Good Bedside Manner - 2 (Patreon)

“I’m telling you, Grisel, he was gorgeous. And so kind. Like, a doctor that doesn’t immediately look at me like I’m trash already seems like a high bar, but he just treated me so normal,” Nayeli gushed as they walked into her favorite grocery shop in the city. It was a perfect late summer day, the smell of fresh produce in the air. The two women sorted through a pile of yellow mangoes, looking for the sweetest ones.

Nayeli’s best friend and roommate rolled her eyes. “Oh my god, yes, I know—you haven’t stopped talking about him for a month. You’re obsessed. I think I’ve heard more about this man than the guys you’ve actually gone out with the last couple weeks.”

“But he’s so cuuute,” Nayeli whined as she snagged two perfect mangoes, so ripe the scent was inescapable. “And the other guys are so boring. Or just real fuckin’ weirdos. I think I’m ready to delete all the apps again.”

“Was your last date that bad?”

“He didn’t ask me a single question the whole night. Hella ridiculous. I actually called him on it after a full thirty minutes of him blabbing about his shitty opinions on self-driving cars and whatever else. ‘So, do you have anything you want to know about me?’ And he was shocked. Mierda. Actin’ like he’s never realized other people can perceive reality.”

“Gross,” Grisel agreed as they moved from inspecting mangoes to choosing plantains. “Still, it feels… unhealthy? For you to keep obsessing over Castillo when he’s your doctor.”

“He was only my doctor once,” Nayeli reminded her, ignoring Grisel’s eyeroll at hearing this for the thousandth time. “And he’s not supposed to be. My regular doctor was just out for the day.”

“It’s still weird, girlie. You’ve been high-key stalking him.”

“Googling him is definitely not stalking him. That shit is publicly available information. If he didn’t want me looking his cute ass up, he probably shouldn’t be calling himself Doc-underscore-Castillo on Instagram and making himself so easy to find.” Grisel was giving her a long, meaningful look. “Okay, maybe I’m low-key stalking him. But only low!”

“We really need to find you a man,” Griselda said with a shake of her head as she picked out a couple pineapples.

“I am pretty sure I’ve met them all, and it’s either Dr. Unattainable or some creep.”

“Yeah, yeah, so you’ve said.”

They finished up their shopping and checked out, walking down the street with bags full of some of the best fruit in the city. They stopped to peek into the window of their favorite panaderia, Anjelica’s, which led to Nayeli deciding she desperately needed a couple conchas to round out the day. They wound up with a whole pink bakery box full of goodies, and Nayeli couldn’t resist munching on a guava jam-filled pastry as they left the shop.

She was so distracted between juggling the box and bags of fruit and scarfing down the absolutely decadent pastry that she bumped straight into a man walking in the door. She was happy she didn’t drop anything, and was immediately apologetic. “I’m so sorry—I wasn’t watching where I was going, excuse… me…” She trailed off as she looked up at the man’s face and realized who it was. “Oh! Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Dr. Castillo.”

“Don’t even worry about it. It’s Nayeli, right?”

She had to suppress a squeal. He remembers me! “Yes! That’s me.” She scrabbled around for something to say. “Is this your first time here? I’m a big fan of their conchas.” She stopped short of asking if he wanted recommendations, and started to feel her face heating up as she realized he was probably judging her for being a fat girl with a sweet tooth.

“That makes me happy to hear! I’ll be sure to tell my tía.”

“Your tía…?”

“Anjelica. She’s been running this place as long as I can remember.”

“What a small world!” She found herself giggling, and hoped she didn’t sound as ridiculous as she felt. “That makes you, like, neighborhood royalty.”

She was surprised when he gave a genuine laugh. “I don’t know about all that.” He stepped aside, heading closer to the counter. “It was really nice seeing you. Glad your ankle’s doing well.”

“Thanks!” She gave a wave as she left the store.

She and Griselda stayed silent for half a block, waiting until they were well out of earshot. Finally, Grisel broke the silence. “So I think I finally understand…”