The deputy chief medical examiner’s office was sited next to the chief’s much larger one near the building’s front entrance. At that time, prior to eight, the secretaries had yet to arrive, and Laurie had to announce herself.
“Come on in!” Calvin said when he saw Laurie at his door. “Whatever is on your mind, make it fast. I’m due down at City Hall.” Calvin was an enormous African-American who could have played in the NFL had he not been quite so interested in studying medicine when he graduated from college. With his ability to intimidate combined with a stormy temperament and streak of perfectionism, he was a very effective administrator. Despite the OCME being a city agency, things got done and got done efficiently under Calvin Washington, M.D.
“Sorry to bother you so early in the day,” Laurie began, “but I’m afraid Jack and I have a kind of emergency.”
“Uh-oh,” Calvin intoned, as he gathered the material he needed to take to the mayor’s office. “Why do I get the feeling I might have to do without my two most productive pathologists. Okay, give me the short version of the problem!”
Laurie cleared her throat. “Do you remember that young girl, Jennifer Hernandez, whom I invited here fourteen years ago?”
“How can I forget. I was totally against it, and somehow I let you talk me into it. Then it turned out to be one of the best things this office has ever done. Has it been fourteen years? Good lord!”
“It has been that long. In fact, Jennifer is graduating this coming spring from UCLA Medical School.”
“That’s terrific. I loved that kid.”
“She sends her regards.”
“Likewise,” Calvin said. “Laurie, you have to pick up the pace. I’ve got to be out that door five minutes ago.”
Laurie told the story of Maria Hernandez’s death and Jennifer’s difficulty trying to deal with the body. She also told Calvin how Maria had been like a mother, not only to Jennifer but to herself as well from infancy to early teens, and concluded by saying that she and Jack wanted to go to India and needed a week to do so.
“My condolences,” Calvin said. “I certainly can understand your wish to show your respects, but I’m not sure I understand why Jack has to go. To lose both of you at the same time puts us under a degree of strain unless we have significant warning.”
“The reason Jack has to go is actually unrelated to the Hernandez death,” Laurie explained. “Jack and I have been undergoing infertility treatment for about eight months. Currently, I’m in a cycle where I have been injecting myself with high levels of hormones, and within days I’ll be giving myself the follicle-releasing shot. At that point—”
“Okay, okay!” Calvin exclaimed, stopping Laurie in midsentence. “I get it. Fine! You guys take your week. We’ll manage.” Calvin picked up his briefcase.
“Thank you, Dr. Washington,” Laurie said. She felt a shiver of excitement. The trip was really going to happen. She followed the deputy chief out of his office.
“Give me a call when you’ll be returning to work,” Calvin called over his shoulder on his way to the front door.
“Will do,” Laurie called back, as she headed for the elevators.
“One more thing,” Calvin called, halfway out the door, keeping it open with his butt. “Give me a souvenir; get pregnant.” With that he left, and the door swung shut.
Like the arrival of a sudden summer storm, a cloud swept over Laurie’s nascent excitement. Calvin’s last comment infuriated her. Turning back to the elevator, she let loose a barrage of expletives. With all the pressure she’d been putting on herself to get pregnant and the despondency it engendered, she didn’t need more. For her, Calvin’s weighing in on the issue was akin to sexual discrimination. After all, he wasn’t about to put equivalent pressures on Jack.
Inside the elevator, she slammed the fifth-floor button with the heel of her fist. She could not believe how insensitive men could be. It was inexcusable.
Then, almost as soon as the fury had arrived, it dissipated. Sudden clairvoyance made Laurie know it was the hormones at work again, similar to her response last night with Jack and in the grocery store with the elderly woman. What surprised and embarrassed her was the speed with which such episodes took place. There wasn’t time to be rational.
Once back in her office and feeling more in control of her emotions, Laurie put in a call to her friend Shirley Schoener. She knew it was a good time, because Shirley set aside eight to nine as the time to be available for phone and e-mail communication with her infertility patients. She answered immediately.
Knowing other patients would be calling, Laurie got right down to business, telling Shirley that she and Jack were leaving for India that evening and why.
“I’m jealous,” Shirley responded. “You are going to find it so... interesting.”
“That’s how someone would describe something he or she didn’t like but felt the need to be diplomatic about,” Laurie responded.
“It’s just that it is difficult to characterize your response to India,” Shirley explained. “The country evokes such a wide range of emotions; it makes simple, generic descriptions useless. But I loved it!”
“We’re not going to have time to really see India,” Laurie said. “It’s going to be in and out, I’m afraid.”
“It doesn’t matter. India is so full of contradictions all over that you’ll sense what I’m talking about irrespective of how long you are there and no matter whether you go to Delhi, Mumbai, or Kolkata. It’s so complex. I was there a year ago for a medical conference, and I just haven’t been the same since. There’s sublime beauty and urban ugliness all mixed together. There’s extreme wealth and the most wrenching poverty you can imagine. I tell you, it takes your breath away. It’s impossible not to be affected by it.”
“Well, we’ll certainly keep our eyes open, but we’re going to be there to deal with Maria Hernandez’s death. But we have to deal with my cycle as well.”
“My goodness,” Shirley exclaimed. “In my enthusiasm about India, I momentarily forgot about that. I feel so positive about this cycle; I don’t want you to go away. I won’t be able to take any credit for when you get pregnant, which I think you are going to do.”
“Now, don’t you put any extra pressure on me,” Laurie said with a chuckle. She related her recent reaction to Calvin’s innocent comment.
“And you were the woman who doubted you’d have a problem with hormones!” Shirley laughed.
“Don’t remind me. But I really didn’t think I would. PMS was never the bother that it is with some of the people I know.”
“So we are going to need you to be seen by someone in New Delhi the first full day after you arrive. We don’t want to take any risk of hyperstimulation.”
“That’s the reason I’m calling. Do you know anyone in New Delhi you could recommend?”
“Lots,” Shirley responded. “Thanks to my having been there for that meeting, I’m in contact with a number. Indian medicine is quite advanced, more than most people realize. I know at least a half-dozen docs I’d feel comfortable recommending for you to see. Any specific requirements, like male or female, or any particular location in the city?”
“What might be handy is if any of those you recommend are associated with the Queen Victoria Hospital,” Laurie said. “It might be helpful to know someone on the staff when we’re dealing with the administration.”
“I couldn’t agree more. I tell you what. I’ll make some calls right now. It’s around quarter-to-six in the evening in Delhi, which is a perfect time. I could e-mail, too, but I think telephoning and talking directly will be better, and I don’t seem to have any incoming calls.”