- 2.
I put the phone on speaker right away.
“Honey…”
“What the hell is wrong with you? Why are
く
you blowing up my phone? I told you I’m
working late! I’m busy. Leave me alone!”
“Honey, Carrie fell and she’s bleeding bad.
She’s in surgery right now. Where are you?”
There was a pause, then a sugary sweet voice
came on the line.
“Looks like your wife’s checking up on you!
Honey, your coworkers might get the wrong
idea. And you shouldn’t say those things to
Tom. You’re being too evil.”
“No, I’m not. Tom, Carrie’s really in surgery.
You can…”
“Get off it! You can’t even come up with a
good excuse. Carrie’s at her in–laws‘ house,
how could she fall? If this affects my chances
<
for a promotion at the end of the year, I
swear, I’ll kill you!”
He hung up before I could say another word.
The murmuring outside the operating room
went silent.
I smiled sadly, trying to look devastated.
Susan avoided my eyes. A look of
embarrassment flashed across Carol’s face,
and she didn’t say anything.
Carrie’s in–laws looked disgusted and sighed
at each other.
Just then, the operating room door burst
open. A nurse ran out, looking panicked. “The
patient’s having an amniotic fluid embolism!
You’re Doctor Chen’s family, right? Who can
get ahold of him, ASAP!”
My eyes flickered. Everything was playing out
exactly like last time.
Susan’s legs gave out and she collapsed on
the floor.
Carol couldn’t pretend she didn’t care.
anymore. She started calling Tom, muttering,
“It’ll be okay, Tom’s the best doctor. He’s
saved other patients with embolisms. He can
save Carrie!”
The golden window to save someone with an
amniotic fluid embolism is only like fifteen
minutes. It’s a race against time. Tom had
saved five patients in the last three years and
only lost one.
Г
That’s how he became the head of the OB-
GYN department.
Carol finally got through.
She started crying, “Tom, you need to get to
the hospital! Your sister’s having an
embolism, you’re the only one who can save
her!”
I could hear kids screaming and laughing in
the background, along with the sound of
people toasting.
“Aunt Carol, is my wife crazy, or are you too? I work my butt off for her 365 days a year. Can’t I have one day to myself? And Bethany and I are just friends! I’m just having dinner
with her family! Can you please just give me a
ابلمحط
break!”
“Tom, I’m not lying! Your sister really is in
trouble! It’s an emergency, you need to get
here now! Please, you’ll regret it if you don’t!”
“I’ll regret it if I do!” Tom said coldly, without
a hint of emotion.
Susan was losing it. She grabbed the phone
and screamed, “Son, your aunt’s not lying!
Your sister’s in the hospital! You have to
come back, now! You can’t let your sister
die!”
I sighed. I thought Susan was a horrible
person for covering for Tom’s affair.
But for Carrie, she was a good mom.
く
“Tom, did you hear your mother! You have to
come back now!” Carol was freaking out.
“Mom, you…” Tom sounded hesitant.
“Oh my god! Tom, my eyes! My eyes hurt
really bad!”
Bethany’s whiny voice cried out, along with
the sound of someone scolding a child.
“Why did you throw that marble at Aunt
Bethany’s face!”
Then Tom’s voice, full of concern, “Bethany,
are you okay? Don’t move, I’m a doctor, let
me take a look.”
Then Tom turned to the phone, his voice icy,
“Mom stop acting Even if you’re telling the
“Mom, stop acting. Even if you’re telling the
truth, it doesn’t matter. I had a few drinks, so
I can’t drive. I’m not coming back.”
Then he hung up.
The phone slipped out of her hand and
crashed to the floor. Susan’s head hit the
ground with a thud.
Carol knelt on the floor, tears streaming down.
her face, muttering, “What happened to Tom?
How could he do this? How could he choose
some girl over his own family? He’s a
monster.”
I helped Susan up, but I didn’t feel bad for her
at all.
After what felt like forever, the operating
room doors opened again.
“I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”
