The Clinic

“You bet! But she knew, all right! I explained everything to her and so did everyone else.”

“Everyone, ma'am?”

“The doctors, the nurses. Everyone.”

“Doctors,” said Milo. “Meaning Dr. Cruvic and Dr. Devane?”

“Right.”

“Dr. Cruvic did the surgery. What was Dr. Devane's role?”

“To talk to her. Counseling. So she would understand! She's just saying that to get him off, that little bast-”

“Did Dr. Devane do anything more than talk to Chenise?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did she conduct a physical checkup?”

Hesitation. “No, why should she?”

“You're sure about that?”

“I- I wasn't in the room every second.”

“Who saw Chenise after the surgery?”

“I- probably Dr. Cruvic and his nurse. I guess.”

“You guess?”

“It was at night. I work days. I picked her up later. She was throwing up, still groggy. Got my car all filthy.”

“Okay,” said Milo, sitting back. “So this was at the Women's Health Center in Santa Monica.”

“You bet.”

“Who referred you there?”

She shifted in her chair, pulled at an eyelash. “No one. Everyone knows what they do there.”

“Abortions and sterilizations?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“Did Chenise know what they did?”

“You bet.”

“She says she didn't.”

“That's a crock. She has attention problems, half the time she's in another world.” A glance at me: “Attention disorder. On top of everything else. What's the big deal? Band-Aid sterilization. The next day she was walking around.”

“She said she had cramps,” said Boatwright.

“So? Is that some big deal? You don't get cramps every month? She had cramps and gas, she was… gassy all day. Thought it was funny. Let it out nice and loud. She had no problem with any of it til he got involved. Stupid punk. Like he's gonna be a father! Right! Telling her she'd been spayed. Idiot. She never even knew what the word meant! I tell you it was no big deal. Boom, boom. The gas is 'cause they fill you up with it, here,”- touching her own pubic region-“so they can see what's in there, then they go in through the belly button and boom, it's over. Like I said, she was walking around the next day.”

Angela Boatwright said, “Sounds like you know other women who've had it.”

Mary Farney stared at her, defensiveness giving way to pure anger. “So?”

Boatwright shrugged.

“Yeah,” said Farney. “I had it, too, okay? Dr. Cruvic said it was dangerous for me to have another kid, the way I'm built. Is that okay with you, miss? Do I have your permission?”

“Sure,” said Boatwright.

Mary Farney shook a hand at her. “What do you know? After Chenise was born and they finally figured out she wouldn't be normal, her father walked the hell out on me. You have any kids, miss?”

“No, ma'am.”

Farney's smile was smug. “Don't let her tell you she didn't know, 'cause she did. She signed consent. It's that little asshole, getting her high, convincing her they could be Mommy and Daddy. Like it was even his in the first place.”

“It wasn't?” said Milo.

“Who knows? That's the point. And even if it was his, so what? He can read at second-grade level. Maybe. He's gonna take care of her and a baby?”

“Can Chenise read?” I said.

“Some.”

“What's her level?”

Pause. “I haven't had her tested in a long while.”

“But she signed her name to the consent form,” said Milo.

“I told her what it was and she signed it.”

“Ah.”

Farney put her hands on her hips. “Do you have kids?”

He shook his head.

“No one has kids,” she said. “Must be I'm the only one crazy enough. What about you?”

“No,” I said.

She laughed. “Can I smoke?” Without waiting for an answer, she pulled a package of Virginia Slims from her purse and lit up.

“When's the last time Chenise's IQ was tested?” I said.

“Who knows? Probably in school.”

“Probably?”

“You think they tell me what they do? All they do is file paper, make files this thick.” Spreading her arms two feet wide.

“What was the last IQ score you got for her?” I said.

“What, you don't think she's smart enough to understand? Let me tell you something, I'm her mother and I say she can understand. When I give her five bucks for the mall and she asks for ten, she understands just fine. When she comes home late and makes excuses, she understands. When Darrell or some other punk says be ready at a certain time and she's there at the door, early, she understands. Okay? Only some things she don't understand. Okay?”

“Like what?” said Boatwright.

“Like how to clean her room. Like how to keep her pants on.”

Her laugh was brutal.

“She's like a magnet for it, since she's eleven the boys been sniffing around her. She walks that walk, winks an eye. All these years I been talking myself blue, trying to get her to see where that leads. She just smiles, sticks out her tit- her chest. Like, look what I've got, I'm a woman. So finally she went and proved she was.”

No one said anything.

“I love her, okay? Before she got her period she was a sweet kid! Now all I do is worry. About AIDS and stuff. Now there's one less thing to worry about.” Another laugh. “Maybe she should be in trouble with you guys. Maybe the best thing would be to lock her up. 'Cause I sure can't stop her from humping around. And who's gonna help me when she humps herself straight to AIDS?”

More silence.

“You think she can raise a kid? So I protected her the best way I knew how and she understood damn good- you know what she told me once? About men? We were sitting in the car, at a Wendy's or something, and she gives this smile and I know it's trouble. I say what, Chenise. And she says, I like when men sweat, Mom. I say, oh? Yeah, she says, like when they sweat between their legs. I nearly choked, she was only thirteen. Then she says, know why I like it, Mom? I say why, Chenise. And she takes a