“Well, you certainly sound in better spirits from the other night when I spoke to you,” he said. “Would this oncologist have anything to do with it?”
“Geez, Dad, between you and Charles,” I said.
“Okay but I bet he’s handsome, right?” my dad asked, laughing. It astounded me how he could read me like a book, even when I was miles away.
I began to laugh. “Yes, he’s very handsome.”
“How did I guess that?”
I decided to get to my real reason for calling, the one that he was trying to avoid. “Have you gotten the results from the tests you had done?” I asked.
“Not yet,” he replied in a dismissing tone. “I’m fine. You have me on my way to the grave over a few little tests,” he added.
“I’m sorry if I’m being a nag, Dad, but I’m just worried about you,” I said.
“Well don’t worry, I’m fine, I promise you,” he said, sounding very reassuring.
“All right, I’m taking your word for it then,” I said.
We said our goodbyes and I hung up the phone still having a very uneasy feeling. I decided to take his word for it. I made the walk down the dark hallway to my room for some much needed sleep. I was hoping to hear the sound of the ocean in the far-off distance or some crickets chirping a familiar tune in my dreams.
Chapter 7
I was ready promptly by 7 a.m. and able to get myself together and out the door without waking Tricia. I was feeling a little jealous that I wasn’t able to sleep in myself. I timed it perfectly. I almost walked right into Julian, who was just exiting his hallway as well.
“Good morning,” he said. I couldn’t help but notice the small piece of toilet paper he had stuck to his face.
“Did we have a little trouble shaving this morning?” I joked.
He rolled his eyes at my sarcasm.
It always seemed much more laid back on Sundays, not the usual influx of people. It wasn’t as if there was less of a need for medical assistance just because it was Sunday. It was just an observation that I had made over the past few months of being here. This morning was unusually quiet, with hardly anyone around. Julian must have finally realized what day of the week it was due to the lack of chaos.
“Oh Kat, I’m sorry. I totally lost track of my days; it’s Sunday, isn’t it?” Sunday was the normal day off unless you were on call.
“That’s okay,” I said, reassuring him that I really did want to go as we walked out of the building.
The sun was just beginning to rise; it was one of the most breathtaking sights I had ever seen. The entire sky was lit up with different tones of yellow. I had no idea that so many shades even existed. The sky went gradually from dark to light in perfect unison. The trees in the background looked as if they were painted into a majestic picture of yellow hues. I could feel the heat coming from the sky already, even at this early hour. This was the first time that I had witnessed any of these sunrises since I had been here. I stood for a few more moments just taking it in, until Julian broke me from my awe-like state.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“No, I’m good,” I answered, reminding me of how stressed I was over eating my last power bar this morning.
“Are you ready or are you still looking at the sky?”
“Nope, I’m done, I just can’t imagine that something as beautiful as that exists in this place,” I said, looking up at the sky.
“What?” he asked in disbelief. “There are lots of beautiful things here.”
I found that pretty hard to believe. Besides this sunrise and him I hadn’t seen anything of beauty. All I saw was dust, dirt, depressing windowless buildings, and sickness everywhere you looked. If there was anything else then I had yet to see it. I had found that my whole attitude about this place was bad. I was counting the days until I could go home, but it seemed like when I spent time with Julian my outlook changed. Maybe that’s why this morning was the very first time I noticed the beautiful sunrise. There was just something about him. It wasn’t just his good looks. It was his personality, the way he carried himself, his carefree way. I found myself being drawn to him a little more each time I was in his presence. I was still doing my best to not give in to my feelings. Julian and I were just colleagues and I was going here with him for a learning experience – not for any other reason. I did my best to convince myself.
We arrived at the other village a lot quicker than the last time. Time always went by fast when I was talking uncontrollably, which I found myself doing again the whole ride there. I did manage to find out a little bit more about him in between my talking. His dad was a retired college professor and his mother was a teacher. He spent his childhood summers in Cape Cod with his grandparents. He was an avid baseball player and had many baseball scouts interested in him during high school. He injured his shoulder, requiring surgery and relinquishing any hopes of a career in baseball. He had his good grades and intense interest in medicine to fall back on. As I listened to him, I thought about how different his childhood was from mine. He had both parents raising him, a sister, and grandparents. He spent his summers away from home, which probably helped prepare him a lot better for being away. Just by listening to him I knew that things were a lot easier for his parents with putting him through college and medical school. Whereas my dad scrimped, saved, and worked every overtime shift possible to make sure that I had the best education possible. There was only one common parallel that I could see between us. His dream of becoming a baseball player was probably as great as mine to become a dancer. In turn, both of us opted for a career in medicine instead.
Even the dismal village from the other night looked a little brighter in the early morning light. Julian was immediately greeted by an African man and woman. The man was completely bald wearing tattered looking khaki pants and a white button up shirt that looked equally worn. The woman was dressed in a plain tan skirt with a white top.
The man approached Julian, clearly not knowing how to speak English. He began to speak in some dialect that I didn’t understand. Julian nodded and I wondered if he had really understood what the man was saying.
“Dr. Kiron,” the lady said with very broken English. “Thank you for saving my babies,” she squeezed his hand with tears in her eyes.
It then became clear that these were Rapula and Tau’s parents. I couldn’t imagine having one child with cancer. These poor people had two, in a third world country, totally dependent on the goodwill of others. Julian graciously accepted her appreciation. At the same time he warned her gently that there were still many obstacles to overcome. I listened to him explaining to this woman that there was still a chance that her boys might not make it. He had just the right balance of knowledge and compassion. The lady shook her head as if she understood but she didn’t want to hear that her boys might not pull through. This was so typical of any mother. I thought about the diversity in culture between this place and home. One thing remained the same, the love of a mother for their child. The woman thanked Julian once more before ending the conversation.
There seemed to be only two doctors as we entered the medical facility. They were running around crazily attending to patients. Julian immediately headed over to Rapula and Tau. I was feeling like I should assist one of the doctors with the influx of patients. I quickly retreated when Julian called me over.
“Rapula asked where the pretty doctor was,” Julian said, laughing.
“How do you know that he wasn’t referring to you?” I asked jokingly.
He smiled and shook his head. Rapula and Tau were in their beds just the same as the other day. There seemed to be more of a spark in their eyes. They both smiled in unison when I said hello. Julian talked to them, explaining what was going on in a very age appropriate manner. Neither of the boys was very happy when they heard they would be getting a few more rounds of chemotherapy. I couldn’t blame them for that.
There were more doctors and nurses beginning to enter the building. Almost every one of them came over to say hello to Julian, while he administered the chemotherapy. Both boys seemed very tired. They both fell into a sound sleep not too long after their treatment was done. Julian was satisfied that they would be okay. I was surprised when he started packing up his stuff to leave.
When we stepped outside, it was unusually beautiful. It was still hot, but oddly there wasn’t any humidity and not a cloud in the sky. I was surprised to see the amount of people out and about. There were a group of men helping out working on a hut. Five women were gathered around a common area all dressed in traditional African attire. All but one had a baby in what looked to be a papoose on their back. There were children everywhere running around playing tag or an unorganized game of soccer. I noticed that every one of them had a smile, unaware that there was a whole other world out there.
Julian tried to locate Rapula and Tau’s mother to give her an update on the boys. He stopped dead in his tracks upon seeing a group of children trying to have a wiffle ball game. I looked at him with confusion when he signaled for me to follow him. We walked over to where the kids were. He began to speak in a language that I clearly didn’t understand but the boy holding that bat did.
An older boy spoke up. “I speak English,” he said in a very strong accent. He worked as a translator as Julian asked them if they wanted to have a game. They all began to smile as the boy translated Julian’s request to them.
“Okay, tell them, boys versus girls,” Julian said.
He turned around to me while the kids began lining up in groups of boys and girls.
“Go ahead Kat, go with the girls,” he said with a very boyish smile.
“Oh, no I don’t play baseball,” I said, laughing.
“It’s not baseball, its wiffle ball,” he said as if it made a difference. “Come on, the teams will be uneven if you don’t play.” He sounded like a little kid trying to convince me.
“Fine, but don’t get mad when the girls beat the boys,” I said, grabbing the bat from his hand.
I hadn’t played wiffle ball since grammar school gym class. Aside from dancing and running I was far from athletic. I felt compelled to show this group of little girls that they could do anything the boys could do. I gained my confidence in that thought. I handed the bat to the first little girl in line. The boy who had been working as Julian’s translator was the pitcher. The little girl swung and missed the first pitch. All of the boys began to cheer. She fouled off the second pitch and pummeled the ball as the third pitch crossed over the plate.
“Run, Run,” I screamed as she rounded the bases with a huge smile on her face. The girls began to jump up and down, screaming with excitement as she crossed the makeshift home plate.
It was finally the last inning and the boys were winning 12 to 10. The girls had two runners on base and it was my turn to bat. Julian took the ball from the boy who had been pitching. He grinned as I swung and missed his first pitch.
“Come on, Kat, I gave that to you,” he yelled.
The second pitch was another swing and a miss. Julian shook his head, finding much delight in my poor wiffle ball skills. As I waited for him to throw the third pitch I repeated over and over, you can do it, keep your eye on the ball. At least that’s what I thought you were supposed to do. As the third pitch came over the plate I followed my advice and heard the crack of the bat hitting the ball. I stopped to watch the ball as it flew past everyone’s head. I gave Julian a great big teasing smile when I finally crossed home plate. Final score: girl’s 13 - boys 12.
“What’s the final score Julian?” I teased.
“That was luck,” he said, handing the ball to one of the boys.
I was approached by a little girl who spoke pretty good English. “Thank you, pretty lady,” she said with a huge smile.
My heart melted seeing how appreciative these kids were. I sat with the group of girls while Julian continued on his quest to find Rapula and Tau’s mother. The little girls flocked around me, making me feel like royalty. The little girl who had spoken some English sat down beside me.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Saada,” she said, smiling.
“How old are you?” I asked.
“Twelve,” she replied. “Are you a doctor?”
“Yup,” I answered.
She looked at me with admiration. “Can I braid your hair?”
“Sure,” I answered.
I sat quietly relaxing and taking in the warm sun until she finished. I handed her the elastic ponytail holder that was on my wrist to hold the braid in place. I touched the back of my head trying to get an idea of what my new hairdo was. It felt like a very loose French braid. It felt good to have my hair off my neck.
“Is he your boyfriend?” Saada asked, giggling as Julian appeared.
“No, just a friend,” I answered.
“He’s cute,” she whispered.
“I know,” I whispered back.
“I think he’s cute too,” Saada said, pointing to a boy who looked to be about her age standing off by himself.
“Well, I think you should go tell him,” I said confidently.
She began to laugh nervously and bashfully shrugged her shoulders.
“You’ll never know if you don’t try,” I said convincingly.
She looked at me without saying a word and marched over to where the boy was standing. I watched intently, ignoring Julian as he came over to ask if I was ready. He quickly became interested in what was going on as well. I admired the confidence that she displayed as she whispered in the boy’s ear. I actually felt myself getting nervous for her wondering how he would respond. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw him hug her before he went running off with a group of boys. Her smile was a mile wide as she ran back to me. My smile must have been just as big as hers. I couldn’t believe how excited I was over watching this first crush unfold.
“I told you he would like you,” I said.
“Thank you, pretty lady,” she said giving me a great big hug.
“You’re welcome Saada.” I hugged her her back.
“You should tell him,” she said, pointing to Julian.