concealing her face.
I was considering my response when I heard my name called.
Chip Jones strode toward me.
“Thanks for waiting.”
The sound of his voice made Vicki stop reading. She straightened her
cap and said, “Hi, Dr. Jones.” A sweet smile spread across her face,
honey on stale bread.
Chip leaned on the counter, grinned, and shook his head. “There you go
again, Vicki, trying to promote me.” To me: “I’m A.B.D.that’s all but
dissertation,’ Vicki-but generous Ms. Bottomley here keeps trying to
graduate me before I earn it.”
Vicki managed to work up another dirt-eating smile. “Degree or not,
what’s the difference?”
“Well,” said Chip, “it might make quite a difference to someone like
Dr. Delaware here, who genuinely earned his.”
“I’m sure it does.”
He heard the acid in her voice and gave her a quizzical look. She got
flustered and looked away.
He noticed the gift box. “Vicki. Again?”
“It’s just a little something.”
“That’s very sweet of you, Vicki, but totally unnecessary.
“I wanted to, Dr. Jones.. She’s such an angel.”
“That she is, Vicki.” He smiled. Another bunny?”
“Well, she likes them, Dr. Jones.”
“Mister, Vicki-if you insist on using a title, how about Herr
Professor? It has a nice classical ring to it, wouldn’t you agree, Dr.
Delaware?”
Absolutely.”
He said, “I’m prattling this place addles me. Thank you again,
Vicki.
You’re very sweet.”
Bottomley went scarlet.
Chip turned to me. “Ready if you are, Doctor.”
We walked through the teak doors into the hustle of Five East. A child
being wheeled somewhere was crying, a little boy hooked to an I.v and
turbaned with bandages. Chip took it in, frowning but not talking.
As we approached the elevators he shook his head and said, “Good old
Vicki. What a shameless brown-noser. But she got kind of uppity with
you back there, didn’t she?”
“I’m not her favorite person.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Ever have any hassles with her before?”
“Nope. Never met her before.”
He shook his head. “Well, I’m sorry for you, but she seems to be
taking really good care of Cassie. And Cindy likes her. I think she
reminds Cindy of her aunt-she had an aunt who raised her. Also a
nurse, real tough egg.”
After we passed a gaggle of dazed-looking medical students, he said,
“It’s probably territorial-Vicki’s reaction to you. Some kind of turf
battle, wouldn’t you say?”
“Could be.”
“I notice a lot of that kind of thing around here. Possessiveness over
patients. As if they’re commodities.”
“Have you experienced that personally?”
“Oh, sure. Plus, our situation heightens the tension. People think
that we’re worth kissing up to, because we’ve got some sort of direct
line to the power structure. I assume you know who my dad is.”
I nodded.
He said, “It rubs me the wrong way, being treated differently. I worry
about it leading to substandard care for Cassie.”
“In what way?”
“I don’t know, nothing specific-I guess I’m just not comfortable with
being an exception. I don’t want anyone missing something important
because they hung back or broke routine out of fear of offending our
family. Not that Dr. Eves isn’t great-I have nothing but respect for
her. It’s more the whole system-a feeling I get when I’m here.”
He slowed his pace. “Maybe I’m just talking through my hat.
The frustration. Cassie’s been sick with one thing or another for
virtually her whole life and no one’s figured out what’s wrong yet, and
we also . . . What I’m saying is that this hospital’s a highly
formalized structure and whenever the rules change in a formalized
structure, you run the risk of structural cracks. That’s my field of
interest: Formal Org-Formal Organizations. And let me tell you, this
is some organization.”
We reached the elevators. He punched the button and said, “I hope you
can help Cassie with the shots-she’s gone through an absolute
nightmare.
Cindy, too. She’s a fantastic mother, but with this kind of thing,
self-doubts are inevitable.”
“Is she blaming herself?” I said.
“Sometimes. Even though it’s totally unjustified. I try to tell her,
but.
He shook his head and put his hands together. The knuckles were
white.