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Ben hadn’t seen a doctor in over an hour and was beginning to wonder if the ambulance had taken him to some sub-standard hospital with barely trained doctors and countless malpractice lawsuits.
He wanted to ask his father which of the local hospitals is the best. His dad had a buddy that specialized in malpractice suits.
Unfortunately, his father was characteristically absent.
“Well, Mr. Gross, It is not appendicitis.” The Doctor announced as she entered the room.
“It’s not? Are you sure? Where did you do your residency?.” Ben shuddered as a thought occurred to him, “Are you still doing it?”
The Doctor gave him a flat look, “I’m going to ignore that series of questions and cut to the chase. It appears the pain you’re experiencing is the result of impacted fecal matter in your colon. Most likely caused by poor diet and stress.”
“Excuse me?” He replied hotly.
For once in Ben’s life, he was glad he was alone. He was literally full of shit. Devi could never find out about this, she would never let him live it down.
“When was the last time you had a bowel movement?” She inquired, rifling through her papers.
Ben began to count on his fingers as he thought back to the past few weeks. He can’t remember doing much of anything but schoolwork.
“Uh, I don’t think it’s been that long. If today is Thursday…sixteen days?” Ben wasn’t sure what the average was, but judging by the doctor’s expression sixteen days was not it.
“Okay, due to the frankly incredible volume of waste in your body, we will need to perform a surgical procedure to remove it immediately.”
Ben had never had surgery before. He had briefly considered becoming a surgeon in middle school, but he’d given up after he had almost fainted when they had to dissect a lambs heart in biology.
One thing he knew for certain was that they couldn’t do anything without his parents.
“Wait. What am I supposed to do? my parents are in Phoenix.” He asked.
Anxiety twisted in his stomach. Although that could have just been the severe abdominal pain he’d been in for days fighting through the medication they’d given him.
“My Dad’s helping Devin Booker launch his new skincare line called NBA ageless.” He explained. It was probably pointless to try and namedrop, but Ben had a habit of trying to distract people with celebrities when he was nervous.
“I know. I contacted your parents and they referred me to your babysitter, Patty Shevchenko, but we haven't been able to reach her.”
Patty had left that morning to spend the rest of the week visiting her sister Milana. Milana was a paranoid old bat who lived a mile outside of town and didn’t believe in the internet.
His parents had no doubt approved her leave to do so, but he wasn’t surprised they didn’t remember.
“Is there another adult who can stay with you?” The doctor asked.
“Patty is going to be back Saturday, could the surgery wait until then?” He asked. His parents could be back sooner, but he wasn’t going to hold out hope for them.
“Not without seriously endangering your health. If you cannot find an adult we can speak to social services and they will provide someone.” The doctor suggested, “We could also contact your parents again. If they board a flight immediately we may be to perform today.”
Just the mention of social services made his chest tighten. He had never seriously feared being taken away, but he had a few missed calls over the years.
When he was seven his parents took him to Disneyland for his seventh birthday. Unfortunately, that is all they did. They walked him through the gate and told him to have fun.
The staff had found him having a panic attack behind a churro truck. They had been minutes away from calling the police when his parents came to get him.
And that was just the first of what had become a trend for them.
His parents were big believers in independence. He’d learned how to call a taxi when he was eight.
He’d bragged about it to anyone who would listen. Nobody had seemed concerned, until he made the mistake of mentioning it to Devi’s parents when they’d come up to congratulate him after their third-grade science fair.
Doctor. Vishwakumar had insisted on giving him a ride. Devi had pouted the whole time about their betrayal and his recent victory over her.
Her parents told her off and spent the drive asking Ben about his project.
An idea occurred to him.
“Would a family friend be okay?” He asked the Doctor.
She seemed relieved by the suggestion, “Of course, we’d be happy to call them if you can provide a contact number.”
“I’ll call her.” He replied. “If that’s alright.”
“Of course.” The doctor responded. “I’ll give you some privacy. Just let a nurse know what she says and we can get you ready for the operation as soon as she’s here.”
She pulled his curtain and left the room.
Ben grabbed his phone off the bed beside him where he’d left it.
It was just before 5 pm. Doctor. Vishwahumar would still be working. He called up her dermatology practice feeling like the most pathetic person in the world.
“Press 1 to speak to reception-”
Not long after he’d pressed the button someone picked up the phone.
“Hello, this is Emily speaking, how may I help you?” The bubbly receptionist answered.
“Hello, is Doctor Vishwakumar available?” He asked. He was asking his doctor for a personal favor. God, he was pathetic.
“She just finished up with a patient, who should I tell her is calling?” The receptionist continued.
“Ben. Ben Gross, I’m friends with her daughter.” He answered. It wasn’t technically a lie, but it still felt bizarre saying it.
“One moment.” The line faded to pop music and Ben sat and waited.
“Is Devi alright?” Doctor Vishwakumar said in lieu of a greeting.
“She’s fine. This isn’t about her.” Ben’s voice faltered.
“My apologies, how are you, Ben?” She seemed to have calmed down.
“Um good, yourself?” He answered automatically. He paused, remembering the point of the call, “Actually that’s not true. I’m so sorry for bothering you, but well my parents are out of town and they said I needed an adult present-”
Doctor Vishwakumar interrupted him, “Ben slow down, what’s wrong?”
“I need an operation, nothing major.” He added, “But the doctor says it can’t wait a few days and my housekeeper is busy.” his anxiety rose, “It’s okay I’ll call someone else, I’m so sorry for bothering you at work.”
“An operation?” Doctor Vishwakumar exclaimed, “Which hospital are you at? What’s your room number? I’m leaving now.” She was using the same tone she had when Devi had broken her arm in fifth grade.
“It’s really not necessary.” He tried to tell her.
“Benjamin.” She warned, “Where are you?”
“Glendale Memorial hospital. I’m in the general surgery ward. Room 8.”
“Alright, Ill be there soon.”
“Thank you, Doctor Vishwakumar.”
Her voice softened. “Of course, Ben.”
Tears pricked at his eyes. The overwhelming feeling of panic and guilt had begun to fade and instead all he felt was relieved.
Twenty minutes later Doctor Vishwakumar was storming through his door.
“Benjamin, what happened? I haven’t had a chance to speak to a doctor yet, but the nurse outside told me you have fecal impaction. Are you alright? When did you last have a bowel movement?”
She moved to sit in the chair beside him.
Telling the woman he’d briefly imagined becoming his mother-in-law one day about his bowel movements filled him with shame. He tried to reassure himself with the knowledge she’s a doctor and had no doubt heard much worse before.
“Sixteen days.” He admitted.
Her eyes widened. “And you weren’t concerned? You should be going at least every three days. What have you been eating?”
He thought back to everything he’d eaten over the last week. He’d been living on a diet of exclusively jerky sticks, with the exception of the dinner he’d eaten at Doctor Vishwakumar’s house yesterday.
“I had a proper dinner yesterday.” He tried to argue.
Her eyebrows pinched in concern. “Benjamin, please tell me dinner last night wasn’t the only thing you’ve eaten.” She looks horrified.
“No, no,” he reassured her. “I’ve also been eating jerky sticks. They’re full of protein.”
She ran her hand over her face and muttered something in tamil. “You are going to be eating dinner with us at least once a week from now onwards. No, twice a week. Devi brings lunch to school every day, she’ll bring one for you as well. Where on earth are your parents? How did they allow this?”
Ben didn’t think his diet was that bad. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been eating. “They’re in Arizona on work. My housekeeper tries to get me to sit down and eat, but well I’m usually pretty focused on studying.”
“Benjamin, you’re a brilliant student. I respect what a hard worker you are, but nothing is more important than your health.”
“I’m sorry.” His voice choked a little.
“You push yourself too hard.” she told him, “Devi too. You both need to slow down before you're sharing a surgical suite fighting over who gets the orange jello cup.”
“Devi can have it, I prefer grape.” He tried to joke. As much as he knew Devi would roast the hell out of him for this, he kind of wished she was here.
Preferably not in one of the other hospital beds.
“Now, I need to go speak to your doctor. I’ll be right back.”
Ben woke up in a haze. He would have thought he was home in bed if not for the woman in scrubs standing over him.
“Mr. Gross. It was a successful procedure. How do you feel?” She asked him.
“Good…I think.” He was struggling to think straight a little, but not in a way that was necessarily bad, but more how he feels every morning after pulling yet another all-nighter studying.
He looked over to see Doctor Vishwakumar sitting in a chair beside his bed looking at him with concern.
“Now we just need you and Doctor Vishwakumar to wait here until you pass gas. It’s standard, just until we know your GI tract is functioning post-op.” the surgeon explained.
“What complications do we need to look out for?” Doctor Vishwakumar asked immediately.
Doctor Vishwakumar had already asked a number of questions about possible complications before the surgery, but the Surgeon answered anyway.
“Mr. Gross needs to let us know if he experiences any bleeding or further bowel issues. There is also a minor risk of blood clots in his legs and lungs. These are all unlikely.” The doctor answered.
“Once I’ve,” he paused in embarrassment, “...passed gas. Can I go home?”
“Absolutely not!” Doctor Vishwakumar said immediately.
“Most patients stay on average three to seven days, but if you insisted we would have no choice but to release you tonight. I would however strongly recommend against this.”
“He isn’t going anywhere.” Doctor Vishwakumar answered.
“But you said I could go after I passed gas?” Ben asked.
“Doctor Vishwakumar can go after you pass gas. You can prepare for bed and a few days of rest.” She clarified.
“I’m not going anywhere.” Doctor Vishwakumar declared.
He wants to argue, but he’s too caught up in the idea of missing so much school.
“But I have school tomorrow!” he argues. “I haven’t missed a day of school since second grade when Devi tried to sabotage me by giving me chicken pox.”
“You’ll be lucky if I let you go to school next week.” Doctor Vishwakumar threatened. It was an empty threat given that Patty would be back in a couple of days and he’d no longer be her problem.
It felt nice to have someone try and boss him around. Devi always complained about how overbearing her mum is, but Ben was kind of jealous of her. His parents had never tried to outrank him. They said it was because they trusted him, but it didn’t feel that way..
“Sorry, Doctor Vishwakumar.” He said quietly.
“Do you have any further questions?” The surgeon asked them.
Doctor Vishwakumar continued to interrogate her for another ten minutes until the surgeon had to leave to see another patient.
“Did you tell Devi about this?” He asked her.
She smiled. “Of course. She wanted to come and check on you, but I told her to wait until tomorrow to visit.”
“Oh.” He replied. It hadn’t occurred to him that she’d be worried about him.
“I just texted her to let her know the surgery was a success.”
Ben checks his phone to see a series of texts from Devi.
David:
Hey, my mom told me what’s going on. I hope you're okay
[Gif of an otter wishing him goodluck]
Mom told me you’re okay 🎉🎉🎉
See I always knew you were full of shit 😝
Ben couldn’t help but smile. Of course, Devi would wait until she was sure he was okay to start roasting him.
“Benjamin.” Doctor Vishwakumar said seriously.
He looked up.
“What’s going on? These sorts of things don’t happen unless one is undergoing some serious stress.”
Ben faltered. “I’ve just been really focused on school. My entire future is dependent on how well I do on college applications and these months are when it matters most.”
Doctor Vishwakumar rested her hand on his arm, “Benjamin, no college is worth this.”
He knew she was right, but the thought of not getting into Colombia still haunted him, “But what if I don’t get into Colombia?”
“Then you don’t get in, and you go to another just as prestigious college.” Doctor Vishwakumar reassured him.
“But Colombia is the dream. I’m going to go to Colombia like my father so that I can become the sort of man he is, so he’ll trust me to take over the firm one day. That’s what I’ve been working towards for years and if I fail then it was all for nothing, and I’ve disappointed myself and my family…and well my dad.” He ranted, feeling the panic build in him once again.
“Benjamin, your father should be proud of you no matter what college you get into. You are a hard-working, brilliant boy with a good heart.”
Two years ago she had assured him his parents must be proud in her office. But now it was clear she no longer assumed the best of them.
Tears pricked at his eyes.
“Thank you.” he stammers. “I’ll try not to push myself as hard.” he promised her, “But don’t let Devi think this means I’ll let her beat me for Valedictorian.”
Doctor Vishwakumar smiled. “I’d be very proud if Devi was valedictorian, but honestly I’d rather have her drop out of school to work as a waitress than work herself to death, which is exactly what you are doing.
Ben pulled on his blanket nervously.
“You could have died today.” Doctor Vishwakumar told him.
He noticed now how genuinely upset she looked.
“I care about you, Ben. You’re a great kid and I would have been heartbroken had you not made it.”
That was the final push, and Ben began to cry. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I’m always crying in front of you.”
Doctor Vishwakumar got up and pulled him into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his back and let him rest his face against her shoulder. “It’s okay.”
Neither spoke for a few minutes. Eventually, Ben pulled away and looked in shame at the dark spot on her jumper where he’d be crying lay. “I’m so sorry, I can buy you a new jumper.”
“No need.” she smiled warmly.
“I passed gas a few minutes ago,” he admitted, his face heating up at the words. “You can go now.”
“Oh, I’m not going anywhere,” she announced.
Ben didn’t understand what she meant, “But you have to. It’s late and you can hardly sleep in that chair.”
“Oh yes, I can.” She argued, “This chair is far more comfortable than the one that I slept in when Devi’s legs paralyzed. I’ll be just fine.”
“But-”
“No arguing.” She interrupted in a tone that made in clear he would lose. “I am staying here. But first I need to find a nurse. They haven’t checked your IV in almost four hours.”
She patted him on the arm and walked out to go find some poor unsuspecting nurse.
Ben woke up to the sound of people talking.
“I can’t thank you enough for staying with him. His babysitter was supposed to be here, but something must have happened.”
He could hear his dad say from the other side of the curtain. He wasn’t quite whispering, but he was keeping his voice low as though trying not to wake him.
“It was no trouble. Ben is a great kid. He’s been a good friend to my daughter.” Doctor Vishwakumar assured him.
Despite her words, Ben could detect something else behind her voice.
“Oh, are you Dani’s mother? She’s great. I had meant to call you when she was staying with us, but stuff came up and it slipped my mind.”
“It’s actually Devi.” Doctor Vishwakumar corrected tensely. “But, yes, thank you so much for letting her stay with you. Honestly, I’m surprised we haven’t met before. I’ve tried to catch you a few times over the years, but you’re a difficult man to pin down.”
“What can I say, I’m a bit of a workaholic. Clearly, my boy inherited that from me.” His dad tried to joke.
“There’s being a workaholic and then there’s prioritizing work above all else. It shouldn’t come before one's health,” she paused. “Or their children.”
His dad began to speak, but she interrupted him, “I don’t mean to overstep, but how often do you see your son? Because he’s been surviving off of almost nothing but jerky sticks for months now. Why did you never step in? Or were you not there to notice?”
Her tone was cutting.
Ben had seen Doctor Vishwakumar angry before. Most notably when she had caught him with Devi, but this was a different sort of anger.
“I know I need to do better.” Ben had never heard his dad like this before.
His dad was an expert at avoiding serious conversations, he was much more comfortable joking about and telling anecdotes from work than discussing anything resembling emotions.
But now his father’s voice was cracking. He sounded defeated.
“Ben adores you.” Doctor Vishwakumar told him, “He is so determined to make you proud he’s been pushing himself to an early death. You either need to talk to him or accept that one day Ben will decide that you’re not a man worth having in his life, let alone building it around.”
Ben burned with shame at the description.
When Devi was talking about emancipation he had briefly considered a world where he no longer spoke to his parents.
Unfortunately, it was too easy to imagine. In this world, it was never some dramatic rejection of his parents Like Doctor. Vishwakumar seemed to think, but rather the inevitable cold fade of parents that never put any effort into spending time with him now.
He wondered if he’d ever see them if he wasn’t always there at their house waiting to see a glimpse of them.
“I will.” His father stammers.
“Alright.” she replied, “Where is his mother? I’d like to have a word with her too.”
His dad paused awkwardly. “She couldn’t make it. She had some business to finish up in Arizona.”
“Something more important than her son?” Doctor Vishwakumar asked. She sounded disgusted at the thought.
“I’ll talk to her.” His father promised.
“Alright. I need to stop by work for a bit, but I’ll be back in a couple of hours with Devi.” Ben could see the faint shape of her standing up through the curtain. “Talk to him.”
She walked out leaving only Ben and his father.