Jean grinned in spite of herself. “A man with your intelligence could make a fortune quickly in business ... real estate, for example. But of course you chose medicine, and now you’re going to tell me you have to pay back your parents’ financial investment by going through with it.”
Dr. Benson set his jaw. “My parents! That’s a laugh. I’ll tell you a secret, Miss Craig. My fairy godmother sent me through school.”
Jean looked at him in amazement. “I don’t understand,” she said.
Dr. Benson smiled bitterly. “I think you do. You all do. I’m not good enough for you and your friends to date. I am the bright young boy from the other side of the tracks, didn’t you know? I’m the guy who sent himself through school. Why, I was out on the streets of New York peddling papers, shining shoes ... doing anything I could to support my parents, when I was just a kid.”
Jean gasped. “Really, none of us knew. We didn’t have any idea...!” she cried. “You were just so ... so fresh!”
Dr. Benson sighed. “Okay,” he said. “Skip it.”
“It really was awful of you to take Lucy out and talk all evening about me,” Jean said softly.
“I suppose I should have talked about what I really was interested in. Then you all could have had a real laugh!”
Jean frowned. “Now listen, Dr. Benson,” she said coldly, “I think you’ve got things completely mixed up. If you weren’t so busy feeling sorry for yourself, you might have noticed what we really are like here.”
The doctor set his jaw and mimicked her voice as he said, “All right, what are we all like here?”