Jackie's Agreed To Be Your Witness

Rob sat alone in the room, naked except for his pants and the gown that the doctor had given him. His folded shirt, undershirt and socks were placed in a neat pile on the chair he had previously sat in, whilst his suit and trousers had been hung over the chair-back. He felt a chill along the back of his body where the gown was left open. He was replaying the conversation he had just had with Verma. Why was she being so cold? He wondered if perhaps he should not have insisted on an appointment today, assuming that he would likely have acted in a similar manner if a client came in unexpectedly when he was ready to go home. He was probably overthinking it and put it down to her having simply had a long day. Haven’t we all? He tried pushing these feelings out of his head but could not shake the doctor’s demeanour. He shuddered with embarrassment at the thought of being alone again with her, this time nearly nude, and anticipated what was to come next. Dr. Verma’s attractiveness did not help the matter, nor did the cold, dominant authority that she possessed.

He looked around the room, trying to distract himself again. It was a tragically generic GP office, with pale beige-yellow walls littered in information posters and overhead fluorescent lights. A window looked out onto the dull view of the near empty car park. There were no distinguishing features in the room aside from a couple of medical and educational certificates bearing Dr. Verma’s name which were hung on the wall over the desk. The coat that she was wearing during her smoking break hung on a hook on the wall next to the door. Nothing else. No framed photos of a spouse or children on the desk, no half-eaten lunch; nothing to give Rob an idea of the kind of woman that Dr. Verma was, or even to strike up a friendly conversation over.

Rob sat on the edge of the examination table and waited for her return, his palms slightly sweaty despite the evening chill of the room. He could not understand what was taking so long, all he wanted was to be done with this and on his way home.

After about five minutes the door clicked and Dr. Verma finally stepped in. However, she was not alone; to Rob’s dismay, Jackie stood at her side. She looked particularly short and pudgy when compared alongside the slim, lithe doctor. His employee was holding a camera phone with clear intent. The two women watched with some amusement as Rob tried in earnest to comprehend the unexpected situation, his face reddening rapidly.

“Wh-what’s going on? Why is she here?” Rob sputtered at Dr. Verma, his previous cavalier tone now totally absent. Neither woman said a word but instead continued to stare at Rob, making it obvious that they were enjoying the show. It seemed that he was not only going to be **** to endure being examined by this strange woman (which he was not happy about), but his teenage co-worker was going to watch? He looked down at his body, wishing he was wearing his clothes and not this flimsy material. Tall in stature, his legs dangled out in a lanky manner, the hem of the gown barely covering his upper thighs. His pants were not visible, to his relief, but he nevertheless tugged down on the cloth in an effort to regain some dignity.

Dr. Verma finally acknowledged Rob, announcing that Jackie was going to step in for the nurse, who had already gone home. “You see,” she explained, “a witness is necessary to countersign the examination form. It’s a condition of our medical policy. Normally a nurse or spouse would attend to this, but since you are unmarried or even currently in a relationship, as you stated, Jackie here has kindly agreed to take over these tasks.”