Kate and Adam showed up that afternoon, carrying two large
platters of fresh fruit—pineapple, kiwi, firm and juicy grapes,
cantaloupe that was actually ripe, and the best part, strawberries
dipped in chocolate. They laid the platters on the front desk of
the nurses’ station. Those who weren’t busy with patients flocked
around, oohing and aahing at the colorful presentation. The
smell of fresh pineapple was mouthwatering.
“Finally, someone thought to bring us something other than
doughnuts.”
Everyone laughed. One of the nurses called for Kim to come
to the front; there was something here for her. Curious, she
walked to the desk and saw Kate, Adam, and Sophie standing
next to the desk with the fruit.
“Oh my God!” Kim gave all three a hug. “Thank you so
much! You have no idea how much we all appreciate something
other than doughnuts.” She popped a strawberry in her mouth
and licked her lips. “Yum.”
The crowd of staff around the desk broke up, each taking a
small plate of fruit with them back to their pods. Sophie, Adam,
and Kate walked to Pod C.
Christy from the next pod over popped her head in, said,
“Thank you guys for the fruit!” and then ducked back out, retreat
ing to her pod.
A doctor carrying a big black case, with a contraption on his
head that made him look like a coal miner, walked in behind Kim.
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“The ophthalmologist is here for Danny’s eye exam. Sophie,
you all can wait in the parents’ lounge until he’s done.”
Sophie and Adam had been told early on, by one of the neo
natologists, that all preemies got routine eye exams. Just like
every other organ in their bodies, their eyes were still immature.
Danny would need regular eye exams to be sure that his vision
would be okay.
“No, I need to stay with him,” Sophie said.
“That’s not a good idea. Believe me, you really don’t want to
watch.”
“Why?”
“I’ve dilated Danny’s eyes with drops so that the doctor can
look into his pupils. That way he can see all the way into the
back of his eyeball to evaluate his optic nerve and retina. But
he needs Danny to keep his eyes open for the exam. He uses a
mini retractor to hold his eyelids open. It’s not pretty. But don’t
worry,” she reassured Sophie with a pat on her shoulder, “I’ll be
with him the whole time.”
“Come on, Sophie,” Kate said. “Let’s go wait somewhere else.”
They took the elevator down. Sophie googled eye exams on
preemies. “Yeah, I think Kim was right. I don’t need to see that. I
just want to know the results.”
The cafeteria line was long, as doctors, nurses, and visitors
waited for food. The trio took up their places at the back of the
line. A group of young men and women walked by, chatting and
joking together. Intern was printed in big letters across their
hospital IDs.
Sophie’s stomach lurched. She tugged on Adam’s sleeve.
“Hey, those are the guys that were in Dr. Sheldon’s lab.”
Adam turned to see where she was pointing, but by the time
he looked, they were lost in a sea of blue and green scrubs.
They found an empty table in a corner of the cafeteria.
On the wall was a poster of an adorable chubby baby face with
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shining blue eyes looking at the camera. The caption below read:
BrainHealth—Good for Your Baby, Good for You.
Sophie glanced at it, then turned to Kate and Adam.
“Sophie, are you going to say anything about what you saw in
Dr. Sheldon’s office? Have you even mentioned it to Rihanna?”
Kate asked.
“No, for now, I’m not saying a word to anyone. I may men
tion it to Rihanna eventually, but she’s got enough on her plate
right now.”
“But why aren’t you reporting what you saw?”
“Because, for one thing, I’m not even sure what was going on
in there. I can’t prove anything. It could have just been a circum
cision, I don’t know. And for another thing, Dr. Wagner made it
perfectly clear that I should mind my own business. I don’t want
to test him.”
“So that’s it? Case closed. Pretend you didn’t see anything?”
Kate blew on her steaming coffee.
“For now, that’s the way I’m playing it,” Sophie answered
firmly.
“Adam, what do you think?”
“I’m with Sophie one hundred percent. I don’t want to risk
anything happening to Danny. I don’t know what Dr. Wagner
thinks he can do, but I don’t want to find out. And as Sophie
said, what would she say? ‘I saw them put a probe into a baby’?
Who’s going to buy that? Especially when, during the day, his lab
is a plain old office.”
“You know, Kate,” Sophie turned to her sister and said in an
edgy voice, “what would you do? What would you do if your criti
cally ill baby was at the mercy of some doctors—doctors who you
saw doing something you weren’t sure about but had the feeling
wasn’t right? I can’t report something I’m not able to prove. Tell
me, what would you do?” Sophie’s voice rose. “Risk your baby’s
life? Go to someone you don’t know and trust them to hopefully
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do something about it?” Glaring at her sister, she shouted, “Well?
What would you do?”
Nurses at the next table turned and looked.
Kate was stunned. Sophie took a deep breath, trying to calm
her trembling nerves, as Adam put his arm around her.
Sophie lowered her voice. “I’m sorry, Kate. I didn’t mean to
yell. But I don’t know what the fuck to do!” She looked helplessly
at Adam as he tried to hide his surprise at her outburst.
“It’s okay, babe. We’ll figure it out.”
Kate added, “Sophie, I can’t even imagine what you’re feel
ing. I’m the one who should apologize for pushing like that.”
“No, it’s okay. Anyhow, Adam and I are focused more on
Dr. Wagner. He’s the one responsible. We need to nail him, not
only for what he’s done to our lives but for the other mothers
too.”
As she calmed down, Sophie continued, “Kim has warned
me about Dr. Wagner. She knows Adam and I are suspicious of
him causing Danny’s early delivery. She said if I’m thinking of
messing with him, I better know what I’m doing. She told me
about a time he screwed over one of the charge nurses. He took
two doses of morphine from the narcotics box, which threw
off the narcotics count. It’s a big deal if any doses are missing,
and it’s ultimately the charge nurse’s responsibility. Everybody
knew it was Mitch who took the two doses, but they weren’t
sure whether he was playing a joke or getting revenge. If she
had done something to piss him off, that was his way of getting
back at her. It got to the point that she got fired for his prank.”
Kate’s eyes opened wide. “Are you serious?”
“Yup. And he didn’t do a damn thing to help her.”
Thirty minutes later, they were back in the NICU, waiting to
hear what the ophthalmologist had to say.
“To be honest, I’m a little concerned. Your son will need
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close follow-up. I’ll plan to do another exam next week. Kim,
could you be sure he’s dilated? Same time.”
“What do you mean ‘concerned’?” Sophie interrupted.
“It means that his eyes aren’t developing as they should. His
vision will probably be affected, but that could change. I’ll be
back next week.” He packed up his equipment and left without
another word. Mr. Personality, Sophie thought to herself.
Kate headed out to do some shopping, and Adam went back to
school to teach his last class of the day. Sophie went down to
the chapel. She noticed a man sitting in the back row with his
head bowed. He wore a large winter overcoat and glasses tinted a
dark shade, even though he was inside. He had a long, unkempt
mustache that had turned mostly gray.
She eyed him as she walked to her usual seat up front. She
prayed for Danny’s eyes to be okay. She tried to keep her sniffling
quiet so she wouldn’t disturb the man. When it was time for her
to leave, the man turned to watch her as she walked by
