12.18.2015
“Great, how about 2pm? How’s that work for you,” she asked.
“2 works great. Can I get your address?”
The doctor gave him an address for an office in a mall that was only a few miles from where he lived. Must have been chosen for its proximity to me, Tern thought. He heard the sound of the front apartment door opening. Erin must be getting back.
“We’ll see you tomorrow then, Tern.”
“You bet. Have a good night.”
“You as well.”
Tern hung up the call. He tapped the keyboard and entered the details for the appointment into his calendar. After he’d saved the reminder, he set his keyboard down and went out to the living room where Erin sat with a book and some chips.
“Well hey there!” she said when she looked up from her book. She kicked the leg rest from the recliner back into the chair and offered the chips to Tern as he sat down on the couch beside her. He reached in and took a handful. Barbecue sauce immediately covered his hands.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Feeling a lot better now. Just got off with the doctor to schedule an appointment for tomorrow.”
“Good, good. Did they have an idea of what it was?”
“No, of course not,” he replied. “But I was going to check the forums in a bit to see if I could glean anything.”
“Well, I’m sure you’ll know a bit more tomorrow,” Erin smiled over at him.
Tern smiled back as he finished the last of the chips and said, “I certainly hope so.”
Tern got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen to wash his hands. Those barbecue chips were delicious, but messy.
“I’m heading back to my room, but I’ll see you in the morning, unless you leave really early.”
“I’ll have to even check what time I need to be up.”
“Well, if O don’t see you, should I get anything for you when I’m at the mall?”
“I can’t think of anything, but thanks.”
“Sounds good. Night.”
Erin kicked the feet of the chair up again and settled into the book. Tern walked into his room again, sat down at his desk, took a drink from his glass, and stared at his screen trying to figure out which search terms might net him any results. He first tried the ESL forums that Smokestack hosted, but wasn’t able to find any threads about people with health issues related to the procedure or chip. He wondered how many of the lottery surgeries had been performed by now.