Fractured Eden Read Free

his head. I can hardly believe I’m here, in Hicksville, in the middle of nowhere.
    A smell of pine trees piqued his nose as he rolled to the end of his street and turned right onto the road that led to his family practice clinic.
    Aaron squeezed the steering wheel with both hands, his knuckles white. “Who was the son of a bitch that complained about me back in Connecticut?” He sighed. “Surely I’m as good as any other family doc—”
    “Geez,” he shouted as he stomped his brakes. His tires squealed to a stop just short of a large green turtle plodding across the road.
    Gasping for air, he glanced in the rearview mirror. No car was behind him.
    “My tires . . . might not . . . last long around here.”
    He slowed his breathing, got out, and walked to the front of the car.
    Safe and sound at the side of the road, the turtle looked back at Aaron.
    “Turtle dude, you look mighty pleased with yourself.” Aaron stared into the turtle’s eyes. “I think this has happened to you before. Maybe you like the smell of burnt rubber?”
    Aaron eased the car past the turtle and drove the short remaining distance to his office. He pulled into a parking space in front of the clinic at 7:30 a.m.
    He sat and studied the building through the windshield. It’s just as I remembered. The outer walls are made of brick, so this place could be here for a long time. He glanced up at the sky. I wonder when the last tornado came through here. Aaron’s heart skipped a beat as he unlocked and opened the front door of the clinic.
    He turned to look as two other cars entered the parking area.
    One of them must be Stella . He’d learned of her from the owner of the clinic building. She was the office nurse of the previous doctor, and Aaron had spoken with her by phone. “Yes, I’m available,” she’d said. She’d been making ends meet by providing in-home nursing care for patients who could afford it.
    Aaron held the door for an attractive black woman. “Stella?”
    “That’s me.”
    “Good morning. It’s lucky for me to work with someone with experience here.”
    “I’m glad to be back.”
    Another woman walked toward the door, and Stella motioned with her hand. “This is Juliana, our receptionist and billing expert.”
    “Good. Someone to make sure we all make a living and pay the rent,” Aaron said.
    Juliana laughed. “That’s what I’m good at.”
    She and Aaron followed Stella into the clinic. Standing in the middle of the waiting room, Stella smiled at Aaron. “It’ll be good to see this place alive with patients again. Come along and I’ll show you how I set up everything.”
    Aaron followed Stella on a tour of the waiting room, four treatment rooms, the doctor’s office, and a small lounge in the back with a refrigerator and coffee maker.
    “I know it smells kind of musty in here,” Stella said. “This place hasn’t been used for a while, so I came in yesterday to tidy up what I could. I put in new light bulbs, and I’ve ordered supplies.”
     
     
            At the rear of the clinic, Aaron stood in the doorway of his office. Light from the morning sun streaked in through partially opened window blinds.
    He settled into his office chair and explored the desk drawers, then strolled around the room and flipped through a few medical books from two wall shelves.
    I guess the last doctor didn’t want these books. Maybe he or she left in a hurry.
     
    An hour later, he walked into a patient room and saw a woman in tears. He closed the door behind him.
    “I’m Dr. Rovsing. How can I help you?”
    “I’m falling apart. I can’t sleep,” the woman said between sobs. “I cry all the time.” She held a tissue to her eyes. “Maybe if I could just get some sleep.”
    “Has this happened to you before?”
    She took a deep breath. “No. My daughter disappeared two weeks ago. She’s sixteen. Everyone thinks she just ran away, but I know she wouldn’t do that.”
    “The police are looking into