dinner, and one before bed. Do you have your prescription booklet?”
Charlotte withdrew it from her pocket and handed it to him. “What will the water do for me?” she asked.
“It’s a mild laxative; it contains sodium sulfate and magnesium bicarbonate. Not that you have any problems of that nature. If you did, I’d prescribe Union water.” He smiled. “It produces what the local people call action-within-fifteen-minutes.”
So that’s what Adele had been talking about. “I hope the Union Spring isn’t far from the hotel,” said Charlotte.
He laughed. “No. It’s not. Actually, fifteen minutes is overstating it a bit; it usually takes about an hour.”
Charlotte was reminded of the old saying about knowing a man by his drink; it took on a special significance at a mineral spa.
Dr. Sperry went on to explain that the waters of the spa fell into three categories: the saline waters, such as Union water, were highly cathartic. They were generally taken before meals and warmed. The saline-alkaline waters, such as High Rock, were mildly cathartic, and were prescribed as a tonic for the kidneys, bowels, and digestion. They were also taken before meals, but at room temperature. The third type, the alkaline-saline, of which Sans Souci was the best example, were digestive aids. They were generally taken after meals by people with digestive disturbances or liver disease.
“Then I presume I’m taking High Rock water as a tonic,” said Charlotte as Dr. Sperry recorded the prescription in her booklet.
“Exactly,” he replied. “But many guests also find that it helps their arthritis. To say nothing of diabetes, gout, rheumatism, neuritis.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Frankly, we don’t know. Mineral water is like acupuncture: we know it works, but we don’t know how. A lot of studies have demonstrated that the waters help certain conditions, but identifying the chemical that’s responsible is like finding a needle in a haystack. High Rock water, for instance, contains more than nineteen thousand different chemicals.”
“I see,” said Charlotte.
“The baths are different. There we know that most of the benefit comes from simple relaxation. As far as the baths go, we’ll start you out with a daily bath and massage, what we call our ‘ninety-minute unwinder,’” he said, making another notation in the booklet. He studied her chart again. “Frannie indicates here that your shoulders are tense. Is that true?”
“Yes.” She accumulated tension in her shoulders the way others did in their faces or their guts, but she wouldn’t have thought it obvious. She gave Frannie credit for her perspicacity and wondered if she was walking around with hunched shoulders. “I’m surprised Frannie noticed it.”
“Are you?” He smiled, wrinkling his nose. “I’m also going to prescribe a hot pack for your knee and fango for your shoulders.” He made another notation in the booklet. “Fango is mud therapy: mud has excellent heat-retention properties.” He leaned back. “You shouldn’t be. We can tell a lot about a client’s physical and mental condition from her appearance.”
“So I see,” replied Charlotte.
“For instance,” he continued, “I can tell that you’re a happy, well-adjusted person.” He wrinkled his nose again.
Charlotte raised a dark, winged eyebrow in the skeptical expression that was one of her screen trademarks, along with her clipped Yankee accent and her starkly tailored suits.
“You are open, vibrant, alive,” he continued, staring at her appreciatively. “I can tell just by looking at you that you are beautiful in your soul as well as in your person.”
She returned his stare. She wanted to tell him to cut the crap.
“Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for a lot of our guests,” he went on. “Many of them are very unhappy. They’re often going through widowhood, or divorce. Their faces are masks of anxiety and depression; their skin has sagged; their lips are
Charlotte withdrew it from her pocket and handed it to him. “What will the water do for me?” she asked.
“It’s a mild laxative; it contains sodium sulfate and magnesium bicarbonate. Not that you have any problems of that nature. If you did, I’d prescribe Union water.” He smiled. “It produces what the local people call action-within-fifteen-minutes.”
So that’s what Adele had been talking about. “I hope the Union Spring isn’t far from the hotel,” said Charlotte.
He laughed. “No. It’s not. Actually, fifteen minutes is overstating it a bit; it usually takes about an hour.”
Charlotte was reminded of the old saying about knowing a man by his drink; it took on a special significance at a mineral spa.
Dr. Sperry went on to explain that the waters of the spa fell into three categories: the saline waters, such as Union water, were highly cathartic. They were generally taken before meals and warmed. The saline-alkaline waters, such as High Rock, were mildly cathartic, and were prescribed as a tonic for the kidneys, bowels, and digestion. They were also taken before meals, but at room temperature. The third type, the alkaline-saline, of which Sans Souci was the best example, were digestive aids. They were generally taken after meals by people with digestive disturbances or liver disease.
“Then I presume I’m taking High Rock water as a tonic,” said Charlotte as Dr. Sperry recorded the prescription in her booklet.
“Exactly,” he replied. “But many guests also find that it helps their arthritis. To say nothing of diabetes, gout, rheumatism, neuritis.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Frankly, we don’t know. Mineral water is like acupuncture: we know it works, but we don’t know how. A lot of studies have demonstrated that the waters help certain conditions, but identifying the chemical that’s responsible is like finding a needle in a haystack. High Rock water, for instance, contains more than nineteen thousand different chemicals.”
“I see,” said Charlotte.
“The baths are different. There we know that most of the benefit comes from simple relaxation. As far as the baths go, we’ll start you out with a daily bath and massage, what we call our ‘ninety-minute unwinder,’” he said, making another notation in the booklet. He studied her chart again. “Frannie indicates here that your shoulders are tense. Is that true?”
“Yes.” She accumulated tension in her shoulders the way others did in their faces or their guts, but she wouldn’t have thought it obvious. She gave Frannie credit for her perspicacity and wondered if she was walking around with hunched shoulders. “I’m surprised Frannie noticed it.”
“Are you?” He smiled, wrinkling his nose. “I’m also going to prescribe a hot pack for your knee and fango for your shoulders.” He made another notation in the booklet. “Fango is mud therapy: mud has excellent heat-retention properties.” He leaned back. “You shouldn’t be. We can tell a lot about a client’s physical and mental condition from her appearance.”
“So I see,” replied Charlotte.
“For instance,” he continued, “I can tell that you’re a happy, well-adjusted person.” He wrinkled his nose again.
Charlotte raised a dark, winged eyebrow in the skeptical expression that was one of her screen trademarks, along with her clipped Yankee accent and her starkly tailored suits.
“You are open, vibrant, alive,” he continued, staring at her appreciatively. “I can tell just by looking at you that you are beautiful in your soul as well as in your person.”
She returned his stare. She wanted to tell him to cut the crap.
“Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for a lot of our guests,” he went on. “Many of them are very unhappy. They’re often going through widowhood, or divorce. Their faces are masks of anxiety and depression; their skin has sagged; their lips are
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