Strange Medicine (Dr. Maxwell Thornton Murder Mysteries #1)(48)

“I mean if the bracelet works, why are you here?”

She tilted her head. “Because you’re a doctor and my H-I-P H-U-R-T-S.” She spelled out the last words.

I bit my tongue, remembering what Royce had said to me the other day about my bedside manner. I plastered on a fake smile, and I got up and went to my cupboard over the sink. I pulled out several packets of Ibuprofen and returned to my seat. “I want you to try these and see if they help. Most studies show that magnets and copper bracelets don’t work.”

She took the packets I held out. “Oh, Dr. Pine gave me some of these once. They really helped take the pain away.”

I nodded, feeling confused. “That’s wonderful.”

“Waterfall?” Now she looked befuddled.

“No… I said that’s won-der-ful.”

She stood slowly. “There’s nothing wonderful about arthritis, Doc. You should know that.”

I watched her leave my office and rubbed my throbbing temples.

Next was Belinda Bratt. She was eight months pregnant with her sixth child. She sat in the chair with a loud grunt. “I don’t know if I can do it, Dr. Thornton.”

“Do what?”

“Have this baby.”

I schooled my face so that I didn’t show my impatience. She was ready to pop her baby out any second, and now she was ready to give up? “Of course you can, Belinda. You’ve done this five times before.”

She widened her eyes. “But when will it end?” Her voice was high-pitched.

“Well, probably when you either stop having sex or use birth control?”

She gasped. “But I’m Catholic.”

“Um… but you do know where babies come from, correct?”

“Of course.”

“So if you want to stop having them… you really only have two choices.”

She shocked me when she burst into tears. I stayed frozen for a few moments as sobs racked her shoulders and she covered her face. Then I rose and stood over her. I patted her shoulder gingerly. “There, there. It will be okay.” The words felt stiff and forced, but she dropped her hands and looked up at me.

“Do you really think so?” Her voice wobbled and her cheeks were wet.

Did I? I wasn’t sure. But I dug deep for compassion. Perhaps Royce was right. Maybe she was just scared and all she really needed was a kind word and someone to encourage her. Neither of those things came easily to me, but I decided to try. “You’ve done this many times before. You could probably teach classes on having babies.”

She sniffed and nodded. “Yeah. I probably could.”

“Now… you’re so close to delivering this baby… there must be something else that has you worried. What’s really bothering you, B… Belinda?” I felt like an idiot talking to her like this, but she seemed to respond.

She sniffed again, and I held out a box of tissues to her. She took one and wiped her nose. “Thank you.” She sighed. “It’s Randy. He hasn’t touched me in weeks. He probably thinks I’m fat and ugly.” A hiccup of a sob rattled through her.

“What?” I shook my head. “No. I’m sure that isn’t true.”

She patted her enormous belly. “But look at me!” She scowled. “I’m huge.”

I couldn’t help it—I laughed. She frowned, and I quickly rehung my serious-doctor face. “Think back to your other pregnancies. Did Randy have sex with you in the last month those times?”

She squished her face into a frown. “Well… let me think…”

“Because it’s not unusual for men to feel like they’ll hurt the baby if they have sex this late in the pregnancy. Randy might be worried about that.”

She dabbed at her eyes. “I guess maybe he always does this.”

“See.” I felt relieved because she looked much calmer. “I’ll bet he’s just being careful.”

“I guess.” She didn’t look completely convinced.

Leaning against my desk, I said, “When you’re not pregnant, how often would you say you and Randy have sex?”

Her face flushed, and she grimaced. “Gosh, that’s an embarrassing question.”

“Is it? You know… I know where babies come from too.”

She laughed. “True.” Some tension seemed to leave her shoulders. “We have sex at least four times a week. Usually.”

I raised my brows. “How long have you been married?”

“Ten years.”

“Belinda, you have more sex than most couples. I think the average for a married couple who’ve been together as long as you is once a week. Especially since you have five kids already.”

“Really?”

I nodded. “Yes. You two are way above average.”

“Oh.” She smiled. “I didn’t know that.”

“This is your sixth baby. Something tells me your husband finds you attractive.”

Her cheeks were pink, and she looked much happier. She smoothed her hands over her stomach. “Maybe it’s hormones that have me all goofy.”

“I’m sure it is.” I felt less stressed now that she seemed better. “How about you climb up on the examination table and we check everything over to be sure you and the baby are fine.”