Scene 49

PART III...Scene Forty-nine...Maria
Time: Afternoon, Saturday, June 29, 1946
Place: Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami
Storyteller: Janet


"Did you cry much?" Maria asks.

"No, I was unconscious."

"How many operations did you have?" My physical therapist chats on and on while watching me walk.

"Three surgeries in five days. An ambulance brought me here for the second one."

"What all did they do?"

"Dr. Templeton...you know he's from New York...checked out my femoral vein. It looked fine, so he closed my groin incision. He couldn't sew up my leg at that time, because it was still too swollen."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"Let me tell you about William, my almost-brother-in-law. On the night of the accident, he sewed that vein back together while my sister worked on the leg. What a team they are."

"I'll say."

"A couple of days later, Templeton operated on my leg. It took hours. He flew home the next morning. Dad has his private phone number."

"Goodness!" Maria is very impressed.

"I'll be released from the hospital Monday. Dad found out you aren't married. He wants you to move to Viridian. He'll find you an apartment, pay the rent, and double your present salary. You'll be my private therapist. Okay?"

Maria's mouth drops. She looks like she just landed on Free Parking. "Okay, sure, yes!"

"And Tony arrives Monday. It's a big day."

"Who's Tony? Your boyfriend?"

"No way...well...he's going to be my sister's father-in-law on Labor Day. The wedding was all set for the forth of July, but I ruined it. Dad rescheduled."

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