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.