Sunday, September 20, 2009

When I entered the house, I couldn’t believe that people lived here. The stench made my stomach heave; the smell was so overwhelming I couldn’t even distinguish what it was. As I walked through the kitchen, dirty dishes overflowed the sink and side boards. Dirty matted cats were on the counter eating off them. The bathroom was even worse. On the floor was evidence that someone had not made it to the toilet on more than one occasion. As I entered the living room, a grimy thin man laid on the couch.

“Sir, what’s going on today?”
“Who are you?”
“Sir, My name is Sally and my partner Jim and I are with the ambulance, and we’re here because your daughter called us.”
“She did? What the hell did she do that for?”
“She’s worried about you, is it okay if I call you John or do you prefer Mr. Doe?”
“John’s fine, but you ain’t gonna be here long enough to use it missy.”
“Okay John, but your daughter would like to have a doctor look at you. She’s really worried about you. She says you haven’t been taking care of yourself since your wife died.”
Well if she’s so damn worried, why ain’t she here herself? Last I knew she could still drive.”
“John, I’m not sure why she couldn’t come today, but she felt it was really important that you go see a doctor. How are you feeling today?”
“I’m feeling just fine, ain’t been sick a day in my life.”
“Are you eating okay, John? My partner says your refrigerator is pretty empty.”
“I eat just fine, just haven’t had much of an appetite without Jane here to cook anymore.”
“Well John, if you would take a ride into the hospital with us, I could give you a check up on the way in, and the doctor could give you an even better one when we get there.”
“If the doc can give me a better one than you, why would I bother to go with you?”
“Good question, I’m cute, I’m fun to talk to and you might even like me by the time we get there.”
“You ain’t leaving here till you get me to go with you are ya?”
“Well sir, I can’t force you to go with me, but I have ten hours left to work, so the quickest way to get rid of me is to go to the hospital with me.”
Alright, just let me get my coat and cane, since you got ten hours you oughtta be able to wait for that, hadn’t ya?”

I hid a little grin as he headed down the hall to get his stuff. This man wasn’t sick; he was just lonely and needed some outside help. Maybe it wasn’t the call of the century, but I would certainly go home in the morning feeling as if I had made a difference.

1 comment:

  1. You do a lovely job showing John breaking down your professional reserve and forcing you to respond personally. It's a hard trick to catch a character and portray it so it sticks--but you get it all right here.

    Just read it to my wife--she's LOLing!

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