1. Doctor Eric, I Presume?


    Date: 12/18/2023, Categories: Occupations, Author: MC1982 

    The cashier had put on headphones and was playing with her phone. It was far, far into the night and Lily was the only person in the hospital cafe. She was too preoccupied to really want anything to eat or drink, so her tea went cold in no time.

‘Story of my night,’ she thought to herself, ‘First, hot, sex. Then, tepid, sleep. Finally, cold night alone.”

She was sitting alone in a corner of the darkened café. Eric was upstairs, being operated on for his bowel obstruction and she’d been sent away. Sitting in the surgical theatre with him was not an option, of course, but it was hard sitting on the sidelines, worrying, wondering.

They’d laugh about this one day, she thought. When he was better. It’d be the cornerstone of their, “Hey Grandma, how did you meet Grandpa?” story.

She’d held his hand as they’d scanned his tummy. They’d taken the results, conferred urgently and then everyone had been rushing around. Phone calls had been made and the nurse had ordered Eric to change into a gown. They’d asked lots of questions about when the pain had started, and Eric had told them it had started days ago.

Lily was aghast to hear it but, looking back, she had seen signs he was ill. There had been small gestures he’d made that she hadn’t picked up on at the time. He’d been rubbing his stomach, a wince of pain had passed across his face, or he’d made a hurried trip to the loo.

They’d told Eric he needed urgent surgery, without which his stomach could literally burst, ...
    ... and he would die.

“Will I be ok after the surgery?” he’d asked.

“As long as it goes well, you’ll be fine,” had been the only half-reassuring reply.

Eric’s mum would be there soon. Perhaps she should go up to the ward to meet her. Kind of awkward, though. Like,

“Hi, I’m Lily! Your son and I just had sex for the first time, and then he ended up in hospital! Nice to meet you!”

Imagining the conversation cracked a small smile on her face for the first time in two hours.

Just then, a young man, in his early twenties, entered the darkened café. He was tall, clean-shaven and wore a crew cut. He was wearing a long white coat and there was a stethoscope hanging around his neck. He ordered a café and a sandwich and came and sat down at a table near Lily’s. He looked up at her, smiled, and nodded.

“Break time?” Lily asked, glad to have someone to talk to.

“Yeah. You?”

“My friend is in surgery.”

“Oh? What kind? I guess it’s urgent, they try not to operate at this time of night.”

Lily glanced at her watch. It was four-thirty in the morning.

“Yes. He has a bowel obstruction.”

The doctor nodded, then said kindly,

“It’s bad while it lasts but once it’s over, he’ll be fine.”

“Thank you. What area do you work in?”

“I’m a junior doctor so I’m going round the wards, one internship at a time. I’m in gynecology right now. That’s female reproduction.”

“I know what gynecology is.”

“Sorry. I sometimes forget when I have to speak slowly!”

Lily ...
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