“We’ll pay for it today,” I cut his rambling off.
Fishing out my wallet, I find my credit card I rarely use and hand it to him. Most of our business is done with cash, but I have a nice cushion sitting in a bank account.
He takes the card without question and slides it through an attachment of the laptop he is carrying. “The visit and basic checkup are $250. Any other testing and treatment, like x-rays, will be charged separately.”
“That’s fine,” I tell him. He hands me back my card and makes me sign on a small digital pad.
He leaves just as Amy rolls out Penny, but not before both of them glance over at me.
“Thank you,” Penny says quietly, and the nurse gives me an actual smile. A far cry from the death stares I have been getting so far.
The door shuts behind them, leaving me to my thoughts.
* * *
Penny has been backfrom the x-rays for almost an hour, and we are still waiting on the test results. At least they’ve given her some pain meds through her IV now. She seems a little out of it but also calm, her breathing steady, and when she reaches to get some water, she doesn’t flinch or grimace in pain.
“Thank you, again,” Penny whispers, breaking the seemingly endless silence between us. “I’ll pay you back. However you want… if that’s still okay. I mean, if you still want this.”
She saysthis, but I’m sure what she really meant wasme.
Do I still want her?
The truth is, I don’t really know…
Before I can come up with an answer, the doctor finally walks into the room, folder and clipboard in hand.
“Sorry for the wait, guys. We are slammed today,” she excuses. “I just had time to look over your x-rays.” She walks up to stand next to Penny’s bed.
“Is everything okay?” Penny asks.
“Well… there is some stuff we need to talk about and go over. The good news is, there is only a hairline fracture on one of your ribs,this time.” She pauses for a moment to get out one of the x-rays. “But I found ribs that were broken at one point and healed now.”
Penny stays quiet, not wanting to tell the doctor anything. Instead, she just listens to the list of all her injuries. Luckily, most seem minor compared to what could have been if I hadn’t intervened. Still, she has so many bruises she is going to be in a lot of pain for a while.
“I’m going to let you go home, but you need to take it easy. Your rib will heal on its own, but you need to rest… and be safe,” she says, emphasizing the last word.
“I am safe,” Penny whispers, looking down at her hands.