The sun beat down on the back of her neck, warming up her body as she walked out to the car. Her five year old daughter scurried along and was already waiting for her by the time she got to the driver's side. "You're a fast tyke, aren't ya?" she praised, unlocking the doors. Amberly dove inside and buckled herself up. Erika closed the passenger door and climbed in herself, starting up the bright red Chevrolet, then buckling her own seat belt.
Saturday mornings were calm and somewhat of a relief for Erika. Her husband usually spent the whole day sleeping after staying up so late on Friday. It was like temporary security- you had a helmet on for a brief time, but once you took it off, you could get a blow from anywhere. Other times, Erika didn't even have time to put on her armor and say something to the likes of him. She drove off to the child's clinic.
Today, her daughter would be getting a checkup and two shots- one for varicella, the other for rubella virus. They arrived at the hospital. The door was wide with black frames. It slid open automatically as her daughter approached it, Erika following close behind the blond-haired toddler. She signed her daughter in, then let the youthful gal drag her to a seat close to the small play area they had for the small children.
Erika stared at her child for a brief few moments. She looked so happy to be here, she could only wonder if she felt the same when she was at home. There was a wooden train set, complete with blue, red, and green freight cars, pound a peg, and a cute little rocking horse with red rope for the reins. The air was cool and Thomas the Train Engine chugged across the tv screen opposite from Angelina Ballerina. "Amberly Clarke."
Mother's head shot up at the familiar name. Amberly put down Dr. Seuss and ran to the nurse. She was wearing a nice, dark blue pair of scrubs. "Welcome, Amberly. Mrs. Clarke. I'm Nurse Kaja. How're you both doing today?" Erika smiled a little when Amberly spoke up a little, questioning what she was doing here. She was always a curious thing. "You're going to get a check up today, Amberly," the nurse told Amberly. "What's that?"
"The doctor is going to make sure you're healthy. He'll listen to your heart and check your ears," Erika responded cooly, walking a few steps faster to arrive at Amberly's side. Her daughter was getting stronger and faster everyday. "She's a sweet child," Kaja praised Erika, opening a door into an office. "I need you to sit still darling. I'm going to check your blood pressure, okay? You're going to feel a tight squeeze around your arm."
"Will it hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt."
The walls were covered in vibrant pictures. A blue and purple octopus with green suction cups caught Erika's attention. The seaweed was colored pink and yellow, the sand a nice tan, and a small rainbow fish on the left of the octopus. They were floating in a blue ocean and Erika's eyes moved to the crab next, then landed on her daughter. Erika sat down in the chair next to her just as the nurse took off the blood pressure cuff, then entered the numbers in the computer.
Erika crossed one leg over the other, trying to get used to the sound of squeaking leather as Amberly climbed onto the chair, then slid off, repeating the cycle a few times over. Nurse Kaja went over Amberly's medical history with a small series of simple "yes" or "no" questions. The dark-skinned woman then left the room, closing it behind her. Erika could hear the incoherent murmuring of doctors, nurses, and clients from the other side of the room.
A few minutes later, she heard a knock on the door and immediately stood up. A tall man walked in and Erika put on a bright smile. The small steps of a toddler could be heard as Amberly cautiously began to approach the doctor, then changed her mind and decided to stay at her Mother's side, giving him a shy smile. "You must be Dr. Paulson," Erika greeted, sticking out her hand to shake his. "I'm Erika Clarke, mother of Amberly."