Her father handed her mother the tablets and lifted her just a bit so that she could drink the water. "Clara, please go and find a doctor who will come to the house. It will be hard to find one, so bribe him, plead with him, do anything to get him here."
Clara nodded, and on the way out the door she grabbed her purse and cloak.
She went to two different doctors. Neither was willing to come to their home. They both said that they were no longer able to make house calls. The second, Dr. Woods, told her of young doctor living over on Court Street and suggested she try him.
By the time she reached the house, she was out of breath. Clara knocked frantically on the door. When it opened, words escaped her. She stared at him, her mind paralyzed. I know him. Finally the doctor cleared his throat and said, "Can I help you?" His brown hair was disheveled and his beautiful brown eyes were bloodshot, with dark circles beneath them. She shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts and remembered why she was there.
"I need you… I need you to come to my home. My mother is ill and I need your help." When he hesitated, she begged, "Please, we don't have much time. She was burning up with fever when I left her. I'm fairly certain it is the influenza."
"I'm sorry, I can't. Try another doctor." He started to close the door but Clara forced herself partially inside so he would have to push her out to get rid of her.
"Look, I've been to two other doctors. One was sick himself and the other was already taking care of too many patients. He told me to come here, because would help me."
"Well, he was wrong." He tried to close the door again.
She held firm and ignored the tears she knew were rolling down her cheeks. "How can you call yourself a doctor?"
"I've been asking myself that same question for days now."
Clara let out the breath she was holding. She grabbed the front of his shirt. "Listen, I don't know what's troubling you and frankly right now I don't give a tinker's damn. You will come with me now. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"
He blinked. "Ahem, well, since you put it that way, let me just change my clothes and grab my bag and I'll go with you. It will just take me a…"
"I don't have time for you to change your clothes. Just grab your damn bag and let's get going." Her mother would be mortified if she heard the words coming out of her mouth right now. Clara thought she heard him mumble something as he turned to pick up his bag. She didn't care. Whatever it took to get a doctor to their house was all that was important. She'd settle up with God later and beg forgiveness. No one else would know or need to know about her current behavior.
Using forbidden words and giving orders gave her a sense of power. She liked it.
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