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Post by Jacob Walsh on Dec 21, 2020 23:44:31 GMT -5
Jacob quietly listened to Beatrice as she explained and listed off the various teas that could help with certain ailments. He smiled and nodded attentively. Natalia had often used tea to help her with certain things. A stomachache, a headache, sleep. So he knew vaguely what Beatrice spoke of and he did not doubt the powers of herbal medicine.
As she motioned to the disorganized bookshelf, he turned his gaze over towards it and smiled. He was all too familiar with the disorganized bookshelf strewn with various journals and books. Some day he would get that organized and cleaned up.
“Ah ha… Yes. I have heard of Vervain.” He smiled softly and nodded. It was funny how certain poisons could be used in things as medicine and not cause harm. “We wouldn’t want that,” he responded regarding overdosing and hibernating, or dying, instead of just sleeping.
He took another sip of his tea and thought for a moment before resting it on his knee. “Well, if you have some notes for me, I would love to take a look at them or keep them in my office to reference. I could send my patients your way with a prescription for your tea.” He gave her a genuine smile. “Especially my more anxious patients who think they have every ailment in the book and do not need medicine.” He laughed softly, his dimples appearing on his cheeks. “Might generate some more business for you if you would like.”
He glanced away from her and back into the room where her father was. It appeared that he was still asleep and he hoped that his fever was easing up. He turned his attention back to her before he leaned forward and set his tea on the table in front of him and slowly stood. “Please excuse me…. I am going to check on your father real quick.” He figured she would not mind since that was why he was here in the first place, but still- he didn’t wish to be rude by just getting up and walking away from her.
When he entered the room, he checked the once cool and damp clothes, which were warm now. He dipped each of them back into the cool water before replacing them. He didn’t seem to be burning any hotter, his pulse was steady, and he seemed stable.
Once he was finished tending to Beatrice’s father, he moved back into the room where she sat and gave her a nod. “Seems to be doing alright.” Jacob slowly sat back down. “My fiancée really does like coming here.” Sometimes it was easier to talk about her as if she still were alive. “She was always raving about it to me.” Okay- but he seemed to keep switching back and forth between present and past tense.
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Magpie
25
Single
Tea Shop Manager
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Post by Beatrice Smith on Feb 2, 2021 19:58:33 GMT -5
"Certainly," she piped up cheerfully even as he was still speaking, happy to provide the notes he was looking for. When he said that he could prescribe teas to patients, her eyes went wide. She had been thinking along the same lines but she hadn't at all expected him to send them here in particular! Perhaps she ought to have been thinking that way, as a business owner, but she simply hadn't made the connection. "Oh! That's awfully generous of you. I'd love that. But please, don't feel you have to, of course, if somewhere else is cheaper or something. The patient comes first."
She nodded when he said that he wanted to check on her father, who appeared to be resting more peacefully now. She refilled both cups of tea while she waited.
When he returned she smiled, assuming he would be preparing to leave, but he settled right back in. She wondered what made him stay, but she didn't mind. If he wasn't there, she'd only be reading anyway, nothing urgent.
What he said, though, made her furrow her brow. Does? Was? She hadn't seen the young woman in a while, which wasn't entirely unusual but combined with his confusing words….well.
"Begging your pardon, but did...did something happen to her? Natalie, was it? Something like that? Dark hair, pretty smile. We weren't close, but I did like her. She was always sweet when she came in. Not everyone is, you know."
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Post by Jacob Walsh on Mar 30, 2021 22:01:09 GMT -5
Jacob was happy to hear that Beatrice seemed willing and excited to form some sort of partnership with him, in regards to treating his patients with her tea. He was always willing to rely on natural remedies when he could until more drastic measures needed to be taken. The doctor shook his head at her reservations, “if I am sending them to you, and they cannot afford it, I will cover the difference. I would rather send them to a place I know has high-quality teas and will treat them with care.” He offered her a warm smile, nodding as if to support his own words.
He wasn’t too certain how long he should stay. He had offered to help and be here to treat her father, and his shift had ended at the infirmary clinic, but how long would it be before he’d overstay his welcome? Should he stay until her father woke, or until the woman felt comfortable enough to be left alone with him to handle his fever. Jacob decided it would not hurt to at least stay a bit longer, or until Beatrice showed any sign that she wanted him to go.
The doctor wasn’t fully aware of how his words had sounded when he spoke, or that he was switching between past and present tense. Sometimes he spoke as if Natalia were still alive, perhaps his denial still lingering within him. Other times, he was able to admit it. But sometimes, he mixed them up. Clearly.
As Beatrice questioned him about Natalia, he sat there quietly, trying to devoid any emotion for crossing his features, but he eventually looked down at the mug in his hands, the edges of his lips twitching in the slightest bit of a frown. “Natalia, actually.” He silently corrected her- though she had guessed close enough. He nodded slowly, remaining silent and unable to look at Beatrice for what seemed like a long moment to him, but was probably actually more like a few long breaths.
Jacob nodded again, glancing back up at Beatrice, forcing a tight-lipped smile. “I’m glad to hear she was kind to you...Though I don’t doubt it." He paused for another moment and let out a slow sigh. “She actually passed not too long ago,” he said almost inaudible, trying to prevent his voice from cracking.
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Magpie
25
Single
Tea Shop Manager
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Post by Beatrice Smith on Apr 14, 2021 18:10:06 GMT -5
Passed away? Beatrice's eyes widened. What on earth could have happened to her? She was so young! Surely it hadn't been mere illness, if she was engaged to the doctor, after all. Unless it had truly been that bad, some kind of wasting sickness, or cancer… How sad. She had been so full of life.
A groan sounded from the other room just as Beatrice opened her mouth to share her sympathy, and the familiar sound had her jolting out of her seat even before her father managed to bellow, "BEATRIIIIICE," at the top of his lungs.
"Calm yourself, Papa, I'm right here!" she scolded, hurrying in to help him push up to sit against the headboard. He looked much better, and clearly, he was lucid, but he was still pale, and she could feel the heat radiating through his rough shirt where she held his arm. That didn't stop him from bursting right back into action and trying to throw off the blanket and get out of bed until she pushed him back down. He gave her a dirty look.
"How in God's name did I get in here, Beatie?" he asked, looking around in bewilderment. "Last I remember I was down in the shop and--" he caught sight of the man behind her and frowned before looking back to his daughter. "And who's this chap? You've certainly been busy while I was out."
Beatrice sighed and rolled her eyes to the ceiling with her hands on her hips, but she couldn't help laughing quietly at her father's antics. He certainly must be feeling better if he was in this high of spirits.
"The doctor, Papa. Say hello to Dr. Walsh. Without him, you'd still be burning up."
"Hullo, Doctor. My daughter hasn't put you through too much trouble now, has she? She can be a real taskmaster when she's cross."
"Papa…"
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Post by Jacob Walsh on Sept 9, 2021 13:44:38 GMT -5
Jacob began cursing himself the moment the words escaped his lips. He shouldn’t have brought it up. He shouldn’t have admitted to her death. It made it more real. It meant he was acknowledging it. Things were easier for him to deal with when he lived in a drunken state of disregard, or if he allowed the denial to linger. It was easier to pretend Natalia was just busy with her work while he was with his. But he was now inviting Beatrice into a conversation about it. He could see it in her face and as he watched her lips part to most likely offer her condolences, he began to think of excuses to make his leave.
Until her father interrupted, yelling out to her. Jacob blinked and stood up from the chair, following Beatrice into the room. He stood in the doorway, forcing a small smile as he watched the father and daughter interact. It wasn’t until he inquired about his presence, that he stood straighter and took a small step into the room, but paused as the man claimed Beatrice had been busy while he was out. What on earth did he mean by that?
Jacob huffed a small laugh, unable to prevent the small smirk that caused a dimple in his cheek. He quietly moved towards the bed where he had left his medical bag on the nightstand, and he nodded at Beatrice’s introduction of him as he began searching through his bag for something.
“Sir.” Jacob said politely in greeting before shaking his head in response to his question. “Oh no. Not at all. We have been discussing teas and their medicinal purposes, which I am sure you are quite already aware of, hmm?” He smiled, that distinguished dimple appearing deeper as he did. “Which reminds me…” The doctor reached for the cup of tea they had set down for the old man earlier. The liquid had probably cooled off, but it would be stronger and probably taste bitter, but still help. He handed the man the tea, “drink this.”
Once the man took the cup from him, he glanced back at Beatrice and gave her a friendly wink before turning his attention back to his bag as he dug through it some more and finally pulled out a couple of vials. Again, he turned back to Beatrice and handed them to her one at a time. “This one, when there is a bad cough, you can apply this salve onto the chest, the bottom of your feet, the temples…” He pointed to his own as if to demonstrate. “It will help calm it.” He handed the second bottle to her. “Put a drop of this in your tea once in the morning, and again before bed… It will help to keep the fever down.”
He stepped back to the old man and quietly began to examine him.
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Magpie
25
Single
Tea Shop Manager
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Post by Beatrice Smith on Oct 6, 2021 18:00:29 GMT -5
Joseph took the cup and sniffed it suspiciously before taking a sip. He was positively suspicious of this young doctor presuming to tell him, a man old enough to be his father, what to do. But once he smelled what it was, he drank the lukewarm tea in great gulps.
Beatrice, meanwhile, listened to the instructions about the medications. She accepted each one once she was sure she understood the uses. She soon forgot that she was holding them, however, as the doctor returned to her father's side.
Joseph let the doctor do what he needed, although he had a frown on his face the whole time. "Now, I don't think there's need for all this fuss. I'm just fine. I'm far too stubborn of an old mule to give in to a little cold," he complained, "I'll be--" He was interrupted by a fit of coughing, and turned to cough into his elbow with all his might. Afterwards, red in the face, he turned back to the doctor, looking suitably humbled.
"Well. I suppose a little medicine couldn't hurt."
Beatrice barely restrained her laughter but had to turn away, hiding her face behind the hand that still held the tincture to add to her father's tea. This man! On the brink of death, and he was still arguing with everyone in sight.
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