If there was ever a poster boy for nerds Paul Joseph was it back in the summer of 2008. He had just graduated from high school, and he was so much the nerd that it had taken him until his senior year to lose the pocket protector that was a part of him forever.
For a time Paul even had glasses with a cracked frame that were taped to hold them together, although that was because since his father had left Mom and him to fend for themselves money was scarce.
Paul didn't mind because he understood how tough it was for his mother having to be both Mom and Dad to compensate for his absent old man, and that was why he tolerated her often overbearing nature.
It had helped their very humble household that Paul did little to cause his mother concern because he was a real homebody, preferring to study rather than running the streets like a lot of his classmates. This did nothing for his non-existent social life but helped him get grades good enough to get him a scholarship to college.
Going to college was what Paul thought would change his life at least socially, because maybe intelligent college girls would be more interested in him as a person and not as concerned with superficial things like how athletic or handsome you are, or so he hoped.
It wasn't like Paul was hideous, but even he admitted to himself that he did look like a geek, so much so that his occasional attempts over the years to look more hip only make him look more silly. His 5'9" frame was practically devoid of muscle and while the acne that had haunted his early teenage years was mostly gone there were traces of the scars still left behind.
Added to this was the fact that physically Paul was sure that he was a freak because he looked nothing like the other guys, and although he did his best to avoid being seen when he changed clothes in the gym locker room, he had heard the giggles when guys would see him.
Even the only girlfriend he had ever had in his life had laughed when their relationship got to a more intimate level and she saw his private parts. Lily had later apologized but Paul was crushed by her treatment and swore off attempting to find a girl at his school. Paul had not sworn off sex though, because he spent a lot of time pleasuring himself in the privacy of his bedroom, but he was hoping that things would change in college.
Things did change alright...
It was just another summer day in 2008 and Paul had just gotten out of the shower and in his room drying off. He hadn't closed the bedroom door because his mother was at work, but apparently Ruth Joseph's allergies flared up so she ended up coming home early.
Paul had his stereo playing and must have drowned out the sound of his Mom coming home. Ruth Joseph would say later that she was just coming down to his room to ask her son to turn down the music because her head was aching, but Paul suspected that she had been in the doorway for more than a second, although with him drying his hair he couldn't be sure.
"Dear god!" Ruth Joseph had said when she saw your son there naked, and while what followed Paul might find amusing in the future but as a very introverted and self-conscious kid it was horrible as it happened.
After Mom let out her shrill panicked cry she had come over and demanded that Paul move the towel from in front of him that he had used to cover himself, and when he sheepishly did what she asked his mother carried on like he was defective.
To make a long story short, Ruth Joseph was horrified because there was something very strange about her son when she saw him naked for the first time since he was a baby. After asking whether he always looked like that, Paul's Mom declared that while she was no expert, there was definitely something wrong with him.
"It's not like I've seen that many fellows in my life," Ruth explained after tearfully telling her boy how much she cared about him. "But this isn't normal. If your father was around he would know about these things."
The conclusion Ruth made was that she would take Paul to the doctor to get him looked over because he was still young and something might still be done to help him.
"We get check-ups at school every year," Paul had complained. "No doctor ever said anything."
"Those aren't real exams," Ruth had scoffed. "We'll get you a real exam. I should have done this before when I suspected something was amiss with you."
So Ruth had taken Paul to the doctor, the very same pediatrician that Paul used to go to when he was young. Enduring this was bad enough for the timid teen but going to a pediatrician?
"Pediatricians take care of kids until they're 18 and beyond. In the United States they can take care of you until you're 21. I checked on the computer!" his mother had declared, so she proclaimed that Paul would get a physical from the same doctor who had examined him countless times as a child.
"Can't we go to a regular doctor?" Paul pleaded to deaf ears, and what he wanted to say was that he would rather go to a male doctor.
Doctor Fine was nice enough but she was a female, and the thought of a woman looking at him was intimidating. Not that he thought she would laugh like Lily did, but she probably didn't see that many guys or at least not as many as a male doctor.
So the appointment was made, and to make it worse Paul's mother had declared that not only was she accompanying him to the office, she was going to be very much involved in the examination as well.
"I want to make sure that you get a through looking over," Mom said on the way to the doctor's office, her frugal side blending with her motherly concern. "We must address your problem and besides, we don't have insurance so I have to pay cash for this. I want to make sure I get my money's worth."
In the waiting room Paul felt ridiculous sitting there with his mother like the two other kids in the room, except he was 18 and not 8 or 12 like the others probably were.
"No, I don't want to read anything," Paul said as he refused his mother's offer of a copy of National Geographic Kids, his neck still burning from the encounter at the check-in desk with the nurse.
"And what's the nature of Paul's visit, Mrs. Joseph?" the middle-aged nurse had asked, her flaming red hair matching the glasses she wore.
"Paul needs a complete physical exam," Paul's Mom explained. "He hasn't had one in quite a while."
"Yes, according to the records Paul hasn't been hear since he was 13 - five years ago," the nurse said.
"He says they give exams at school but I understand they aren't much of an exam at all," Mrs. Joseph huffed before mercifully lowering her voice and leaning over the counter to add "I'm very concerned about my son's physical development, if you know what I mean."
