We sat in the Emergency Room. My wife of three months, Milly, sat on the table. This had been her sixth panic attack in the three months since we had been married. This was the first one where we felt the ER was needed. Milly was short of breath and was having chest pains.
Milly was a carefree, easygoing person. She had never struggled with anxiety and honestly still never had it. It just wasn't something that she had a problem with. Well, that is until we got married. She still never seemed anxious but now for the sixth time she had woken up in the middle of the night with night sweats and in the throes of a full-blown panic attack.
We couldn't figure out the problem. Milly and I had only recently moved to area. We were initially from South Carolina, but my first job out of college had brought us here to Jacksonville. Since, we hadn't been in the area for long, Milly hadn't found a doctor yet, so she had just shrugged off the panic attacks as they went away within a few hours.
They made for a hard day at work the next day, but so far, they had been manageable. Internet research had been her tool with learning about them, even though I had been begging her to find a family physician. However, Milly was very stubborn and had so far put it off, but I knew this had truly scared her. Especially when she asked to go to the emergency room. We had rushed here and had been quickly brought back, since she was having chest pains. The nurse had already checked her over and the panic attack seemed to have ended.
I was assuming that we would be going home soon; however, we had to wait to see the doctor. The nervousness that had gripped me since she had woken me up in the middle of the night was almost gone, but I could still feel it in the pit of my stomach. See Milly and I at 22 were freshly married and out of college and to say that both of us were very naïve was an understatement. We were college sweet-hearts, meeting at a small Christian college during our freshmen year. We married within a few weeks of graduation. Couple that with just being so young and in a new town, and this trip to the ER had my nerves on edge. I just wish we had a familiar face to help us through all of this.
"Andrew?" Milly's voice brought me out of my stupor.
"Yes," I said looking up from my phone.
"I really wish I had gone to see a doctor like you asked. I am sorry I made us come all the way here in the middle of the night. I promise to not be too stubborn our whole marriage. I will call a doctor tomorrow and make an appointment."
"Baby," I said in my sweetest voice, as I stood and caressed her hair, "its okay. Don't feel guilty about this at all. I just want to know what is going on with you. To make sure you are okay."
She didn't have a chance to say anything else as a knock came on the door and a head poked around the side. "Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Roswell." The doctor said as he entered. I was suddenly taken off guard. I knew this man, my mind raced trying to place him, trying to understand this person from back home here in the hospital. The doctor was my older brother's good friend, Brad Freeman. The guy who had tormented me since I was old enough to remember.
"Andrew, Andrew Roswell? Is that you? Man, it's a small world." I looked at him dumbfounded. I couldn't make words come out of my mouth. He reached over and grabbed my hand and shook it. "And, who is this buddy?" he asked motioning toward my wife.
"This is my wife, Milly." I stammered.
"It's so nice to meet you. What are you guys doing in town?" he asked casually.
"I....We... We moved here for work after we got married," I stuttered.
"Wow, that makes this a really small world. I am so glad to see a familiar face here in Jacksonville. Your brother never mentioned that you had moved here. But anyway, let me get back to my job." He smiled, and then looked over at Milly. "And Milly it says here that you are complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath, but think this may just have been a panic attack. Is that correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"How are you feeling now?"
"Fine, the shortness of breath stopped before we got here and my chest doesn't hurt anymore."
"Do you have panic attacks often?"
"Well, not until recently," she said, pushing her thick, curly, brown hair away from her face, "they started right after we got married. I had one the night we returned from our weeklong honeymoon and then I had another before we moved here. Since we have been in Jacksonville, I have had four counting the one from today. "
"Hmm..." Brad looked pensive and then moved closer to my wife. He looked over at me and smiled. A shit-eating grin, I remembered all too well from days back in the neighborhood, or nights when he stayed over with my brother, Kyle.
Brad Freeman had lived three houses down from me when we were in grade school. He like my brother was three years older than me, but four years ahead of me in school. He was the complete opposite of me. Where I was quiet, kind, and on the smaller side, Brad was loud, had a mischievous streak, and was the largest kid on the block. Even back then, he was a force to be reckoned with. All the kids did his bidding and all the parents seemed to love him. He always knew when to turn on the charm. I knew he had went off to college to become a doctor and I knew he had moved out of state, but to see him here in the ER was a shock. I truly felt like I was dreaming.
Even as an adult, I could tell that Brad had changed little. He was still of an impressive size, probably around 6 foot 2, with broad shoulders and dark brown hair. I knew he probably had no trouble with the ladies. I hoped his mischievous streak had ended though, because I didn't want his torment as an adult. But that smile he gave me brought back too many memories. Memories of him talking all the neighborhood boys in to skinny dipping in Mrs. Calloway's pool, only to take my clothes and run once we were discovered, so that when we all had to race to our house through the cul-de-sac and down the street, I was the only one butt-ass naked. Memories of him talking Felicia Stonewell into pretending she liked me when I was in the eighth grade and he was a senior. Only to have me find him and her in the treehouse making out when I climbed to confess my undying love to her. I eyed him now wearily.
Brad moved to Milly. He asked her to open up her mouth and proceeded to check her throat. He shined his light across her eyes, asking her to keep her eyes on his finger. He then moved to listen to her breath. He had her sit up and lifted her shirt in the back to place his stethoscope. He then slid his hand under the collar of her shirt listening.
