Page 3 of Doctor Grinch
“Good morning, Dr. Sewell.” Cicily greeted him from behind the counter.
“Do you have any tissues—” Jack Sewell broke out into a fit full of sneezes. “Ahh, choo.”
“Oh, goodness. Are you okay?” she asked, passing him the box they kept next to the sign-in clipboard.
“I was. Until I walked in here.” Covering his mouth and nose, the sneezing continued. “Good God, it smells like a pine tree got into a fight with a cinnamon stick in here.”
Loren walked through the side door and stopped in her tracks the moment she saw him. It didn’t do her any good to slip the air refreshener she was holding behind her back. It was too late as he’d already spotted it. “Dr. Sewell.”
“Are you responsible for this…this…smell?” Jack brought his hand up to his nose. “Ahh, choo.”
“I can get rid of them. Let me find something to put them in.” Loren rushed around the room snatching air fresheners from the wall sockets.
As he stood there watching her, he couldn’t believe she’d gone and done such a thing. She knew he was sensitive to a lot of smells, but this was worse than walking into a cinnamon factory.
“I think one will be more than enough,” he said, lifting one long, slender finger up for her to see. “We certainly don’t need ten.”
Ten was slightly exaggerating, but enough was enough. What were the patients going to think?
“Okay, I get it,” she mumbled under her breath.
“Cicily, I have breakfast. Can you take it to the breakroom so everyone can eat while it’s still hot? I’m going back to my office now.”
“You’re not going to get anything?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I’ll probably step outside for a few minutes. I need to clear my head.”
“Would you like us to save you some?” she asked.
“You ladies enjoy.”
Jack massaged his temples as he hurried down the hallway to his office and closed the door. Had the others not noticed the stench? It was as bad if not worse than walking by one of those perfume stores down at the mall. He had to admit, the hallway wasn’t as bad as when he’d first walked in, but he could practically taste the smell on his tongue.Yuck!
Seeing the cinnamon-scented broom with the red and white checked bow fastened to it hanging on the supply room door almost did him in. It wasn’t even Thanksgiving yet and he was already dreading what the next month would bring.
Chapter Three
Loren
“I found us some more boxes,” Loren squealed.
“Uh,” Cicily looked around the room at the various stacks of boxes that were wrapped to look like Christmas presents. “How many more do you think we need?”
“Well, I’m not exactly sure.” With her hands positioned on her hips, she began to count them. “There’s six stacks, four boxes high. If we put another stack over there, then move those chairs back a little bit, it’ll be—”
“Too damn many. For crying out loud, this is a waiting room, not the line to see Santa.” Jack stormed through the front entrance, paused long enough to shake his head, then disappeared down the hallway.
“Uh, oh.” Cicily lowered her voice. “It might be wise to hold off. For now, anyways. He did not look all that happy.”
“He’s never happy. About anything. I’m only trying to liven the place up a bit.”
“I know you are, honey. He’s just…just,” Cicily looked over her shoulder before saying it. “He’s just a grinch.”
“If he keeps up this attitude of his, I might just scream. Our patients deserve a little cheer.” Loren could take a lot of crap from someone, but the way Jack was behaving lately, she almost felt like it was personal towards her. “It explains why he doesn’t have a woman in his life. Would you want to date someone that acts the way he does?”
“Of course not. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if he’s secretly got a crush on you?”
Loren glared at her co-worker. “That’s not funny, you know.”