Maria takes off her blazer and drapes it across the back of one of the two chairs to the left of the exam table, which is kitty cornered in the right rear corner of the exam room. To the right of the exam table is a counter and sink, with two cabinets mounted to the wall above it. Above the sink is a paper towel dispenser and a soap dispenser. Between the counter and exam table is a Mayo stand and a trash bin, and also a biohazard bin. To the left of the exam table are the chairs, and mounted on the wall next to the exam table are the scopes to check eyes and ears, a blood pressure meter and cuff, and a LED lamp on a swing arm. Between the chairs and exam table is a laptop stand with a laptop on it. In the left rear corner of the exam room is a scale, and mounted to the wall is a scale to check height.

The nurse sees Maria in her snug fitting sleeveless top and says “I wish my arms and delts looked as good as yours, you obviously lift weights”. Maria replies “Yes, I have been lifting and working out since I was a young teenager”. The nurse says “And it shows, you have excellent muscle tone and definition. I need to step up my workout routine”. Maria might be imagining it, but it seems like the nurse is checking her out, the look in her eyes similar to when she catches guys checking her out. Maria says “Thank you” as she has a seat on one of the chairs and unbuckles the thin straps around her shiny nylon covered ankles, removes her high heels, and places them under the chair. Maria was keenly aware of the nurse’s gaze as she removed her heels, especially when she uncrossed her legs to remove her second shoe. It was obvious to Maria that the nurse was not only admiring her arms and delts, but her shiny nylon covered thighs as well. She could have sworn that the nurse was trying to take a peek up her skirt while she was uncrossing her legs, where she was standing she certainly could have. Maria walks over to the scale and steps up onto it. 128 pounds. The nurse has her stand against the scale on the wall and lowers the sliding arm to the top of her head. Five feet eight inches.

The nurse says “Have a seat on the exam table, and I will check your vitals next”. As Maria has a seat on the exam table, making the table paper crinkle loudly, the nurse logs onto the laptop and enters her height and weight. The nurse checks Maria’s vitals, all in a very healthy range. The nurse enters the information onto the laptop and briefly goes over Maria’s health history. The receptionist had already scanned the forms she filled out earlier into their system. The nurse says “It’s been awhile since your last Pap test. I know the current recommendation is to have a Pap and HPV screening every five years if the results are negative. But you are several months past that five years now. The doctor will likely want to include a Pap and pelvic with your physical today”. Maria, desperate to avoid that, asks “Can I have my own doctor do that part when I get home, and send you the results”? The nurse replies “No, the doctor has to perform any tests and screenings that you are due for as a part of the physical exam. Your employer has consulted with their health insurance provider and they provided the guidelines we have to follow. It is ultimately up to the doctor, but from what I have seen, since I chaperone for him, he always follows the guidelines”.

Maria, feeling like she just had a gut punch, knows this is an argument she can’t win. Of course she can refuse a Pap and pelvic, they can’t actually force her, but it will likely cost her the job she just got. She signed the contract, it stipulated that she submit to a physical exam. If she refuses any part of it, she likely jeopardizes her employment with the corporation. Maria reluctantly says “I suppose if the doctor wants to include it, I will agree to it”. The nurse, understanding her hesitation, says sympathetically “I know how you feel, as a fellow female, I always dread anytime I have to get a Pap and pelvic. But you are overdue, and it is important to keep up with your screenings. I make it a point to schedule mine whenever they are due”. Maria says “Yeah, I know. It’s just, I hate it”. The nurse replies “Believe me, I hate it too! I really, really do! But as a healthcare provider, I see what happens when you don’t keep up with it. And it often doesn’t end well”.

The nurse says “The doctor will be with you when he finishes up next door. When he is ready to begin your physical, he will page me to chaperone”. With that the nurse takes the form she signed for the drug screening and leaves. Maria wonders why the nurse didn’t have her change into an exam gown. “Maybe I’ll get lucky, yeah right”! she thinks to herself.

Maria is sitting on the exam table in silence, her legs tightly crossed. She then realizes that she can hear voices through the wall, coming from the exam room to her left. It is the room the doctor entered earlier. With the exam table she is sitting on being next to the shared wall, she can hear the voices just barely enough to understand what is being said. She hears a male voice, she knows it is the doctor because he says “Teledyne Industries provides the guidelines we have to follow for preemployment physicals. And one of the requirements is a pelvic exam. I know this is unpleasant, but I am required to follow the exam form they provide. Go ahead and undress from the waist down, then have a seat back up on the exam table.” Maria is stunned! It must be the attractive brunette in the black suit she saw in the waiting room. Teledyne Industries isn’t Maria’s employer, but the poor woman appears to be suffering the same fate that she will. Maria hears some metallic clanging sounds. She knows that sound all too well, stirrups being pulled out and adjusted! She then hears a woman’s voice say “You can leave your knee highs on”. “I knew she was wearing nylons. That must be a nurse chaperoning, but she doesn’t sound like the same nurse I just had”. Maria thinks to herself.

Maria hears the doctor say “Okay Miss Conner, please lie back and I will help guide your feet into the stirrups”. Now Maria knows that it is in fact the young attractive brunette. She hears the woman getting into position on the exam table, making paper crinkling noises and the exam table creaking. The doctor says “Scoot down some more, a little more, good. Now let your knees drop open to the sides as far as you can. Try and relax as much as you can”. Maria is feeling guilty about overhearing everything, but she can’t help herself. She hears every detail of that poor woman’s pelvic exam, from four loud plastic sounding clicks of a plastic speculum being opened to being told to relax for the internal bimanual vaginal exam. Then, the doctor telling her that a rectal exam is also required! “Fuck, I hope that won’t happen to me, I’ve only had one rectal exam when I had my IUD inserted nine years ago. Damn it, that means that next year I will have to get a new IUD, and probably another rectal exam to go with it! I hate the rectal exam as much as or even more than a pelvic”! Maria is yelling to herself in her mind. Maria hears the poor young woman say “But I’ve never had a rectal exam before, do I really need it? I’m only 26 years old, I don’t have any issues back there”. The doctor says “Yes, it is required, it is on the form so I have to include it. Now it won’t hurt, you’ll just feel some pressure. The more you can relax the less pressure you’ll feel”. Then Maria hears the doctor say “You will feel me touching you now. Take a slow deep breath and relax your bottom for me”. A few seconds later he says “Don’t tense up, push like you are trying to go to the bathroom. There you go, relax”. All quiet, then a moment later “All done, you can slide back and sit up now”. More paper rustling and movement on the exam table, then silence. Maria hears them discussing her exam and that everything checked out good, and she can get dressed and the nurse will be back after to draw some blood. Then the door opening and closing.

“Shit, I am next” Maria whispers to herself. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a knock on her door. “Come in” Maria says weakly.