Jack found himself interested more in the process than the content. He’d never stopped to think about how TV commercials were made, and he came to appreciate the creativity involved and the amount of work.
It took Alice a quarter hour to present what she’d brought in. When she was finished, she gathered up the tissues and looked at Terese for further instructions. Terese thanked her and sent her back to her drawing board.
“So there you have it,” Terese said to Jack. “Those’re some of the ideas stemming from this nosocomial infection issue. What do you think?”
“I’m impressed with how hard you work on this sort of thing,” Jack said.
“I’m more interested in your reaction to the content,” Terese said. “What do you think of the idea of Hippocrates coming into the hospital to award it the ‘do no harm’ medal?”
Jack shrugged. “I don’t flatter myself to think I have the ability to intelligently critique a commercial.”
“Oh, give me a break,” Terese said, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “I just want your opinion as a human being. This isn’t an intellectual quiz.
What would you think if you saw this commercial on the TV, say when you were watching the Super Bowl?”
“I’d think it was cute,” Jack admitted.
“Would it make you think the National Health hospital might be a good place to go, since its nosocomial infection rates were low?”
“I suppose,” Jack said.
“All right,” Terese said, trying to keep herself calm. “Maybe you have some other ideas. What else could we do?”
Jack pondered for a few minutes. “You could do something about Oliver Wendell Holmes and Joseph Lister.”
“Wasn’t Holmes a poet?” Terese asked.
“He was also a doctor,” Jack said. “He and Lister probably did more for getting doctors to wash their hands when going from patient to patient than anybody. Well, Semmelweis helped too. Anyway, handwashing was probably the most important lesson that needed to be learned to prevent hospital-based infections.”
“Hmm,” Terese said. “That sounds interesting. Personally, I love period pieces. Let me tell Alice to get someone to research it.”
Jack followed Terese out of Colleen’s office and watched her talk with Alice. It only took her a few minutes.
“Okay,” Terese said, rejoining Jack. “She’ll start the ball rolling. Let’s get out of here.”
In the elevator Terese had another suggestion. “Why don’t we take a run over to your office,” she said. “It’s only fair now that you have seen mine.”
“You don’t want to see it,” Jack said. “Trust me.”
“Try me.”
“It’s the truth,” Jack said. “It’s not a pretty place.”
“I think it would be interesting,” Terese persisted. “I’ve only seen a morgue in the movies. Who knows, maybe it will give me some ideas. Besides, seeing where you work might help me understand you a little more.”
“I’m not sure I want to be understood,” Jack said.
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. They walked outside. They paused at the curb.
“What do you say? I can’t imagine it would take too long, and it’s not terribly late.”
“You are a persistent sort,” Jack commented. “Tell me: Do you always get your way?”
“Usually,” Terese admitted. Then she laughed. “But I prefer to think of myself as tenacious.”
“All right,” Jack said finally. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
They caught a taxi. After Jack gave the destination the driver looped around and headed south on Park Avenue.
“You give me the impression of being a loner,” Terese said.
“You’re very perspicacious,” Jack said.
“You don’t have to be so caustic,” Terese said.
“For once I wasn’t,” Jack said.
The lambent reflections of the streetlights played over their faces as they regarded each other in the half-light of the taxi.
“It’s difficult for a woman to know how to feel around you,” Terese said.
“I could say the same,” Jack said.
“Have you ever been married?” Terese said. “That is, if you don’t mind me asking.”
“Yes, I was married,” Jack said.
“But it didn’t work out?” Terese said leadingly.
“There was a problem,” Jack admitted. “But I don’t really care to talk about it. How about you? Were you ever married?”