“So…what’s up?” she asked, smiling pleasantly, as if they were pals meeting on the street.
“I, just, well, needed to…” he faded out, not willing to discuss it with her. Suddenly he realized she might be serious about not wanting him to go to the bathroom.
“Were you heading to the potty?”
He nodded, at first not saying anything. “Well, I finished seeing patients, so, um, I—well, I—thought it might be okay to, um…” he stammered, looking at his feet.
“Hmmm,” she said, nodding. “Well, I don’t remember telling you that you could go to the potty. In fact, I distinctly remember telling you that you were NOT to use the potty at all today.” She touched his elbow gently, making him look up briefly at her. “Remember?”
“Yes, but—“
“Yes, ma’am, please,” she corrected quietly, as if it were a common error she had corrected before.