Chapter 16

"Can I come in the room with you?" Shayla asked as we walked into Dr. Klein's office.

"Can you wait in the waiting room, babe? I promise to tell you all about it once I get out." Some things I want to keep private. I know she's my wife, but I don't necessarily want her to see me like this. I mean, she sees it all the time, but I don't want her to see me getting treated for it.

"You pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise." I hooked my pinky with hers. She smiled a bit and went to sit down. I followed Debbie to Dr. Klein's room. There has to be something that will cure this disease. I can't believe that there is literally nothing out there.

"Hey, Michael. How are you today?" Dr. Klein smiled.

"I'm great. How are you?" I sighed as I sat in the chair provided.

"Never better!"

"Did you enjoy the concert?"

"Did I ever?! Thank you so much, Michael. The kids and I loved it so much. They wanted me to tell you thank you. My wife sends her thanks as well. You guys really do put on a show."

"Thanks." I nodded.

"Any time! So what can I do ya for?"

"There has to be something to cure this skin condition."

"You know what, Michael? I found that there is something that will help it. It isn't a cure, but it will offer some kind of help for you."

"What is it?" I was eager to know. Anything to help me get back to normal.

"There's this cream that will even out your skin tone."

"Even out how...? With my normal skin or with the white patches?"

"It will even it out all around, Michael. Look, it's called Benohydro. If you apply it to your skin every morning and every night after washing, your skin will slowly begin to even out. You apply it like a lotion all over your body."

"No more patches?"

"No, sir." He smiled.

"No more discoloration on my hands?"

"Nope. Just apply it every morning and every night at a specific time all the time. When it's almost gone, make sure you come back to get more before it runs out. If you stop using this abruptly, your skin could actually start drying out and having negative reactions. If you use too much, like applying it more than twice a day, you could get a rash, your skin will react negatively to it. But I can say if you ever want to stop using the cream, it's best to ween yourself off of it by skipping a morning or a night and gradually stop using it. But that's if you ever want to stop applying it."

"So just apply it every morning at 9:00 am and every night at 9:00 pm?" I asked.

"If that's what time you want to do it, go ahead."

"That's it? No more and no less?"

"Correct."

"And it will even out my skin?"

"Right. Just to be clear, Michael, you won't be your normal skin color, this just evens out your skin. You're lucky to be able to get this. Most people with this skin condition couldn't afford this at all."

I nodded. This could be the closest thing to a cure. "It's not bleaching my skin, right? I'm not trying to do that, Doc."

"There's no such thing as skin bleaching, Michael! That's ludicrous!" He laughed.

"Okay... Just making sure. Should I start using this stuff tonight?"

"Yes, and once you get up tomorrow morning."

"This stuff better work, Doc. I'm not a guinea pig for this stuff, right? Other people have used this correct?"

"I knew you were going to ask that. Here are some pictures of clients who have used it. Not my clients, but my colleagues' clients. He was the one who referred it to me." I looked at the photos of people who have used it. Some famous people were in there too. I guess it wouldn't be bad to use this.

"Could I still wear make up with it?"

"Of course! Your skin isn't going to even out overnight, Michael. You're going to have to continue to use your makeup for a while." He chuckled.

"Okay... Thanks, Doc. Do you and your family want tickets for the upcoming weekend shows? We have three more." I offered.

"Really, Mike? Sure! Could we get tickets for the Saturday show?"

"Of course. I'll see you all there. Thanks again, Doctor Klein."

"You're very welcome. Let me know if you have any questions about the cream."

"Yes, sir." I said as I walked out the office. I put the cream in my coat pocket. I couldn't tell Shayla about it yet. I'm honestly scared to even use this product. Who knows what it will do to my skin? I'm going to wait to use it. "You ready, Shayla?" I smiled as I reached out my hand toward her.

"Yeah... How'd everything go back there?" She took my hand and followed me out the building.

"Everything went well."

"Is there a cure?"

"I think so..." I won't look at it as a cure just yet, but it will definitely be able to help me.

"What'd the doctor say?"

"He said there isn't a cure, but there are some things that will be able to help even out my skin."

"Even it out? How would that work?"

I opened Shayla's door so she could get in, "Obviously, I wouldn't be my normal color."

"Right..."

I ran over to my side and got in, "it'll just even it out to where I don't have the white patches anymore. He showed me pictures of people who have used the product."

"How'd they look?"

"They looked perfectly normal. I didn't see anything wrong with them, but I don't know how it will work for me."

"Right. Well, you could give it a try, right?"

"Yeah, soon. I told him I'll try it soon. Just not right now. What do you want for dinner, babe?" I kind of want to tell Shayla that he actually gave me the cream, but I know she'll be skeptical about it like I am. Knowing her, she would not want me to use it at all. She'll be just as cautious as I am about it. I just don't know how to tell her about it or what I'm going to say if I tell her. Shayla only wants the best for me though, so it's only best that I tell her very soon.