Mel was a new patient, our appointment had been very straightforward. She knew what didn't work, what she wanted to try, and had a pretty clear understanding of her body.
Standing up, I shook my head a little before she picked her purse off her lap to shoulder the braided, black strap.
"You can call the office after you've done the test. I'll send the referral to the hospital by the end of the day tomorrow, so all you have to do is call to schedule it." Tucking her folder under my arm, I walked the short distance to the door as she nodded in agreement. Waiting for her to hop off the exam table, I cocked my head when she reached a thin hand to sweep back her hair from her face.