Winner The Crystal Awards 2016, Best Multimedia Story (3d Place).
A spinster doctor rents her spare room to a brain-damaged patient who doesn't know he is a former undercover agent targeted for execution by a powerful criminal.
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"I will wait until Doctor Oberon can come," Jean said with absolute calm.
Goldberg sighed, smiled at Jean, then made some notes on Jean's chart.
"Let me do this, then," Goldberg suggested. "If it's okay with you, I'm going to reserve an operating room for tomorrow morning. If Doctor Oberon can be here by then, everything goes forward as scheduled. If, for some reason, we don't reach Doctor Oberon, you can cancel the surgery if you're sure you want to. I, of course, reserve the right to try to talk you out of waiting any longer, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. D'accord?"
Jean thought a moment. "Oui. Trés bien."
Goldberg nodded and replaced the chart at the end of the bed. "Okay," he said. "I've left a standing order for pain meds if you need them. Use them, please. Also, we started you on some antibiotics last night, for the shoulder wound, and I'm continuing those for now. Drink lots of water. Rest. I'll see you tomorrow morning, if not sooner."
"Oui. Merci."
"Au revoir, Jean," said Goldberg.
"Au revoir."
Goldberg left Jean's room and crossed the corridor to the nurses' station. He spoke to Nurse Erskine there. "What's the story on Doctor Oberon?" he asked.
"You read the papers," answered Erskine. "You know as much as I do."
"I heard she got caught in the middle of some drug deal gone bad in Coconut Grove, at the Arts Festival last weekend."
"Yep, innocent bystander," Erskine said. "And when Jean tried to stop them, they shot him. He's lucky to be alive."
Goldberg thought a moment, brows crinkled. "But that was days ago," he murmured. "So, how did he happen to be brought in here unconscious and bleeding last night? And, why did they call me instead of Oberon to treat him? She's been his doctor since the first reconstructive surgery on that knee. And she seemed very proud of his progress when she talked to me about it. You'd think she'd want to be in on this." He gave Erskine a questioning look.
Erskine shook her head in an I-don't-know gesture. "Hospital gossip says Jean was with the police when they rounded up the drug dealers and rescued Doctor Oberon last night. Don't ask me how. There's absolutely nothing in the news this morning."
Goldberg's face changed as he conceived a new concern. "Was Mitchell injured?" he asked, forgetting professional titles in his anxiety about an old friend. "Is that why she's not here? Did they take her to a different hospital? Mercy Hospital would've been the closest to the Grove – if that's where it all went down."
Erskine and Goldberg exchanged worried looks.
"I need to find her," he said. "I'm going to call her home numbers. If I don't get her, would you call the other hospitals and see if she's been admitted, or maybe treated and released?"
"Yes, Doctor, of course."
"Thanks. I'll make the calls and let you know in a few minutes if I can't reach her." Goldberg reached into his pocket for his cellphone.
ओह! यह छवि हमारे सामग्री दिशानिर्देशों का पालन नहीं करती है। प्रकाशन जारी रखने के लिए, कृपया इसे हटा दें या कोई भिन्न छवि अपलोड करें।
