Becoming the Luna

I stare at my mom as she bites her nails nervously, we're parked beside Infinity Hospital, Doctor Rizha's private hospital and let me just say that we've been here a while.

"Um, mom? I think you're supposed to put the car off when we get to our destination."  I remind her.

"I know, I know." She says absently, going back to staring Into the distance.

Shana's unhappy scoff comes from the back seats where she's sitting in the middle of Dale and Virgil, they had all insisted on coming along for the check up.

"You sure are taking your time, Renee, considering that you wouldn't even let us breathe peacefully because of this."

"I'm sorry." She apologizes sheepishly, finally putting off the car. "Doctor Rizha just makes me really nervous."

I place my hand on her shoulder in reassurance, it's ironic that I'm the one comforting her when I'm the one seeing the doctor.

We all make our way into the foyer and the receptionist gives us tags to indicate that we're supposed to be in the hospital, Doctor Rizha stayed at the top floor so we would have to take the elevator up.

"We'll wait here for you both." Virgil says and I can detect a hint of nervousness in his voice.

The elevator ride is filled with my mom worrying so loud I have to call her out. "Mom, I'll be fine, maybe I just ate something bad." I try to convince her, it was true, ever since that day I hadn't passed out or bled suspiciously, and even my bruising rate had gone down too.

"I know." She says again and goes back to biting at her nails.

"Hi, Renee." A lady that had to be Doctor Rizha's secretary greets my mom familiarly when we walk into the office, coming around her desk to hug her.

"Sharon." My mom says nervously, accepting the hug.

"And you must be Hayden." She says to me, pulling me in for a hug as well, her dark brown hair is carefully and tastefully pinned behind her head and she's in traditional secretary clothes with a panty hose. "I can't believe you just disappeared after you had him, that's hardly fair." Sharon complains.

My mom rubs her cheek nervously. "I moved down to Pine Creek so I couldn't visit often anymore, where's Rizha?"

Sharon grins. "She's expecting you, she's so excited to meet Hayden again and…" she grimaces at this point, shrugging slightly. "...a little upset but that's to be expected, I'll inform her you're here." She adds, going back to sit behind her organized desk.

A short while later, she drops her desk phone and smiles up at us. "The Doctor will see you now."

I can hear my mom audibly gulp and my curiosity spikes, I really want to see the person that had apparently helped out at my birth and was also capable of making my mom act like this.

Sharon directs us down a hallway and we stop in front of a double door. "It's good to see you again, Renee and nice to meet you, Hayden. I'll take my leave now, just walk on in."

With that, Sharon struts down the hallway from the way we came, no doubt going back to her office.

My mom and I stand staring at the double glass doors, there's no way I'm touching the doors and from the expression on her face, she's most likely thinking the same thing.

"Well, come on in! I don't have a bloody day." A powerful voice booms from inside, startling our face off and my mom pushes open the doors.

The office is wide and spacious, and the design is modern and chrome, all done in shades of white and dark blue, it looked really professional with a part of the wall glasses in to show off an impressive view of the city.

A severe woman sits behind the enormous mahogany desk, a pair of black framed glasses sitting pertly on her face, her arms are crossed in front of her and she's glaring at my mom.

"It's been more than sixteen years, Renee, you just upped and disappeared, no calls, no texts, no emails, hell! At this point I wouldn't have even minded an old-fashioned letter but no! Absolutely nothing and now you just waltz into my office like… oh hello!" She cuts off her enraged ranting when she sees me, leaning forward on her wide desk to get a better look in, her fingers occasionally adjusting her glasses.

"Who do we have here? Is that my baby?" She asks excitedly, getting down from her chair to come around the table and… oh wow! She's tiny, like really, really, her head comes up to my chest kind of tiny. My mom is scared of her? She's adorable!

She's holding a thin customized staff and she hrutles herself into my arms. "Oh he's so dashing, I can't believe you kept him away from me all these years." She complains, getting down from my arms again, I'm just pleasantly surprised and watching the scene unfold with interest.

"And you…" whack! She hits my mom over the head with the cane in her hand - oh that was what that was for. "How…" whack! "...dare…" another whack. "...keep my baby away from me." The whacks keep coming consistently and my mom flinches from side to side.

"If I explain it to you it won't make any sense." My mom complains, ouching at the constant whacks Rizha kept letting rip from her slender black staff.

"Well, do anyway, it's better than having no reason. I had this staff customized for your return." She giggled savagely, chasing my mom around the office with gusto.

I just stare with an open mouth at them running around the office, my mom had a way of attracting eccentric people like her.

The check ups surprisingly did take as much time as I had thought and they were bad too so after a couple hours or more of being passed from room to room, sector to sector, machine to machine, getting prodded and poked and giving out way too many body fluids to be packed into containers, I'm finally laying down on a hospital bed in one of their ridiculous robes waiting for the results.

Virgil, Dale and Shana had joined us sometime ago and I was advised not to get dressed yet until the results were out in the case that there would be need for more tests to be run, I gulp nervously at this, I'm really nervous about the test results.

This wasn't some exam or test I could retake but it had to do with my body, what if something was really wrong?

Everyone else looks equally as nervous and the room is quiet with none of Dale's and Shana's arguments or Virgil teasing my mom, I didn't like this kind of quiet.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Rizha bumbled back in the room and I nearly burst out laughing at the comical expression on my friend's faces, they hadn't seen Doctor Rizha yet and most likely also had the kind of image I had of her.

"The test results are out." She says in her nasal voice, waving her stack around while a nurse came in behind her, holding the stack of files.

"And?" My mom prompts nervously.

Doctor Rizha glances up at her - there's a lot to glance up to that's for sure - and waddles over to her, cane waving.

"And…" whack! "Why didn't you bring him over the next day? Or as soon as he woke up!" Another whack. "What if something went seriously wrong… Oh hi, Hayden's friends, how nice of you to accompany your friend to the hospital." She cuts herself off again with a sweet smile, forgetting to scold or hit my mom.

They all smile nervously at her.

"Well, Hayden is in peak condition!" She announces heartily, coming over to squish my face in her tiny hands. "But, there's a little abnormality in his blood so tiny that it's not alarming but I can't help but mention it, it doesn look malignant though…" She starts to rattle off, pacing around in short bursts. "Perhaps, a defect from the genes or dna composition…"

"In English please, Rizha." My mom interrupts her looking even more worried.

"It means he's just fine but if it happens again you bring him here ASAP." She orders haughtily, sneaking one last hit on my mom's head with her cane. "Now you can leave, don't come back for a while so I can miss you when you do, bye baby, bye, Hayden's friends." She waves her hand, waddling out with the nurse in tow.

We all stay frozen for a couple seconds trying to recover from the whirlwind that is Doctor Rizha.

"Where do you keep finding all these crazy people?" Shana blurts out, laughter bubbling out.

Virgil and Dale join in while my mom looks unamused. "You aren't the ones who have bumps on their heads, now go wait down in the foyer, Hayden and I will be down soon."

Her stern words didn't dissuade their laughter but at least they managed to make their way out without falling over.

"She's so adorable…"

"Like a minion…"

"Or a garden gnome…"

"I can't believe Renee was so terrified of her…"

"I can hear you!" My mom yells to them but this just makes them laugh louder.

"Are you okay, baby?" She comes over to hug me, I just smile at her, beyond relieved that there was nothing wrong with me.

"Yes, mom, I'm just fine."