13. The Doctor’s Dilemma
As suddenly as the virus pneumonia epidemic had broken out, it stopped. The staff couldn’t believe that Kit had had no calls through the long night she sat at the switchboard. Ted Loring, who had stretched out for a cat nap on Dr. Barsch’s sofa, woke to find that he had slept all night. He jumped up guiltily and looked out of the window. The summer sun was already high in the blue sky. Quickly Ted looked at his watch. “Eight-thirty!” he cried. “I must have thought this was a hotel!” He smoothed out his rumpled clothes as best he could and ran a pocket comb through his tousled hair. Then he banged open the door of the office and almost knocked Dr. Barsch down as he started out.
“So, you’ve decided to let me into my office,” the older doctor said.
“I’m sorry, sir. I had no idea it was so late. I left a call....”
Dr. Barsch shook his head in gleeful despair. “Too bad, old man,” he said. “If business falls off any more the way it did last night, you’ll be out of a job!”
“No new patients?” Ted asked incredulously.
“No new patients,” Dr. Barsch replied. “And so if you’ll excuse me, I’ll ready my office for my out-patients’ calls. Office hours in a half an hour, you know.”
Ted let out a war-whoop and hugged the older man.
“Dr. Loring,” Dr. Barsch protested, “I suggest you get yourself some breakfast and a shave.”
“Sorry, sir,” Ted apologized, and laughed. “I had forgotten what it was like to have a full night’s sleep.” He tore down the corridor and headed for the cafeteria.
The dining room was full of chattering nurses and office help when he came in. He immediately spotted Ethel sitting with Eileen and Helen over near the corner. Dashing across the room, he nearly upset the trays of two young office girls who were balancing them precariously on their way to a table.
“Oh, sorry,” he muttered. “Hey, gorgeous! Do I know you? And if not, why not?” he cried as he reached Ethel’s table.
Ethel’s weary face lit up as Ted sat down and reached for a cup of coffee on her tray. “Poor man. It must be amnesia,” she explained to her friends, “I believe we’ve met,” she said to Ted. “I seem to remember, we even were married.”
“Well, what do you know!” Ted said gleefully.
“Now drink your coffee,” Ethel instructed. “My, you look terrible!” she chided him as she inspected him.
Ted gulped down his coffee and snitched a doughnut from Ethel’s plate. “Make you fat,” he said by way of an apology.
Both Eileen and Helen burst out laughing as they looked at Ted’s slender wife.
Between mouthfuls, Ted said, “I mean that! You take a nurse off the floor and put her into a lovely new home with nothing to do, and you have to watch her diet! And that’s what’s going to happen. Starting today!”
“Watching my diet?” Ethel teased.
“No,” Ted said, his mouth full of doughnut. “You get put in your golden palace and you don’t stir out of it from now on!” he swallowed. “Nothing to do from now on.”
Ethel laughed helplessly as she thought of the million chores to be done at home. There were curtains to be hung, floors to be waxed, rugs to be laid.
Jean and Kit came into the dining room and waved to the party at Ethel’s table. They went through the line and selected their breakfast and then joined the cheerful little company.
“It’s simply amazing,” Jean said. “Know what I did? I went for a nap around nine last night, and I just woke up!”
“Me, too,” Ted said.
“Don’t be too optimistic,” Eileen warned. “We may have a flood of patients today.” She looked over to the door. “Oh, oh,” she said. “Here comes glamor boy.”
They all looked around and saw Dr. Benson standing hesitantly in the doorway. Slowly he made his way through the line and then he chose a table by himself. The food on his tray remained untouched as he sat and stared out of the window.
“Ted, invite him over!” Ethel cried impulsively, clutching her husband’s arm.
“Well, I can stand him if the rest of you can,” Eileen said grudgingly.
“No, wait,” Jean cried. “I think he probably wants to be alone. He’s quite troubled. I know, because I talked to him last night.”
Ted sat down again and finished his coffee. “What’s the matter with him, Jeannie?” he asked.
Jean hesitated. “I’m sorry I said anything,” she said finally. “He confided in me, and I don’t think I ought to betray his confidence.”
Ethel and Ted and Helen nodded.
“Who is Dr. Benson?” Kit asked. “And what have you all got against him?”
Eileen explained about the new intern. She merely said, very justly, that there were several things about him that the rest of them didn’t understand.
“For example, his devotion to the little boy upstairs,” Helen said. “Before Timmy came, I didn’t think he could be devoted to anyone but himself.” She laughed a little. “But of all the funny people to be crazy about!”
Ted nodded. “I think I’m beginning to understand,” he said. “Something tells me that Dr. Benson maybe knows first hand what sort of family Timmy comes from.”
Jean blushed furiously. “Please, let’s stop talking about him.” She looked at Eileen, who was gazing at Dr. Benson as if she saw him for the first time.
“You mean, you think they’re related?” Kit asked.
“Oh, no, nothing like that,” Ted explained. “I just have a hunch our new doctor knows a little something about living in the slums.”
Eileen jumped up and ran out of the dining room.
“Well, what’s the matter with her?” Ted demanded.
Ethel laid her hand on Ted’s arm. “I think we’ve discussed it long enough,” she said. “If you’ll excuse me ...” and she got up and walked out of the cafeteria.
Eileen was sitting on a bench in the hall outside of the dining room. Ethel sat down beside her. “Let’s you and me catch up on our sleep,” she said cheerfully.
“And I wouldn’t even give him a date!” Eileen cried. “No wonder he acts so funny. He probably hates us all!”
Ethel put her hand on the young girl’s shoulder. “Never mind, dear,” she said. “Dr. Benson probably understands.”
“But how could he? He must think we’re awful snobs! But we didn’t know! We just thought he was being fresh! And he probably thought that we wouldn’t associate with people who were poor!” She clenched her fists. “Oh, Ethel, and I was worst of all!”
Ethel studied the girl’s intense face. She nodded, but she wisely said nothing about what she was thinking.
“I’m going to wait right here,” Eileen said grimly, “till he’s through with his breakfast, and then I’m going to tell him he can take me out any time he wants to.”
Ethel grinned and patted her arm. “I think you ought to go to bed. You won’t feel so desperate when you’re rested.” She stood up and stretched. “I’m going up to the laboratory for a few minutes to check some of my notes. Then I’ll be upstairs in my old room if business picks up.” She started off and then turned around. “And please don’t tell Ted!”
Eileen waited a few minutes until Dr. Benson came out. She stood up and smiled. He stopped, surprised.
“Good morning, Miss Gordon,” he said. His manner was cool.
“Good morning, Doctor,” Eileen answered. “I know this isn’t a good place to go into things like this, but I’m ... I’m sorry ... well, for a lot of things. And I’d be honored ... if you still want to take me out some evening.”
The doctor stared at her. “Why, thank you very much, Miss Gordon,” he said. “I’m going to be pretty busy for a while.” He hesitated. “You see, I’d sort of like to get Timmy settled in some way, and that will take a little time, I’m afraid. But I appreciate the gesture.”
Eileen felt as if she had been slapped in the face. “Any time,” she said weakly, as she turned and sped down the corridor.
Jean came out of the dining room just as Eileen disappeared. Dr. Benson nodded to her and sat down on the bench.
“I shouldn’t be goofing off,” he said, “but I keep going around in circles about Timmy. Incidentally, what did you tell that gang at breakfast?”
Jean sat down beside him. “Honestly, Doctor, I didn’t say a word. Dr. Loring guessed the truth. I tried to change the subject, but everyone kept asking questions. You see, they really are interested in you.”
Dr. Benson shrugged. “So now they all feel sorry for me. I see.”
“Oh, no!” Jean cried. “That isn’t it at all! Why should a lot of nurses feel sorry for a doctor?”
“Well, that’s beside the point, anyhow,” Dr. Benson said. “I’m really worried about Timmy, and what’s going to become of him. I’ve decided I’ll keep him myself before I’ll turn him over to a home!”
“Let’s go upstairs,” Jean suggested. “I go on duty in a few minutes and I want to call Mother.”
Tommy was waiting in the lobby when Jean and Dr. Benson came up. He grinned and called, “Hi, sis! How’s business?”
“Falling off, thank heaven!” Jean cried. “Dr. Benson, this is my brother, Tommy. Laundry service man!”
They shook hands. “We had quite a load this morning,” Tommy said gleefully. “And boy, am I glad things are going to be slack. Not that we don’t want to help, but we just scheduled a whale of a tough ballgame for later in the summer. We’re going to need all the practice we can get.”
“Baseball?” Dr. Benson asked, his eyes lighting up.
“Yeah, a gang of us has a club. Billy and Buzzy and the rest of the kids at the high school. We play some important games, too. But I never dreamed we could get a game with Mercyville. They’re just awfully good....”
“Mercyville!” Dr. Benson cried. “I thought that was an orphanage!”
Tommy nodded. “It is, sort of. But it’s actually more like Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Town. You’ve heard about Boys’ Town, haven’t you? They’re really keen guys out there. They do everything themselves. But they’re really just being nice to play baseball with us. They’re way out of our class.”
“You mean, this place takes in orphans and boys with no homes? And the boys really like it out there?” Dr. Benson quizzed.
“You’d never know they didn’t have real homes,” Tommy said. “They have a swell time out there.” He sighed. “And can they play ball! I saw them play Fieldston last week. It was a slaughter!”
Dr. Benson looked at Jean. “Why didn’t you explain to me about the place?” he demanded.
She deliberately looked blank. “I don’t know too much about it,” she confessed. “They have their own medical staff, and we simply make routine checks out there to coordinate our health reports to the county.”
“They have everything. Doctors and everything,” Tommy interrupted.
The young intern hesitated. “Imagine God listening to a prayer from an old sinner like me,” he said softly as he walked away.
“What’s the matter with him?” Tommy asked.
“Oh ... nothing. Tell you later,” Jean cried, dashing after the doctor. “And ... thank the boys for us, Tommy. You’ve been swell to help out!”
Dr. Benson waited for her at the foot of the stairs. “Let’s go, gorgeous,” he said. “Lots to be done this morning, and I’m on duty.”
She looked at him. “I thought you were up all night. Don’t you go off duty to get some sleep?”
“Sleep?” he cried. “Who wants to sleep on a day like this! Just look at that sky! Say, this is perfect baseball weather, isn’t it?”
Jean giggled. “I’m right with you, Doctor. Let’s go.”
They entered the contagious ward, and Dr. Benson waited till Jean had recorded the temperatures and pulses of the patients. Then he went over to the bedside of a middle-aged woman. “Let’s hear that back,” he said gently, as he put the stethoscope to his ears.
A pleased grin spread across his face as he listened. “Now, the front,” he said, putting the instrument to the patient’s chest. “Say this sounds good. I can’t hear a thing!”
The woman’s eyes lit up and she smiled at him.
“If we catch this virus right away,” he explained, “we can lick it in no time. Now, if I send you home this week, will you behave yourself? No heavy chores for a while. Lots of rest.”
She nodded happily. He patted her hand and moved on to the next patient.
When the examinations were over, Dr. Benson took the stethoscope from around his neck and ran his hand through his red hair. He sighed happily. “And now to see Dr. Barsch about Mercyville,” he said. “Want to come along?”
Jean smiled and shook her head. “I want to, but I can’t. I’ve lots of work to do this morning.”
As Jean went the rounds of the floor, she eagerly waited for Dr. Benson to come back. She peeked in at Timmy, who was sitting up in bed gazing out of the window. Poor fellow, she thought. All recovered and no place to go! Or so he thinks! She waved to him and went down the hall. As she passed the operating room, she looked in. Sally and Hedda were cleaning it.
“Business here today?” Jean asked.
Sally shook her head. “No, but now that the pneumonia seems to have died down, we’re getting ready for the usual summer business. Operations don’t seem to respect the weather, and we haven’t had time to really clean up the right way for days!” She scrubbed the instrument case furiously.
Jean grinned and went down to the floor desk. She picked up the assignment chart and scanned it. Then, on impulse, she walked down to the nursery and looked at the youngest guests through the large glass window.
“Welcome to the world, people,” she cried happily.
Two red fists waved at her.
“Oh, you babies!” she cried. “I’d like to take you all home with me!”
“You would, would you?” Helen said, coming out of the nursery. “Well, I don’t blame you. You certainly sound happy!”
“I am!” Jean cried. “It’s contagious. I’ve just been with Dr. Benson.”
“Dr. Benson? Happy? At breakfast his chin was down to his knees!”
“Something’s happened,” Jean replied mysteriously. “At least it might happen.”
Before she could say more, Dr. Benson appeared, waving his hand.
“We’re in!” he cried. “Timmy can go out there any time.”
Jean turned around. “Just like that?”
The doctor paused to catch his breath. “I suggested to Dr. Barsch that we investigate the place. So right off he called Boston and some people in public aid that he knows. They gave Mercyville an A-number one rating. So then we called out there. And Mr. Henderson, who runs the place, simply said, ‘Bring him out. We’ll be glad to take him.’ Just like that!”
“Just like that!” Jean gasped.
“Well, their big problem is overcrowding. They can take only so many boys, Mr. Henderson said. But, you see, last month a lot of boys graduated from high school and will be going out to work or to college. So they have some room right now.”
Jean clasped her hands. “Now to tell Timmy. I hope he’ll want to go.”
Dr. Benson smacked his hands together. “Just leave Timmy to me.”
“When are you going to take him out?”
“Soon as I’m off duty,” he replied. “No use in hanging around here any longer. The boy’s perfectly well, you know.”
He whistled as he went down the hall towards Timmy’s room.
“We certainly have done that man an injustice,” Helen said, watching him go. “I feel like a heel, but I don’t know how to tell him so.”
Jean shook her head. “We don’t have to. I think he’ll get to like us better from now on.”