Scene 69
Scene sixty-nine...Medical issues #2
Time: 6:00 PM, Saturday, September 7, 1946
Place: Sal's Seafood
Storyteller: Victoria
"I'll pay the bill tonight. You're a college student."
"A college student with a job. Don't insult me."
"If you insist. This seafood platter is delicious. I should try different foods more often."
"How about a Budweiser?"
"Not that different."
We laugh and click our glasses.
"Victoria, I told you my sister is a doctor."
"Yes...I'm not sick."
"She'll be back from the Bahamas soon. Would you feel comfortable talking to a woman about that medical issue?"
"Oh, the ovary. I was afraid to bring up the rest of that story."
Paul turns white but replies, "You can tell me anything."
"Remember the surgeon said I might not be able to have kids?"
"Yes, which is why I recommended Betty."
"You need to know the rest; it was a cold Chicago night, dark, no moon."
"Jimmy carries me to the Cadillac. He breaks the speed limit driving to Cook County Hospital. From the back seat I hear him honk the horn, over and over. My dress is bloody."
"A female doctor examines me. She calls the operating room. 'I don't care if somebody else is prepared for surgery. That can wait. This is an emergency.'"
"She gives me a shot. I'm woozy. A man wheels me off."
"Paul, I woke up cold...shivering...teeth chattering."
"They saved you. It's all that matters. I'll keep you warm."
"But I definitely can't have kids, so no man will want to marry me." Tears fall on my yellow dress, staining it with make-up.
Paul wipes my tears and says, "Don't be silly. Any man would be lucky to marry you. And plenty of children need adopting, especially since the war."
"I better fix my face for work."
"Do you want to call in sick?"
"No. Singing makes me forget the bad times and remember the good."
Time: 6:00 PM, Saturday, September 7, 1946
Place: Sal's Seafood
Storyteller: Victoria
"I'll pay the bill tonight. You're a college student."
"A college student with a job. Don't insult me."
"If you insist. This seafood platter is delicious. I should try different foods more often."
"How about a Budweiser?"
"Not that different."
We laugh and click our glasses.
"Victoria, I told you my sister is a doctor."
"Yes...I'm not sick."
"She'll be back from the Bahamas soon. Would you feel comfortable talking to a woman about that medical issue?"
"Oh, the ovary. I was afraid to bring up the rest of that story."
Paul turns white but replies, "You can tell me anything."
"Remember the surgeon said I might not be able to have kids?"
"Yes, which is why I recommended Betty."
"You need to know the rest; it was a cold Chicago night, dark, no moon."
"Jimmy carries me to the Cadillac. He breaks the speed limit driving to Cook County Hospital. From the back seat I hear him honk the horn, over and over. My dress is bloody."
"A female doctor examines me. She calls the operating room. 'I don't care if somebody else is prepared for surgery. That can wait. This is an emergency.'"
"She gives me a shot. I'm woozy. A man wheels me off."
"Paul, I woke up cold...shivering...teeth chattering."
"They saved you. It's all that matters. I'll keep you warm."
"But I definitely can't have kids, so no man will want to marry me." Tears fall on my yellow dress, staining it with make-up.
Paul wipes my tears and says, "Don't be silly. Any man would be lucky to marry you. And plenty of children need adopting, especially since the war."
"I better fix my face for work."
"Do you want to call in sick?"
"No. Singing makes me forget the bad times and remember the good."