She nodded weakly.
A single glance at the wound told Al all he needed to know. The girl had evidently been shot and the bullet was lodged in her shoulder, more specifically the posterior superior glenoid. As he began the process of extracting it, she emitted a small yelp and mercifully passed out.
******
The girl, now dressed in one of Al’s old shirts several sizes too large for her, devoured her burger with a voraciousness that belied her skinny frame.
“Want another?” Al inquired with some astonishment.
“Ain’t got no money.”
“Never mind that lass. Nobody ever buys these greasy things anyway. Freshly made gourmet fast food is all people want these days. You can have as many as you like on the house.”
He grabbed another prefab burger from the freezer and popped it in the microwave.
“Names Meiread,” she said between bites. “Call me Mei. Not Lassie. I ain’t no dog.”
“Nice to meet you Mei. I’m Al. And I’m also very curious about what happened. How did you end up outside my door with a gunshot wound? And what kind of bullet was that anyway? I’ve never seen anything like it before. It has weird engravings on it and…”
“Why didn’t ya freak?” she interrupted him. “Or is surgery with kitchen utensils what ya do around here?”
Al couldn’t help smiling at her obvious attempt at changing the subject.
“Fortunately no. You’re the first patient I have ever treated in my bar. But I am actually a doctor, so I’m no stranger to treating wounds, albeit with more suitable equipment. Talking about which, you seriously need proper care …”
“Fuck that.” Mei injected while flexing her shoulder. “I feel fine.”
“And you should definitely report this incident to the police.”
“Fuck that even harder!” she stated firmly and took another bite.
“So what’s a doctor doing in a bar anyway? How come ya ain’t out golfing and banging nurses and shit?”
Al couldn’t hold back a chuckle.
“You don’t exactly hold the medical profession is high regard, eh? Anyway, I’m retired.”
“Retired?” Mei looked surprised. “That’s early. Ya can’t be much over fifty.”
“I’m forty four,” he corrected her a little hurt. “And if you must know, I retired for health reasons. Broke down from stress basically. Turned out that the job wasn’t for me. Trust me, working in a hospital isn’t nearly as cool in real life as it is made out to look on TV.”
Al honestly didn’t know why he was explaining himself to this strange girl, but it wasn’t like he had ever made a secret of his situation. The regulars knew, and and Jessica too of course, though she had never seemed interested in talking about his problems. So why not spill the beans to this stranger? He had nothing to hide or be ashamed of.
“Ya downgraded from doctor to bartender? Bet she loved that.” Mei pointed at his hand with the wedding band.
“I don’t know what you are implying, but Jess was supportive of my decision of course,” Al said defensively.
“Yeah right! And I’m Kim fucking Kardashian.”
He was starting to get annoyed with her flippant and sarcastic attitude.
“You don’t know anything about me Mei. Maybe you should refrain from judging others.”