Joey dropped into a soft battered leather chair and Doc sat down the other side of the enormous desk.
“What can I do for you, Joey?” She rested her elbows on the marked, dark wood and steepled her fingers. Her interrogating gaze was what Joey had been hoping to avoid.
They shuffled against the leather.
“You told me to make an appointment. I assumed it was so you can grill me for gossip.”
Doc tapped her index fingers together. “You’re my good friend and Idolove gossip. But you understand when we’re in this room I’m your GP and the closest you’ve got to a therapist?”
“I know. Sorry.” They had already foiled their plan to act normally by being overly defensive.
“And how are you?”
“Okay, good.” Joey couldn’t maintain the eye contact and glanced at the bookcase behind Doc’s head.
Damn. Act as if I’ve nothing to hide.
“You need to give me more if you don’t want me to keep digging.” Doc sat back; her hands still joined in a point.
“The summer season’s busy on the island as usual. There’s a lot of interaction. It’s tiring.”
“How have the shellfish safaris been going?”
“I haven’t done as many this year. Kasia thought she’d maybe pushed me into it a little, so she’s stepped back.”
“And had she? Pushed you?”
“No. But maybe I’m a little too keen to help out sometimes.” They might as well say the things Doc wanted to hear. They knew it was true.
“So, you’re not helping out at all?”
They looked up. “Oh, yeah, I do some boat trips. And I’m doing a few video clips with Marianne that will help the Waterside, too.”
Doc’s eyebrows shot up. “Marianne?”
Joey sighed. They were in no doubt Doc would know everything going on in Inishderry. She spent her evenings sittingat a table in the corner of the Harbor Bar pretending to be lost in her own thoughts, but eagerly soaking up every snippet of local gossip.
“Yes, Marianne Browne. You know who I’m talking about.”
“I do, but last time we spoke, she was a customer you had a thing for.”
“I didn’t ever tell you that.”
Doc threw her head back with a roar. “No, you didn’t have to. Anyway, so now she’s coincidentally living on your island. In your house at one point, I heard tell.”
Joey scratched their head. “What are you digging for? You’re supposed to be my GP.”
“You’re right, I’m a general practitioner, not a therapist. But I’m all you’ve got.”
Doc came around the desk and pulled up another chair alongside Joey. “I hate that desk. It’s so impersonal.” She crossed her hands in her lap. “So, talk to me. I don’t need every innermost thought, just a general idea of how you’re doing.”
Joey ran their hands through their hair and sighed.
“I bet you wish you’d taken me up on that whiskey now.”
Joey couldn’t help but laugh. Doc’s bedside manner was sometimes a little blunt, but she wasn’t as insensitive as she seemed. And she cared about them.
“I’ve felt less lonely. Busy’s good, you know? But I haven’t felt too pressured. Helping Marianne has helped me, I think.”
