Excerpt from Giovanni Rests In Pieces

“Ma’am, I appreciate your concern, but right now what I need is to examine your sister and you’re blocking access to my patient.”

Pulling his tablet up closer to his chest, Giovanni glared at the middle-aged woman who sputtered, but stepped aside. Giovanni kept the frown going, but inwardly he was relieved. It wasn’t like him to come off as tough; in fact, he was surprised he’d been able to pull it off. Deliberately not looking at the nurse who was smirking suspiciously, he forced a smile and pulled the privacy curtain closed. “Hello, ma’am. I just need ask you a few questions.”

Margie wasn’t nearly as difficult as her sister, but Giovanni could tell she was nervous. Since he didn’t have to do more than get her vitals before handing her off to his supervising physician, he left the curtain open enough that she could see her sister.

“Your name is Marguerite Suarez?” he asked, peering at his chart. “Margie for short? Wait, is your sister also Marguerite? Rita for short?”

Margie nodded, the corners of her eye crinkling to almost shut as she smiled. “Oh yes, my mother couldn’t make up her mind, so my father just picked a name he could remember. My mother was also Marguerite.”

The irate lady outside the curtain rolled her eyes, but his patient laughed, pleased he’d caught what was apparently a family joke.

“That’s crazy,” Giovanni laughed, relieved to be on better footing with his patient. “I’m named after a great uncle myself. Can you stretch out your arm? This might pinch a little, but just long enough to get your blood pressure. Oh, thank you.” This last was to the nurse who silently handed him a fingertip oximeter.

“Your names must have made life easier for your dad,” Giovanni said to Margie.

This time, Rita laughed outside the curtain. “Not really,” she said. “We just pretended we didn’t know who he was calling.”

Giovanni grinned. “Way to work your dad.

“Are you having any gastrointestinal distress with the feeding tube?” he turned back to Margie. “Upset stomach, diarrhea?”

“She farts like a trucker!” A young voice called from the hall.

“Hush you!” Rita scolded while Margie blushed. “My nephew,” she whispered.

Giovanni couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face, so he made a show of checking his tablet. “I’ll put down some discomfort.”