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“I knew her in high school.”
“Barely,” Dad pointed out. “I say let her be. You gave her advice, that’s all you can do. A doctor can only do so much.”
His dad gave Mom a kiss and headed out the back door. “I’ll see you after work. Love you.”
“Your dad has a point,” Mom said after Dad left. “I understand you’re worried about Amanda, but it’s her decision to make.”
“Maybe I can ask Dr. Bloom to talk to her,” Gene said.
“Wouldn’t that violate her privacy?”
“Dr. Bloom is her primary doctor. I could just express my concern without giving details. He could examine her himself and make his own suggestion.”
“He still can’t order her to come for an examination if she doesn’t want to.”
Annoyed by his mother’s argument, Gene glared at her.
“We probably should be able to because obviously most people brush off their issues until it’s a life and death situation. And then they expect us to play god and save them.”
Mom studied him with concern in her eyes.
“Gene, what’s wrong, honey? You’re not quite yourself.”
Gene pushed back his chair and stood abruptly.
“I’m tired of not being able to help people, either from an illness, an injury, or themselves! When certain things can be avoided with some caution or forethought. Like Amanda getting a CT will ease my mind. If there’s nothing, then we can all breathe easier. She won’t have to worry about future complications. But what if there is something? A swelling or bleeding?”
“Why didn’t you suggest a CT right after the accident?” Mom asked calmly.
“I did, but she refused, remember? She didn’t want to incur more cost. Since she didn’t exhibit any concerning symptoms of a head injury, I let her do what she wanted. I know how medical bills can bankrupt people. I wasn’t going to force her to go to the hospital unless it was an emergency.”
Gene took a deep breath and exhaled audibly to clear his head.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I don’t mean to lay this on you.”
“That’s all right.” She stood and patted his cheek like when he was a child. “It’s more than Amanda, isn’t it? It’s why you’ve been listless this past year?”
Gene could only shrug.
“Well, the health system is beyond my power,” Mom said. “But I can tell you’ve come to care about Amanda a lot in a brief period. Honestly, the possibility of you becoming attached to her makes me happy.”
“Mom, we just met,” Gene automatically protested.
His mother lifted her hands in surrender. “A mother can hope. I’d be lucky to have a woman like Amanda for a daughter-in-law.”
“Oh, my god.” Gene looked to the heavens.
She’s marrying us already?
“Hey, listen.” Mom patted his chest for his attention. “All kidding aside, I know you care about her, then you need to remember this: she’s not something for you to fix.”
“What?”
“As a doctor, especially in your ER, you’re geared to fix problems. If something’s broken, you mend it. If there isn’t an obvious reason for a problem, you want to figure it out,” Mom said. “You’ve always been like that since you were a child.”
“What are you getting at?”
“You obviously consider Amanda’s claim about this mysterious girl as an issue you need to solve.” Mom smiled at his confused face. “To her, finding the girl is the issue. When you suggested she might’ve confabulated the memory, you made her the problem to fix.”
