floors instead of linoleum, one patient per room in place of three or
more, TVs that worked almost all the time, though they were still
black-and-white antiques.
This morning, nearly all twenty rooms were empty. A trio of
bored-looking R. N.”s stood behind the counter at the nursing
station.
A few feet away a unit clerk filed her nails.
“Morning, Dr. Eves,” said one of the nurses, addressing Stephanie but
watching me and looking none too friendly. I wondered why and smiled
at her anyway. She turned away. Early fifties, short, chunky,
grainy-skinned, long-jawed, sprayed blond hair. Powderblue uniform
trimmed with white. Atop the stiff hair, a starched cap; I hadn’t seen
one of those in a long time.
The two other nurses, Filipinas in their twenties, glanced at each
other and moved away as if spurred by a silent code.
Stephanie said, “Morning, Vicki. How’s our girl doing?”
“So far so good.” Reaching over, the blond nurse pulled a chart out of
the slot marked 5o5W and handed it to Stephanie. Her nails were stubby
and gnawed. Her gaze settled on me again. The old charm was still not
working.
“This is Dr. Alex Delaware,” said Stephanie, thumbing through the
chart, “our consulting psychologist. Dr. Delaware, Vicki Bottomley,
Cassie’s primary care nurse.”
“Cindy said you’d be coming by,” said the nurse, making it sound like
bad news. Stephanie kept reading.
“Pleased to meet you,” I said.
“Pleased to meet you.” A challenging sullenness in her voice made
Stephanie look up.
“Everything okay, Vicki?”
“Peachy,” said the nurse, flashing a smile as jovial as a slap across
the face. “Everything’s fine. She held down most of her breakfast,
fluids and PlO meds-” “What meds?”
“Just Tylenol. An hour ago. Cindy said she had a headache__” “Tylenol
One?”
“Yes, Dr. Eves, just the kid stuff, liquid, one teaspoon-it’s all in
there.” She pointed to the chart.
“Yes, I see,” said Stephanie, reading. “Well, that’s all right for
today, Vicki, but next time no meds not even OTC stuff-without my
approval. I need to authorize everything, other than food and
beverage, that passes between this child’s lips. Okay?”
“Sure,” said Bottomley, smiling again. “No problem. I just thought-”
“No harm done, Vicki,” said Stephanie, reaching over and patting the
nurse’s shoulder. “I’m sure I would have okayed Tylenol.
It’s just that with this kid’s history we’ve got to be super-careful to
tease out drug reactions.”
“Yes, Dr. Eves. Is there anything else?”
Stephanie read more of the chart, then closed it and handed it back.
“No, not at the moment, unless there’s something you want to report.”
Bottomley shook her head.
“Okay, then. I’m going to go in and introduce Dr. Delaware.
Anything about Cassie you want to share?”
Bottomley removed a bobby pin from her hair and stuck it back in,
fastening blond strands to the cap. Her eyes were wide-set and
long-lashed, a soft, pretty blue in the tense, gritty terrain of her
face.
She said, “Like what?”
Anything Dr. Delaware should know, to help Cassie and her parents,
Vicki.”
Bottomley stared at Stephanie for a moment, then turned tome,
glaring.
“There’s nothing wrong with them. They’re just regular people.”
I said, “I hear Cassie gets pretty anxious about medical procedures.”
Bottomley put her hands on her hips. “Wouldn’t you, if you got stuck
as much as she does?”
Stephanie said, “Vicki “Sure,” I said, smiling. “It’s a perfectly
normal reaction, but sometimes normal anxiety can be helped by
behavioral treatment.
Bottomley gave a small, tight laugh. “Maybe so. Good luck.”
Stephanie started to say something. I touched her arm and said, “Why
don’t we get going?”
“Sure.” To Bottomley: “Remember, nothing PlO except food and drink.”
Bottomley held on to her smile. “Yes, Doctor. Now, if it’s all right
with you, I’d like to leave the floor for a few minutes.”
Stephanie looked at her watch. “Break time?”
“No. Just wanted to go down to the gift shop and get Cassie a
LuvBunny-you know those stuffed bunnies, the cartoons on TV?
She’s crazy about them. I figure with you people in there, she should
be fine for a few minutes.”
Stephanie looked at me. Bottomley followed her glance with what seemed