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Anatomy of Time
The Tendons Stretch
Everyone assured Ailene that the surgery had been successful but watching the way little Scottie’s back seemed to ratchet and twist with each step made her follow up with surgeon after surgeon, specialist after specialist. Every last one reiterated that Scottie’s birth defect had been so severe that what Dr. Hanson had achieved was nothing short of miraculous.
“Mummy?”
“Yes, Scottikins?” Ailene smoothed her little boy’s hair, setting aside the drawings for that Talbot’s ad campaign.
“Can we please go back to Dr. Hanson and ask him to make me the way I was before?”
“But, baby, you can walk now!” Ailene felt like her heart itself was writhing in her chest, stretching and squeezing. Who could survive this kind of pain?
“It hurts. I don’t want to walk if it’s going to hurt like this.”
“Know what, angel? You don’t have to walk if it hurts. I’ll get your chair back.”
“Mummy, it hurts all the time. It hurts now. We need to ask Dr. Hanson to fix it so I’m like I was before. It didn’t hurt then.” Scottie was in his brace for bed so he couldn’t move very well, but he could see his mother’s tears. “Oh, Mummy, don’t cry anymore. Please!”
