[HM] Beside Manners (Part 1)
This short story is a part of the Mieran Ruins Collection. The rest of the stories can be found on this masterpost.
Dr. Brunswick was the town doctor for Ura which for a small town meant that he had to cover everything from sore throats to coronary revascularization. Well, that was what the text on his business card claimed. It also said he made house calls which rarely happened.
Over the past few years, his practice had changed, and he couldn't put his finger on it. He was used to walking into a room and making grand declarations based off the charts he had before him. The patients would breath a sigh of relief knowing their back pain wasn't a sign of impending death. He would then whisper to the nurse the treatment that was always available and would leave. If the cure required more invasive methods, he sat down and performed surgeries himself. They were always successful. He had a medical mind unlike what the world had seen before. Yet it seemed like no one recognized it.
Deidre lay on the examination table while Dr. Brunswick looked over her chart.
"Looks like my crappy nurse didn't do the proper examinations. Again. Alright, let's get through the basics. Height and weight?"
"Don't you have a scale here?" Deidre asked.
"We do, but I'm already sitting down. I don't want to be a carnival barker so give me your best guess," he said.
"Uh ok, 165 cm and 63 kilos," Deidre said.
"Alright, you look like you have a lot of stress in your life so I'll guess you have high blood pressure."
"My previous examinations said that I had low blood pressure," Deidre said. Dr. Brunswick flipped back through her history and read it.
"Hmm, looks like you're right. The chart includes lifestyle questions, but those bore me so let's move on."
"Wait, what if they're relevant?" Deidre asked.
"They're never relevant. Give me your symptoms?" Dr. Brunswick asked.
"I've had a cough for a few weeks, fever, and my hands hurt."
"The cough and fever is a bacterial infection. Get some antibiotics. The hands are the result of Reynaud's syndrome. Wear gloves when it's cold outside." Dr. Brunswick turned to leave.
"Wait, you didn't give me antibiotics," Deidre said.
"The nurse will take care of it."
"What nurse?" Dr. Brunwick tilted his head back into the room.
"Is everyone here stupid? The nurse that refused to do her job who I presume sat her and chit chatted with you about nothing. The nurse who annoyed me every day with her insistence that I account for bedside manner. That nurse Becca," Dr. Brunswick said.
"You mean the sheriff?"
"What?" Dr. Brunswick asked.
"Yeah, the sheriff. She's actually good at it," Deidre said.
"How long has she been in that role?"
"Two years."
"Two years. She ruined everything." Dr. Brunswick stormed out of the room.
"Uh, are you going to get me some antibiotics?"
Becca painted the last patch of wall in city hall. The disaster that resulted in the unfreezing took months to fix, but they solved it. They even managed to reorganize the building and make several improvements. Goldtail had a new bed, and Larry seemed content in his mine role. All seemed right with the world until Dr. Brunswick entered.
"There you are. Did you get demoted, or did you find your true calling?" he asked. Becca gritted her teeth and stopped herself from tossing the brush at him. Instead, she smiled.
"It's been so long since we talked. How have you been?"
"Terrible, all the patients are whining to me about their problems, and the paperwork keeps stacking up. That's what happened when you quit without telling anyone."
"I didn't do that. I told you in person several times and left a note on your desk."
"Please I would've noticed if you had done those things." Becca shook her head. She knew this would be his reaction, and it frustrated her. She walked away from him.
"Where are you going? I am not done with you yet." He screamed. Goldtail followed the two and considered clawing the man in the Achilles tendon. Becca went into her office and pulled out a piece of paper. She handed it to Dr. Brunswick. It was her resignation notice with a spot at the bottom where he signed indicating that he received it. Dr. Brunswick skimmed it several times.
"You forged my signature. Didn't you? That's a crime. Clearly, you aren't a good sheriff if you don't know that"
"Why would I do that? Quitting your job isn't against the law especially when the work environment is hostile," Becca said.
"Hostile. Is that the world you are going with? People's lives are in our hands. Stress is an inherent part of the job. I guess you couldn't handle it which is why you started helping old ladies cross the street."
"I am still a nurse, and I do important work as sheriff."
"I doubt that. You are too much of a people pleaser to be effective," Dr. Brunswick said.
"Why did you even come here in the first place?"
"I need a nurse. My patients are annoying, and someone needs to do the grunt work. I'd hire someone else, but in a town full of nincompoops, I need an idiot. So want to come back?" Dr. Brunswick asked.
"Absolutely not."
"Okay. Have a good day." Dr. Brunswick turned to leave. On the way out, Derrick tripped him. The men stared at each other until Dr. Brunswick backed down. Evelyn broke down crying at her desk when Derrick arrived. He rubbed her shoulder.
"My god, that dude is the worst. No wonder you keep your composure here."
"I know, but he's brilliant."
"That doesn't give him an excuse to treat people like garbage. Especially you," Derrick said.
"I know," Becca cried, "But he's right. I've seen the town's health go downhill. No one wants to see him. He needs someone to be nice for him."
"Wait a minute, you're not saying you'll go back," Derrick said.
"I don't know. I want to do what's right for everyone, and I might have to suffer for that," Becca said. Derrick stared at her.
"I wouldn't do it, but I'm not you. Whatever you decide, I hope you can live with it," Derrick said.
"Thank you."