Shedrow by Dean DeLuke Read Free Book Online Page A

you?”
    Kantor looked up nervously for a moment, then watched as Gianni located the two cut ends of the parotid duct, the structure that carried saliva from the salivary gland into the mouth. If left unrepaired, saliva would either pool in the wound and create an infection, or else drain out through a fistula in the face, rather than flowing into the mouth.
    “Lacrimal probes and the twenty gauge catheter please,” Gianni said. He was ready to join the two ends over a small hollow catheter that would act as a scaffold to keep the duct open until the initial healing took place. It would also serve to keep the duct from scarring down and closing itself off to the proper flow of saliva.
    “So where were you?” he asked Kantor again.
    “Having dinner with my fiancé. It was a nice restaurant so I didn’t want my cell phone on.”
    “Your phone doesn’t have a silent mode? Or your pager? Jesus Christ, Matt, are you for real? While you were munching your damn
foie gras
, I was preparing the patient for the OR. What the hell is wrong with that picture!”
    Kantor said nothing.
    “When I was a second year resident,” Gianni said, “we were required to be physically present in the ER until eleven every single night that we were on call. We saw a lot of interesting stuff that way and no one particularly complained. Enough of that. What kind of suture to repair the duct, Matt?”
    “6-0 Vicryl?”
    “No, finer even. Of course, without your loupes, you’d be hard pressed to see it. I’ll finish that part and then let you start a nice layered repair.”
    He had Kantor begin to repair the wound in layers, which he did with a certain proficiency despite a fine tremor evident in both hands.
    “That’s looking good, Matt,” Gianni said, sensing his resident’s need for reassurance.
    “You know, Dr. Gianni, I think my generation just has different priorities. It’s all about quality of life.”
    “And how about responsibility?”
    “I don’t know, Dr. Gianni. Have you ever read
The Fountainhead
?”
    “I have, and this is not a literature class,” Gianni said. “So let’s not get distracted here. We can work together on the skin closure. Brenda, can you re-start that tape again. That wasn’t half bad.”
    They spent the last half hour on a very exacting closure of skin, to the music of Bon Jovi.
This is the story of my life
    And I write it every day
    I know it isn’t black and white
    And it’s anything but grey
    I know that no, I’m not all right
    But I’ll be O.K. because
    Anything can, everything can happen
    That’s the story of my life
    GIANNI INSPECTED THE FINAL repair. The man now had an intact face that appeared ruggedly handsome.
    “Matt, why don’t you dictate the operative report,” Gianni said, handing him a sticker with the patient’s name on it. He took a second sticker for himself and placed it in his scrub shirt pocket.
    He then took the familiar walk through the corridors to his office in the Doctors’ Pavilion. He sat at his desk and glanced at the pile of mail. He opened only one letter, a memo from Bushmill Stable.
TO: All partners in Chiefly Endeavor
    We believe that Chiefly Endeavor is a three-year-old with great potential. His pedigree would suggest that he can run on dirt as well as grass. We have entered him in the Grade I Florida Derby at Gulfstream on March 30 th . This is a mile-and-an-eighth on the dirt. While this will be a relatively long layoff from his last race, he seems to require a longer rest period than most. He is a talented colt and we should use him sparingly. I trust you will agree.
    Stuart G. Duncker
President, Bushmill Stable
    Gianni set the letter aside and smiled. The Florida Derby was one of the major prep races for the Kentucky Derby. He then took the sticker from the operating room out of his pocket and set it onto another area of his desk. He read the name aloud, last name first:
Giardini, Hector.

Chapter 9
    The woman walked across the room and looked at