'Before someone figures out what's wrong. I've seen it lots of times.
Doctors can't figure things out so they call it psychosomatic.
Then poof, all of a sudden someone finds something that hasn't been looked for before and you've got yourselfa new disease. They call that medical progress.'
'What do you call it?'
She stared at me. I call it progress She walked away and I stayed behind, thinking. I'd gotten her to talk but had I learned anything?
My thoughts shifted to the cruel gift her son had given her. Pure
spite? Or had he been telling her something?
Had she told me about it as part of a game? Told me just what she wanted me to know?
I stayed with it a while and came up with nothing. Cleared my head and walked to 505W Cassie sat propped up in bed, wearing red floral pajamas with white collar and cuffs. Her cheeks were raspberry-pink and her hair was gathered in a topknot tied with a white bow. The I.V had been disconnected and it stood in the corner, like a metal scarecrow.
Depleted glucose bags hung from the arms. The only evidence her veins had been punctured was a small round Band-Aid atop one hand and the yellow Betadine stain below it. Her eyes glistened as they followed me.
Cindy sat near her on the bed, spoon-feeding her cereal. She wore a SAVE THE OCEANS T-shirt over a denim skirt and sandals.
Dolphins cavorted across her bustline. She and Cassie looked more similar than ever.
As I approached, Cassie opened a mouth full of cereal-mush. A stray speck dotted her upper lip.
Cindy picked it off. 'Swallow, honey. Hi, Dr. Delaware. We didn't expect to see you today.'
I put my briefcase down and sat on the foot of the bed. Cassie looked confused but not fearful.
'Why's that?' I said.
'It's the weekend.'
'You're here, so I'm here.'
'That's very nice of you. Look, sweetie, Dr. Delaware came all the way to see you on a Saturday.'
Cassie looked at Cindy, then back at me, still muddled.
Wondering about the mental effects of the seizure, I said, 'How's everything?'
'Oh, fine.'
I touched Cassie's hand. She didn't move for a second, then drew away, slowly. When I chucked her chin, she looked down at my hand.
'Hi, Cassie,' I said.
She continued to stare. Some milk dribbled out of her mouth.
Cindy wiped it and closed her mouth gently. Cassie started to chew.
Then she parted her lips and said, 'Hah,' through the mush.
'Right!' said Cindy. 'Hi! That's great, Cass!'
'Hah.'
'We did very well with our food today, Dr. Delaware. Juice and fruit and crackers for breakfast. Then we had our breakfiist Krispies for lunch.'
