A Familiar Face

“No, you are not waiting in my car,” Rob insisted as he slammed the door shut. He and Jackie had just arrived in the surgery car park. Jackie had been extremely displeased at being ferried along on this errand and had argued and complained the entire way there. It hadn’t improved Rob’s mood at all, and to make matters worse the rush hour traffic had come close to making them late.

Rob continued ranting as he and Jackie walked toward the entrance of the surgery. The teenager had finally shut up and ceased her incessant moaning under the burden of Rob’s tirade, something that he was happy to keep on providing. “I don’t care where you have to be, I don’t care what you want, you will do as you’re told and wait for me in the surgery until I get what I need. You have absolutely no idea how important this is, so shut and start acting like an adult or I swear to god I will fire you in a heartbeat.” As he finished, he caught the eye of a well-dressed Asian woman smoking a cigarette in the car-park. She was about his age, her hair black and glistening and looked to be of Indian or Pakistani descent. The intensity of her gaze made him slightly uncomfortable and he dropped his eyes before she did. Jackie was clearly furious at her boss but despite her immaturity, did not dare push the issue any further. However, this did not stop her sticking her tongue out at the back of his head.

The redbrick surgery had all the familiar markings of a typical GP’s office; a large NHS sign, brightly painted bollards and a faint antiseptic smell that drifted lazily around the building. Night time was approaching and the orange lamps in the car park started to flicker on as Rob and Jackie approached the concrete accessibility ramp leading to the front entrance.

They arrived in the reception and Rob ordered Jackie to sit down on one of the rows of uncomfortable red seats. The surgery was quiet; there were no patients left. There was only the receptionist, whose vaguely familiar voice he recalled from his phone call making the appointment. But there was nothing vague or unfamiliar about the figure that greeted him. "Hi Rob. I did wonder if that Rob Jenkins who telephoned for an 'oh so important appointment' was you" she said. "Oh Carol. Hello. I didn't know you'd taken up this line of work" answered Rob, struggling to be pleasant to the ex-employee he had virtually sacked six months ago after numerous acrimonious disagreements. "Well, I had to get something after you had made it so clear that I had no future at the company" the receptionist clarified. "And it's going very well indeed thank you very much" she added defiantly. "Er, great. A sort of win / win then ?" said Rob awkwardly. Carol just returned an icy stare.