patch of her white-blond hair missing.
“Miss Hutchinson, I’m your nurse, Olive,” she started, and then didn’t know what else to say. She patted the girl’s bony foot through the sheet. “You probably don’t remember me, but we’ve met before. You pulled through then, and I promise I’ll help you pull through now.”
She looked up to see Mr. Hutchinson’s lanky figure obscuring the window. The stubble on his face and dark smudges under his eyes confirmed Tina’s report that he’d spent the night at the hospital. He wore ribbed corduroy pants and a denim shirt and held a furry winter cap in his hands. Olive remembered the intimidation he had inspired in her last year. Now she saw him only as a man filled with sorrow and remorse. She knew he blamed himself for his daughter’s sickness. He hadn’t wanted her to go to college for reasons like this.
Stepping into the room, he was immediately on the offensive. “The other nurse said I could come in here around half past eight. She said someone would come get me, but nobody did.”
“It’s been a busy morning,” she said. “But you’re more than welcome to sit with Sarah now.”
Mr. Hutchinson took the seat next to his daughter’s bed. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s doing well. Her heart rate and blood pressure are strong, and her white blood cell count and temperature are steadily becoming more normal.”
“Aren’t there any doctors around here? No offense, but I’d rather hear this from a doctor.”
“Sarah’s physician, Dr. Su, just checked in on her, and agreed that she’s doing quite well.”
“Is he still around? I’ve got a lot of questions.”
“She’s conducting her rounds right now. She should be back soon, if you’d like to speak with her.”
“Yes, I would. And why are there bubbles in Sarah’s IV tubing? Couldn’t one of those bubbles go straight to her heart and kill her?”
Olive straightened out a kinked length of tubing and flicked away the bubbles. “They’re quite harmless.” She was surprised by the way her earlier feeling of enlightenment was swiftly being eroded. She felt like strangling him with the tubing. Yet when she turned around, she saw he had his head in his hands. He rubbed his forehead vigorously. She knew what was coming next. Olive watched Mr. Hutchinson expectantly. She felt like she was waiting for an upcoming monologue in a play she’d seen before.
“I didn’t want her to go to Madison,” he began, head still in hands. “I didn’t go to college, my father didn’t go to college, and we did just fine on our farm. And now all of a sudden, folks are telling us we need some fancy college education to run a dairy? Heck, our cows don’t need a diploma to know how to produce milk. But Sarah wanted to go to school; she wanted to make our farm more profitable, and I was stupid enough to let her go. And look where it got her!” Here he got choked up, and his next words came out strangled. “Deathly ill. Lying in a hospital bed like her poor mother, God rest her soul.”
Olive was ready to offer him what solace and reassurance she could. She had never before known with such certainty the right thing to say to a patient’s family member. “Mr. Hutchinson, letting Sarah go off to college was very generous of you. It shows how much you love your daughter. Don’t think of it as a mistake. Sickness can come at any time or any place. And Sarah’s strong. I know she’s going to recover soon and be back to her old self. I have a very good feeling about that.”
Mr. Hutchinson looked up at her and instead of relief in his eyes, she saw anger. “You don’t know that. That’s what they told me about my wife ten years ago, and she died within the week. So don’t you make me any promises you can’t keep.” He stood up and looked as if he’d like to stalk out of the room, but thought better of it because he didn’t want to leave Sarah. “Where’s that doctor? Can you bring that doctor to
“Miss Hutchinson, I’m your nurse, Olive,” she started, and then didn’t know what else to say. She patted the girl’s bony foot through the sheet. “You probably don’t remember me, but we’ve met before. You pulled through then, and I promise I’ll help you pull through now.”
She looked up to see Mr. Hutchinson’s lanky figure obscuring the window. The stubble on his face and dark smudges under his eyes confirmed Tina’s report that he’d spent the night at the hospital. He wore ribbed corduroy pants and a denim shirt and held a furry winter cap in his hands. Olive remembered the intimidation he had inspired in her last year. Now she saw him only as a man filled with sorrow and remorse. She knew he blamed himself for his daughter’s sickness. He hadn’t wanted her to go to college for reasons like this.
Stepping into the room, he was immediately on the offensive. “The other nurse said I could come in here around half past eight. She said someone would come get me, but nobody did.”
“It’s been a busy morning,” she said. “But you’re more than welcome to sit with Sarah now.”
Mr. Hutchinson took the seat next to his daughter’s bed. “How’s she doing?”
“She’s doing well. Her heart rate and blood pressure are strong, and her white blood cell count and temperature are steadily becoming more normal.”
“Aren’t there any doctors around here? No offense, but I’d rather hear this from a doctor.”
“Sarah’s physician, Dr. Su, just checked in on her, and agreed that she’s doing quite well.”
“Is he still around? I’ve got a lot of questions.”
“She’s conducting her rounds right now. She should be back soon, if you’d like to speak with her.”
“Yes, I would. And why are there bubbles in Sarah’s IV tubing? Couldn’t one of those bubbles go straight to her heart and kill her?”
Olive straightened out a kinked length of tubing and flicked away the bubbles. “They’re quite harmless.” She was surprised by the way her earlier feeling of enlightenment was swiftly being eroded. She felt like strangling him with the tubing. Yet when she turned around, she saw he had his head in his hands. He rubbed his forehead vigorously. She knew what was coming next. Olive watched Mr. Hutchinson expectantly. She felt like she was waiting for an upcoming monologue in a play she’d seen before.
“I didn’t want her to go to Madison,” he began, head still in hands. “I didn’t go to college, my father didn’t go to college, and we did just fine on our farm. And now all of a sudden, folks are telling us we need some fancy college education to run a dairy? Heck, our cows don’t need a diploma to know how to produce milk. But Sarah wanted to go to school; she wanted to make our farm more profitable, and I was stupid enough to let her go. And look where it got her!” Here he got choked up, and his next words came out strangled. “Deathly ill. Lying in a hospital bed like her poor mother, God rest her soul.”
Olive was ready to offer him what solace and reassurance she could. She had never before known with such certainty the right thing to say to a patient’s family member. “Mr. Hutchinson, letting Sarah go off to college was very generous of you. It shows how much you love your daughter. Don’t think of it as a mistake. Sickness can come at any time or any place. And Sarah’s strong. I know she’s going to recover soon and be back to her old self. I have a very good feeling about that.”
Mr. Hutchinson looked up at her and instead of relief in his eyes, she saw anger. “You don’t know that. That’s what they told me about my wife ten years ago, and she died within the week. So don’t you make me any promises you can’t keep.” He stood up and looked as if he’d like to stalk out of the room, but thought better of it because he didn’t want to leave Sarah. “Where’s that doctor? Can you bring that doctor to
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