The nurse began a long tale about her boyfriend. I was tempted to ask what a boyfriend is but realized I was probably not supposed to know the answer. At the grand age of six I already knew many important things. One: doctors like poking people. Two: parents don’t like explaining things.
It had been a long year filled with overweight balding doctors starting with that eye doctor in a pink shirt who looked into my eye and gasped and ending with this meeting: six doctors in one room. With six pairs of eyes staring at me I was happy to escape the room with Tracy who informed me that she was a student nurse. I happily told her I was a student too.
She kept shoving toys at me. I wanted to tell her I was way too old for toys but finally I consented to taking a battered doll. The doll was missing an eye and her cold stiffness made me nervous. I wished there was a teddy there. Teddies are way friendlier than dolls.
I was already a good eavesdropper. I knew that many people asked my parents why I was so thin and delicate usually ending the conversation with a recommendation for a diet of potatoes. Now I tried hard to listen through the door to the conversation that was definitely about me. ButTracywas on guard and I couldn’t get close enough to hear. I distracted myself by wondering if the doctor could fix this poor doll’s eye and by analyzing the scribbles onTracy’s hand. “It’s just blue pen I like to work out math problems on my hand” she reassured me. I informed her that in my school they gave us paper to scribble on.
