Blood Test by Kellerman, Jonathan

“It’s a tall order.”

He withdrew his hand and smiled.

“The only kind we have around here.”

4

THE WALLS Of the ward were covered with sunny

yellow paper patterned with dancing teddy bears

and grinning rag dolls. But the hospital smells that

I’d grown used to when I worked there–disinfectant,

body odor, wilting flowersassaulted my nostrils

and reminded me I was a stranger. Though I’d

walked this same corridor a thousand times, I was

gripped with the chilling uneasiness that hospitals

inevitably evoke.

The Laminar Airflow Unit was at the east end of

the ward behind a windowless gray door. As we

approached, the door swung open and a young

woman stepped into the hallway. She lit up a cigarette

and began to walk away, but Raoul hailed her

and she stopped, turned, bent a knee and roze .the

pose, one hand on the cigarette, the other on her

hip.

“The sister,” he whispered.

He’d called her a looker but it was an understatement.

·

51

girl was stunning.

She was tall, five eight or nine, with a body-that

managed to be both womanly and boyish. Her legs

were long, coltish, and firm, her breasts high and

small. She had a swan’s neck and delicate, slender

hands ending in crimson lacquered nails. She wore

a white dress made of T-shirt material- and had

. cinched it with a silver cord that showed off a tiny

waist and flat belly. The soft fabric molded to every

angle and curve and ended midthigh.

Her face was oval with a strong cleft chin. She

had prominent cheekbones and a clean jawline lead-

ing to lobeless ears. Each ear was pierced with two

threadlike hoops of hammered gold. Her lips were

straight and full, her mouth a generous red slash.

But it was her coloring that was most striking.

Her hair was long, lustrous, combed straight back

from her high smooth forehead, and coppery red.

But unlike most redheads, she had no freckles and

lacked the ‘buttermilk complexion. Her skin was

blemishless and burnished a deep California tan.

Her eyes were wide-set, thick-lashed, and hy black.

She’d used a bit too much makeup but had left her

eyebrows alone. They were full and dark, with a

natural arch that gave her a skeptical look, She was

a girl anyone would notice, with a strange combina-

tion of simplicity and flash, almost overwhelmingly

physical without trying to be.

“Hello,” said Raoul.

She shifted her weight and looked both of us

over.

“Hi.” She spoke sullenly and regarded us with

boredom. As if to underscore her apathy, she gazed

past us and sucked on her cigarette.

“Nona, this is Dr. Delaware.”

BLOOD TEST. 53’

, unimpressed.

“He’s a psychologist, an expert in the. care of

‘children with cancer. He used to work here, in

,” she said, dutifully. Her voice was soft,

almost whispery, the inflection flat. “If you want

him to talk to my parents, they’re not here.”

yes, that is what I wanted. When will they

be back ?”

The girl shrugged and flicked ashes onto the floor.

-“They didn’t tell me. They slept here so they

probably went back to the motel to clean up. Maybe

tonight, maybe tomorrow.”

“I see. And how have you been doing?”

“Fine.” She looked up at the ceiling and tapped

her foot.

raised his hand to offer the classic physician’s pat on the back, but the look in her eyes

stopped hiM and he immediately lowered it.’

Tough kid, I thought, but then, this was no day at

the beach for her.

“How’s Woody?” he asked.

The question infuriated her. Her lean body tensed,

she dropped the cigarette and ground it under her

heel. Tears collected in the inner corners of the

midnight eyes.

“You’re the damned’ doctor! Why don’t you tell

me!” She tightened her face, turned, and ran away.

Raoul avoided eye contact. He picked up the

crushed but and deposited it in an ashtray. Covering

his forehead with one hand he took a deep

breath and gave a migraine grimace. The pain must

have been excruciating.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go in.”

A hand-scrawled sign in the nurses’ office said

“Welcome to Space Age Medasin.”

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