Dale marched proudly out of the examination room, proud that he'd finally done what he'd been looking forward to. Swishing his long tail behind him across the floor, he could feel it swatting against the sides of the doorway after he had already passed through it. The cold tile floor gave way to course carpet as he entered the lobby, but of course he could feel still the cold tile of the hallway and the exam room until his tail finished following him out of them both. Constantly sensing what was behind him, always having a reminder of where he had been, was a new experience for Dale. It felt almost like being in two places at once. He could see why a rat tail was such a useful sensory organ, especially for a small creature that could have a predator sneaking up on it at any instant.
"Hello, sir. Let's just finish the final paper work, and we'll have you on your way," said the receptionist as he approached. She looked at her computer, asked him to sign a few legal documents he didn't understand. Dale was barely paying attention. He was far more attentive to his long appendage smacking against the waiting room chairs occasionally. At one point he knocked over a plant! Oops. "Sorry about that," he said gently, soon letting his tail lie still for a while. After several more papers and computer screens, the receptionist said, "That about wraps it up! We'll call you at this number if we need any follow-ups, and here on your receipt, highlighted, is the number you can call us at if you have any problems. But the doctor says everything seems fine so far, so you should be good to go!"
Dale was happy to hear, thanked her politely, and made his way to the front door. A plain office clock above it grabbed his attention, and he was immediately impressed. 'Wow, barely an hour since I got here, and I'm already part rat for the rest of my life!' It felt like so much longer than that. 'Time to show my new self the world!'
So he pulled the door open, plopped his boots out on the sidewalk, and out of habit just let go of the door and started traipsing away down the street. By the time he realized he could still feel the lobby carpet and could hear the door swinging closed behind him, it was too late.
THUD! "Yeeoooww!!!"
Dale's walking was immediately yanked to a halt, and the worst pain he'd felt in years exploded from behind him. He looked back and saw the clinic door still partly open, and his trailing tail wedged between it and the door frame. "Fuck!" he exclaimed. He turned back and kicked the door open, finally releasing himself from its vice grip, only to hear another THUD and someone stumbling back. Yikes! The receptionist had got up and was coming to the door to open it for him. And he'd accidentally just kicked the door in his face.
"Oh no! Miss, I'm so sorry!" He stepped back in to check on her, and quickly reached around to pull his tail inside the door wouldn't slam on it again. He reached out an arm to help her sit down. She recovered her bearings and spoke again. "Are, are you okay?"
"I'm, I'm fine sir. I just, I heard you scream, are you okay?" Of course not, a patch of skin more than halfway down his tail still felt like it was on fire, but Dale wasn't about to complain after he practically slammed this woman in the face with a door. "I'm fine," he fibbed, "the important question is are you okay? I was opened that door so hard and didn't think about anybody behind it." She rubbed her hand over her forehead and sighed. "It's fine. Probably gonna bruise later but I'm used to it. Accident-prone Sally my parents call me." Dale sat with her for a while and made small talk until she seemed like she was really going to be fine and his tail finally stopped hurting. "Thanks so much for checking on me, um, Dale was it?"
"Yeah, and thanks for getting up so fast to help me out. So sorry no good deed goes unpunished, as they say."
The receptionist, Sally apparently, chuckled. "You know," she said, "I don't really have all that much to do outside of work these days. I know this might be an awkward question, but would you ... like to go catch a movie some time? Maybe dinner? No pressure, but--"
"I'd love to," Dale immediately cut in. "I guess you already have my number, so, um feel free to call it for more than just, a follow-up." Sally handed him a note and said, "Sure, and here's mind, you can text anytime, but I don't always answer it in the early mornings when the office is extra busy. But sometimes I make an exception," she finished with a wink.
They finally parted ways again and this time Dale was extra careful to get ALL of himself outside the door before he let it close again. His tail explored the rocky pavement left and right a bit and then limply followed him along. He looked back at it occasionally to make sure it was out of harms way. He couldn't help looking at the phone number he got and think, "Worth it!" He looked back at his tail again and joked out loud, "You're better than a dog, buddy!" He put the number in his pocket and whistled his way home thinking about what he'd have for lunch.