The Sunflower: A Novel Read Free Page A

Paul said, then turned to the woman who was clearly embarrassed by her husband’s temper. “Hi, I’m Dr. Cook. How did you hurt yourself?”
    “I was carrying my boy out to the curb when I slipped on some ice. I think it’s broken.”
    He examined her leg. An enormous bruise blackened her ankle, which was swollen to almost twice its normal size. He felt around it, pressing in spots. “Does that hurt?”
    “Yes.”
    “And here?”
    “Ow! Yes.”
    “Sorry.” He turned to Ken. “Let’s get a complete set of X-rays on this.” He said to the woman. “I’m guessing that you have a type A fracture of the fibula. In English that means you’ve broken your leg. But we’ll need X-rays to be sure. Have they given you anything for the pain?”
    “No.”
    “Are you allergic to anything?”
    “Valium.”
    He lifted the chart and wrote on it. “Ken, let’s give her ten milligrams of morphine with fifty milligrams of Phenergan IM.” He touched her arm. “I’ll see you when I get the X-rays back.”
    “Hey! You’re not leaving?” the man said.
    “There’s nothing I can do until I see the pictures. But Ken will take good care of your wife for now.”
    The woman flushed but said nothing. The man grumbled as they walked out.
    “Sweet guy,” Paul said. “Let me know when the pics are up.”
    “You got it.”
    “And take this, please.” He handed the chart to Ken, then walked back to room H. The young woman smiled as he entered.
    “I told you I’d be back. Are you numb?”
    She nodded. “As a brick.”
    He smiled at her choice of words. “Good. The miracle of Xylocaine—greatest discovery since the bikini.” He took a suture pack from the cupboard. “Let’s sew you up and get you out of here.” He sat down next to her and pulled on some latex gloves. “All right, lay your hand on this.” He guided her hand over to a padded armrest. “Just relax. First I’m going to apply a small tourniquet. Fingers tend to bleed a lot and that makes it hard for me to see.” He rolled a small rubber ring down her finger. “You’ll feel some pressure, a little tugging, but you shouldn’t feel any pain.” He hooked the needle through the flap of flesh. She jerked.
    He looked up. “Did you feel that?”
    “Sorry. I’m just a little jumpy.”
    “Try to hold still.”
    “Sorry.”
    He hooked the needle through the opposite flesh and tied the first stitch.
    “How many stitches will this take?”
    “Six or seven.” He sensed her anxiety. “You’re a florist?”
    “Yes.”
    “Where do you work?”
    “Hyde Floral. It’s just a few miles from here, on Ninth.”
    “Across from the Honda dealership.”
    “Right.”
    “I’ve bought your flowers before.”
    “Cool. Your next order’s on me.”
    “Thank you. What’s your name?”
    “Lily Rose.”
    He looked up. “Really?”
    “I know. It was my grandmother’s name. Lillian Rose. I get razzed about it every day at work. I guess I’m in the wrong line of work.”
    “Or the right one.” He pulled a thread up and tied it. “It’s nice to meet you, Lily. Though next time we’ll meet at your place.”
    “No argument here.”
    “Whom were you cooking for?”
    “My family. We get together once a year to remind ourselves why we stay away from each other the rest of the year. If you’re off soon, you’re welcome to join us.”
    He smiled. “Tempting.”
    “It would make my mother’s Christmas. She’s always wanted me to bring home a doctor. And a handsome one at that.”
    Paul smiled. “Thank you.”
    Just then Kelly stepped into the room. “Doctor, paramedics are in transit. We have a child with respiratory distress.”
    He continued suturing. “Where’s Doctor Garrity?”
    “We had a code blue on the floor. A woman went into arrest while delivering a baby.”
    “What’s the ETA?”
    “About two minutes.”
    “Is the child still conscious?”
    “Yes.”
    “What’s his oxygen saturation?”
    “It’s dropping. It was eighty-eight