Bidding Adieu, Adieu To All Of You

(One of our three physicians has just announced his impending retirement.)

Whole Office: “Noooo!”

Doctor: “It’s not until summer! I can’t leave until I find a replacement anyway. There’s a nice young man who’s looking at coming here. He’ll be visiting on Monday.”

Coworker #1: “No! We’ll be on our worst behavior! ”

Me: “Like the Von Trapp kids!”

Coworker #2: “And we’ll scare him away so you can’t leave!”

Doctor: “Now, now, it’ll be all right! He’s young, but train up a doctor in the way he should go…”

(It’s kind of a joke in the office that the nurses used to ‘train’ the doctor by using chocolate as a reward for getting appointments done on time.)

Coworker #3: “So we leave chocolate on his desk until he figures out our schedules?”

Me: “But what if he doesn’t like chocolate?”

Coworker #3: *horrified expression* “Then he doesn’t belong.”