Road Doc

Chapter 9

Howie woke up slowly, unsure as to where he was. As his vision cleared he looked around to find just another generic hotel room. Moving his hand to move hair from his face he was suddenly aware of something attached to his arm. He stared at it for a moment before realizing that he was hooked up to an IV. He let out a small gasp and looked around the room again. Curled up in a large chair beside his bed was Theresa, sound asleep.

Theresa awoke to the sound of Howie trying to get out of bed.

“Oh no you don’t” she said quickly, startling Howie.

“Dr. Franklin. Hi. I just need to go to the restroom” he said, obviously embarrassed.

“Let me at least help you get up. I don’t need you passing out on me again” she said, taking his arm and steadying him as he stood up.

When he returned from the lavish bathroom he laid back down and looked over to
Theresa. She looked tired and he wondered how long she had been with him. He felt as though he’d been run over by a dozen or so tour buses and the last thing he remembered was walking on stage somewhere in Mexico.

“What happened to me?” he asked, still dazed by everything that was happening.

“You got very sick, Howie” Theresa said, taking his temperature. “You were severely dehydrated and you passed out on stage. That was three days ago.”

“Wow” he mumbled, the thermometer stuck beneath his tongue.

“Howie, why didn’t you come to me and tell me you were so sick?” Theresa asked,
pulling the thermometer from his mouth, seeing that his temperature was finally back to normal.

“Well, I don’t know. I guess I thought I was actually getting better, but I guess I wasn’t really.” Howie sounded ashamed.

“I’m on the road with you guys to take care of you. I don’t want to sound like I’m scolding you, but we could have gone about getting you better a lot easier if you’d just come to me in the first place.” Theresa had placed her hand on his, trying to convey to him how sincere she was. She needed to earn his trust.

“How long had you had diarrhea? And when did the vomiting start?” Theresa asked.

Howie blushed and turned his head.

“Howie” Theresa said, realizing he was embarrassed. “You have to tell me. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Howie turned to her and shook his head, and with a soft chuckle said “It’s kind of hard to talk about that kind of stuff with a girl”

“Howie, I’m not a girl, I’m your doctor”

“Did you stay here with me the whole time?” Howie asked, hoping to change the subject.

Theresa nodded, noticing for the first time that Howie’s color was finally returning to its natural caramel color. She checked his pulse, distracted by how soft his skin was.

“Thank you” Howie took his hand from her grasp and placed it beneath her chin, lifting her face.

Theresa’s eyes met his and lingered there for a long moment. She felt a hot blush rising from her chest and she quickly turned away.

“Just doing my job, Howie. I’m going to let you get some rest” she said, patting his hand. “It’s going to take you a few days to get over this, so please don’t over do it”

“What about the shows?” Howie said, suddenly sitting up. “I didn’t even think about that. I missed a show last night.”

“It’s okay” Theresa said, fluffing his pillows and pointing for him to lay back down. “They went ahead with the show.”

A look of disappointment fell on Howie’s face and for a moment Theresa thought he was going to cry.

“Brian covered your solos the best he could. The audience was obviously disappointed, but for the most part I think they did okay.” Theresa looked at Howie and could see that he was upset.

“But it wasn’t the same without you up there” she added, and she meant it. The show was lacking without his presence on stage and the harmonies seemed thin without his beautiful high voice. Theresa wanted to tell him all of those things, but was afraid that it would come out sounding like she was gushing over him. She didn’t want to cross the boundaries of their doctor/patient relationship, no matter how badly she yearned to.

She wanted to tell him that she loved his voice and loved watching the way he danced. She wanted to tell him that the way his body moved to the music, like it the rhythm and his body were one was mesmerizing. She wanted to tell him that when she ventured out into the audience, she could rarely take her eyes off of him. She wanted to tell him...

“Doc?” Howie said, but Theresa didn’t hear him. She was lost in her thoughts.

“Doctor Franklin??” he said louder.

Theresa snapped back to reality and this time didn’t hide the blush that took over her cheeks. She smiled down at him and smoothed his hair.

“Get some rest Howie” she said softly. “We’re on the road tomorrow and I don’t want you getting too tired out.”

Howie nodded and pulled the blankets up under his chin, snuggling down into his pillow.

Theresa checked the IV bag and gathered her things. Before she closed the door to his room she turned back.

“And Howie, please call me Theresa.”