The next morning, Sophie made an appointment with Mr.
Charles Buckley, in administration. His secretary said he could
squeeze her in at eleven o’clock, briefly. He had an extremely
busy day.
Mr. Buckley came out to greet Sophie and motioned for her
to follow him into his office. On the way down the hall, Sophie
noticed an office that ran the full length of the hall. The shades
were pulled down. On the door was a sign: WMI – Westchester
Medical Industries.
Once they were both seated, he asked, “What can I do for
you, Mrs. Young?”
“Mr. Buckley, I’d like to talk to you about a complaint I have.
It’s about Dr. Wagner.”
He frowned and raised an eyebrow, then invited her to
explain.
“During my delivery, which, by the way, was fourteen weeks
early, Dr. Wagner touched me in an inappropriate way.”
“What do you mean by inappropriate?”
“He was touching me in areas that were not part of the birth
canal.” Sophie felt her face turning red. “And he touched me in
a creepy way. My regular doctor never did that.”
“Explain ‘creepy,’ please, Mrs. Young.” He was twirling a pen
in his hand.
“Well . . .” she started, embarrassed to say this out loud to a
man she didn’t even know. “He had his fingers up high, in all the
54
JULIE HATCH
wrong places, which, if you know your female anatomy, is not
where the baby comes out.”
“Go on,” Mr. Buckley said, jiggling his pen up and down.
“His hands . . .” She thought back to the time of her labor.
“It brought back some difficult memories, and I found it terribly
awkward and just plain wrong.”
“Mrs. Young, you were delivering a baby. Of course he’s going
to be down in that area. He was probably doing what he needed
in order to open your birth canal to help the baby out.”
Bastard, thought Sophie. He’s patronizing me.
“My baby weighed two pounds. I was working to keep him
inside and not coming out. My birth canal didn’t need any help.”
“I’m sorry to hear this, Mrs. Young. Your hormones must be
wreaking havoc with you.” Oh please.
“But I assure you, I take every complaint seriously, and I will
certainly look into it right away. Usually, complaints are simply a
matter of miscommunication.”
He tossed the pen on his desk as he looked at his watch and
stood up. “I’ll work on this and get back to you in a day or two.
Again, I’m sorry for your experience and that you felt the need
to report Dr. Wagner. But I understand you have to do what you
feel is right.”
Sophie forced a smile as she stood and shook Mr. Buckley’s
hand. “Thank you, Mr. Buckley.”
She left his office, trying not to slam the door in frustration.
She leaned against the hallway wall and sighed heavily. Hor
mones? Really? She knew her complaint would go nowhere. She
could tell Mr. Buckley didn’t believe her and that her word against
Dr. Wagner’s was like David fighting Goliath. What is it with these
men? They’re supposed to be responsible physicians in charge of wom
en’s health. Instead, they’re arrogant, condescending asses with a penis
between their legs. She smiled at her snarky description.
Turning to find the elevator, she saw a group of men dressed
55
THE VERY BEST OF CARE
in suits walking out of the WMI office. Leading the group was Dr.
Wagner. She ducked behind a corner and counted to ten. When
she stepped out from behind the corner, Dr. Wagner was looking
directly at her. She lowered her head and walked down the hall
in the opposite direction
