The Big Swap - Part 31

~THIRTY ONE~

Kanan absently watched the middle-aged man drawl about his supposed insomnia. With his hair balding from the front, cheeks flushed to a deep red with beads of sweat trickling down his forehead despite the AC, and his smoking-induced purple lips, the man looked strikingly and most uncomfortably a lot like his own Father.

Kanan noted thoughtfully, this man was the perfect description of just how he never wished to look in his mid-forties, or however old the man was.

He craned his neck up and pulled the patient's file towards him to check.

Forty-six years old. Bingo!

He could tell the man was full of shit.

It was all the Internet's doing really, to give more information than needed to the masses. Therefore, one tiny problem in regular life and people would have already googled up the supposed symptoms. By the end of their 'research', a huge chunk of them were convinced that they were dying of a certain disease that started with the letter 'C', ended with 'R'....oh well, cancer of course!

Kanan suppressed an amused grin within.

While this man's animated and ridiculous, albeit sincere attempt at convincing Kanan of his weary and stressed life leading to his self-declared insomnia continued, Kanan found his interest pique more on the wife. She was strikingly attractive for her age.

Whether it was the big, blob of a man that occupied the seat next to her or just her natural pleasing appearance that made him feel that way, however, was a little difficult for him to place. She looked a cent percent convinced about the man's 'symptoms' and 'conclusions'.

Instantly in his head, he summed two and two and deduced that she was one of the typical kinds of wives he was used to seeing on an everyday basis in his clinic. Wives who kept their eyes and ears closed to every aspect of the World and drowned themselves in social gatherings and parties without a clue about what their husbands did for a living, where they went....and of course, who they slept with.

Sure, he was being judgemental. But this was something he liked and prided himself to be good at, for his judgements and observations were generally on point.

This man, for instance, was a gone case alcoholic and a chain smoker who made truckloads of money every month, some with hard work and others with contacts. Lots of ill-earned money meant spending recklessly on things that didn't always account legitimate. Including women.

Other women, to be precise.

From the looks of it, this woman had developed some degree of righteousness and had perhaps suggested a separation. Paranoid about his social standing, the man would've decided to cook up some intense sob story of his stressful days to earn them a good living and just like that, the woman would've fallen for it and ended up at his clinic with acute worry for her husband's good health.

A part of him wanted to roll his eyes. This was the part that couldn't tolerate both, infidelity and broken marriages pretending to stand strong to be socially acceptable. He'd seen enough of both at home to want to see the same in his clinic.

While the other, trained and professional part of him knew just how to handle this case.

"I hope you didn't happen to take any medication without prescription before this, Sir." He asked feigning concern.

The man shook his head, clearly quite surprised at having fooled the doctor with his ridiculous theory so easily.

Kanan nodded curtly, and resumed gaping at the prescription with the basic details of the patient as the man continued with his sob story.

His head was a little muffled since last night. He'd had a little too much to drink at the Fundraiser he'd attended with his other colleagues.

This annual event, was an event every doctor from the medical fraternity waited for. Organized by the James Rowen Hospital Trust, a Trust under which his own hospital was funded was one really big deal. Every doctor in the profession knew, philanthropic or not, if they had been invited to this event, they surely had left their mark in some way.

And he had received an invite for the first time since he began his own practice.

It had all seemed too surreal to him initially. He'd been excited beyond compare and had felt this sudden surge of adrenaline, the 'adrenaline of accomplishment' he would call it, until his eyes had caught, 'Passes for two'.

Immediately, Meera's thought had crossed his mind.

This was happening to him a lot lately. The random-est of things would remind him of her. Dhoklas, Navratri partner dance numbers, Coconut water and what not. It would get worst when he'd see young couples at their patented Panipuri stall, which was right outside his clinic by the way.

First the happy times they'd spent would cross his mind, as he'd recall how they'd been so complete together despite being potentially broke, having two disturbed families and not to mention the intense pressure of competitive exams they were both preparing for. But then he'd recall his mess up, after which the reality of her and Vedant would sink in and he'd only get depressed.

Yesterday had been a little different however. He'd been this close to drunk calling her.

He blamed her for it. She knew he wasn't much of a drinker. If she'd been there with him, she would've ensured he'd be under control. She would've dressed up for the event in a stunning cocktail dress that he would gift her and walk by his side, hand in hand throughout the night. And then, every time he would receive praise for his works, he would see her fill up with pride and her eyes shine with love the way they once had. Towards the end of the night, they would have dinner together and dance to the slow, romantic numbers as he would look into her eyes and marvel upon how he was the luckiest man on Earth.

"...so that's that Doctor." The man stopped abruptly, perhaps realizing he'd gone a little overboard now and Kanan instantly snapped back to the present.

"I see." He rubbed a rough hand through his hair absently as he straightened, "Sir I can't prescribe any medicines today I'm afraid."

"But why not, Doctor?" the wife interrupted this time.

On the table, his phone vibrated with a call from Rishi.

Rishi? Right now? He knows I'm in the clinic around this time.

"Doctor...?" the lady was insistent now.

What is WITH patients and wanting medicines?

It was almost as if they came with a fixed mindset that if they were paying the consultation charges, they would not leave without a list of medicines to fix their problem.

His phone vibrated again, this time with Meera's call and he instantly stiffened in his seat. She had opened each one of his eleven drunk messages the previous night itself but had not responded in any way.

And now, she was directly calling him.

Is she pissed?

Urgh. I should've stopped myself before typing those goddamned messages!

"Ma'am, your husband's symptoms are extremely generic." My ass generic. He's fucking with your mind and you're stupid enough to let him. "I'll need to keep him under observation for another say, one week. If these problems persist, we'll go ahead with the treatment."

Why am I getting so hyper?

They're my patients for heaven's sake. I need to STOP judging them.

The man looked quite satisfied, but the woman turned to the man suspiciously.

"Okay. Your fees, Doctor?" the man enquired, but Kanan's mind was already elsewhere.

"Um...my receptionist, Abha is outside. She'll help you out."

10:32 AM Meera Modi: You must be in the clinic. Didn't mean to disturb you bu.....

He stared at less than half of the message his lock-screen showed as the patient and his wife stood to leave with a friendly nod. Kanan willed himself to be courteous, as he put his hand forth for a shake with the man.

10:32 AM Meera Modi: You must be in the clinic. Didn't mean to disturb you but it's kind of urgent. Please call back asap.

And so, with a fiercely beating heart, he did what he'd not had the guts to do in the past five years.

He called Meera.

... continued The Big Swap - Part 32