"Dr Epstein...my little Stefanie is not well, I think it's a stomach bug...would you examine her? She's very scared of hospitals but seeing as she knows you I thought a friendly face might put her mind at ease"
"Certainly" said Julia, looking at Stefanie. "Come on, follow me...I know the most comfortable bed in this hospital is available and if we're quick we can get it before anyone else!" Turning to Francesca she said "Don't worry, I've got it from here"
Julia led Stefanie to the room where the little girl changed into her pyjamas. Julia began her examination.
"So where's it hurting you?" she asked. Stefanie pointed to her stomach. "I see, let's just feel around the area and tell me if you feel any soreness when I press down"
The girl winced when Julia pressed around the centre of the stomach. Satisfied by that test, Julia then got out a swab to take a sample but she dropped the first one on the floor. "Oops, butterfingers!" she said. Stefanie chuckled at nice Dr Julia's clumsiness. "Let's try that again....and swab...and....oops!"
Julia felt very embarrassed at this rookie mistake. This little girl, and her mother, had put their trust in her to help Stefanie and here she was dropping swabs and samples all over the place. "Listen, Stefanie" she said. "Do you trust me...even though I'm being such a klutz today?"
"Yes Dr Julia" the little girl replied.
"I'm going to send for the best doctor in this hospital. The top person, I think she can help you and she won't drop everything on the floor. Is that OK?"
The girl nodded and Julia went to find Dr Murakami, her superior. "Dr Murakami" she said. "I have a little girl in room 2; she's Nurse Griffith's daughter and...well...I think her case is a little out of my league"
"Really, Dr Epstein? I thought you relished a challenge"
"Well...on this occasion....I think it's because I'm a friend of the family I'm too close to things. Maybe a more detached view is needed here?"
"Very well, Dr Epstein...I'll trade you cases: You take my ruptured disc case and I'll look in on young Miss Griffith"
Julia read the case notes for her new patient: Mrs Edna Sneedley, age 41, suspected ruptured back disc. Julia went to the waiting room and called out for Mrs Sneedley. A stern looking, smartly dressed woman struggled to stand up and hobbled over to Julia. "I'm Edna Sneedley"
"Let me help you or get a wheelchair for you..." Julia began
"Certainly not! I'm quite alright...just a joint out of place I assure you!" said the woman, harshly. "I need to get out of here as soon as possible"
"Well, let's determine what's wrong first...this way Mrs Sneedley."
Julia examined Mrs Sneedley and her tentative diagnosis so far was that there was swelling around her lower spine area. "So when did you notice the pain and swelling?" she asked.
"During the protest" replied Mrs Sneedley. "I'd been standing there, leading it for some hours and all of a sudden I felt this pain in my back."
"If you don't mind me saying, you don't look like the protesting type. What was the cause?"
"The shameful degradation and moral corruption of our society, Dr Epstein!" said an indignant Mrs Sneedley. "We were demonstrating outside of the Lothario Club"
"Isn't that the one owned by Alan Cuffe?" replied Julia.
"Yes....vile man! He was our next door neighbour for a while. Fortunately he moved out last week but the wild and debauched parties he threw in his previous house! Ugh! I hope you're not a fan of his"
"Certainly not! I have had the unpleasant experience of meeting him...twice now. He tried to recruit me into his Kitten Club: I turned him down flat" said Julia, grimacing.
"Oh those shameless women parading about in next to nothing!" said Edna. "Well I'm glad to hear you are not a fan. Do you not agree that morals are declining in this day and age?"
"I certainly do Mrs Sneedley. Everywhere you look it's sex, sex, sex. And then there's the drugs, the rule breaking, men with long hair....I prefer a bit of order and common sense"
"You sound like the kind of young person we need in the League of Decency" said Edna.
"The League of Decency? Is that your organisation?" asked Julia.
"Yes...would you be interested in attending one of our meetings?"
"I think I would like to, Mrs Sneedley. Now I'm going to send you for an x-ray. Don't worry, I'll get a hospital attendant to take you there."
The League of Decency, thought Julia. Maybe it was time to get involved in a cause?
At the end of her shift, Julia headed home with Mrs Sneedley's business card with the contact phone number and address for the League of Decency in her handbag. When she arrived home she found that her aunt Elle was in the house.
"Hi Auntie Elle" said Julia, surprised to see her in her house. "I gave you a copy of my house key in case of emergencies"
"This is an emergency!" barked her Aunt. "My landlord wants to kill me!"
Julia sighed. This seemed to be another of her Aunt's paranoid outbursts. "For the last time, Aunt Elle, your landlord is your brother...he's not out to get you"
"He's been out to get me since I was six!"
"I'll call dad and sort this out" said Julia but before she could get to the phone there was a knock at the door. "Who is it?" said a startled Aunt Elle. Julia went to investigate and it turned out to be her next door neighbour, Suzy Kent.
"Hi Suzy...nice to see you. I must warn you, my aunt has dropped around and she's, well, a bit of a handful" said Julia.
"Do you need any help?" asked Suzy.
"Actually, if you don't mind, maybe having a chat will calm her down a bit."
Suzy agreed and went inside to greet Aunt Elle. "Hello, I'm Suzy...I live next door. I think I recognise you; don't you sometimes sing at the Solar Flare Club?"
"Yes....who told you to say that? Julia, why is this person here?" said Elle.
"She's my neighbour, Aunt"
"I enjoyed your singing...I was there with my boyfriend and we both liked the show" said Suzy, trying to be friendly.
"Harumph" said Elle.
"Suzy here works for 'Hey, Wow' magazine." said Julia, trying to lighten the mood. "She knows all the best places in town as well"
Elle said nothing but instead scowled at Suzy. Her monopoly over Julia in her home had been broken and she did not like it at all.
As Suzy and Julia tried making small talk with Elle, the woman stood up and went outside without saying a word. There, just at the side of the house, she kicked the trash can over in anger and frustration.
"I'm so sorry you have to experience this" said Julia to Suzy after Elle had stepped outside. "You see, my aunt has psychological problems and sometimes she can control her behaviour and sometimes she can't"
"It's family though...you have to stick by them" said Suzy. At that moment there was another knock at the door.
"I think Elle might have locked herself out" said Julia, getting up to answer it. But it wasn't Elle, instead it was Francesca.
"Hi Julia...sorry for dropping by unannounced" she said.
"Don't worry...it's been an evening of unannounced guests. Come in" said Julia. "This is my neighbour, Suzy....Suzy this is my work colleague and friend, Francesca"
The two women greeted each other in a friendly manner. At that moment Aunt Elle returned. "What's this? More people!" she said.
"Francesca's a colleague of mine" said Julia.
"I just wanted to say a big thank you for putting Stefanie's fears at ease today" said Francesca.
"I don't know if I did that...I made a hash of things really" said an embarrassed Julia.
"That's what made her feel at ease...she thought you were funny for such a clever person"
"People! People just showing up and talking...never stopping talking!" muttered Elle.
"Aunt Elle...these are my friends. They're not a threat to you or to anyone" said an increasingly exasperated Julia.
"So why did they just drop by, unannounced?" said Elle.
"Why did you?" said Julia.
"I told you! My landlord is out to kill me!"
"He is not! He's my uncle, your brother! Now Auntie Elle....please show some kindness and manners towards my friends!"
"Hurumph! Well I won't stay around here being insulted. Goodbye, Julia....maybe when they find my body you'll think twice!" and with that, Aunt Elle stormed off.
Julia sighed and turned to her friends. "I'm so sorry about that. She'll be alright come tomorrow morning" but deep down she was worried that her Aunt's condition was getting worse and she was now shunning proper medical treatment and instead just randomly showing up at her place as a form of refuge. What to do, she thought, what to do?
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