Templin

The death of his parents, Hugh and Nancy Templin, in December, had left an unfilled emptiness in him. Their meager insurance had left just enough money for him to complete his senior year of college. That is, if he was extremely frugal during the coming months.

His mind wandered as he strode through the slush on the sidewalk.

"What of my plans for medical school?" He asked himself. "Do they stand a chance now? Or have they been crushed like my parents were in that icy crash on Route 70?"

These questions and more ran through his mind. What made it so hard to accept was the fact that they were traveling from Danville to Springfield to pick him up for Christmas.

He always spent the holidays at home in Indiana, and his parents had insisted that he not hitchhike this time. How many times he wished he had argued with them more strenuously, but he had known how much his mother worried when he was on the road. He had finally agreed that they could come to pick him up.

He would never forgive himself for giving in to their wishes.

"I guess the Administrator of Mercy Hospital will have to be the answer to my questions," he decided.

So much hinged on this interview! As he pushed open the heavy doors of the hospital, he suddenly felt very much alone. The sterile atmosphere overwhelmed him as he stopped at the information desk. From there a volunteer directed him to Sister Mary Catherine’s office.

Neil looked at his watch.

"At least I’m early," he thought to himself. "That should count in my favor. It shows that I’d be a prompt employee."

Suddenly an approaching flash of white caught his attention, and he slowed to watch a nurse pass by. Her smile spoke to him as no other had in months. It began at the corners of her mouth; spread upward to form two perfect dimples, and didn’t stop until it touched the edges of her sapphire-blue eyes.

Her cheeks were flushed and she was laughing in delight at something she had just heard. Her face seemed lit with an inner radiance that he would almost feel vibrating across the distance between them. It caressed him like an old friend as she glanced in his direction.

The smile wasn’t meant for him, however, but for the short, bespeckled, bald doctor who was accompanying her along the hallway. The two were engaged in a teasing, bantering conversation, and the green scrubs that the man wore bespoke of the surgery suite where he had just completed an operation.

Neil’s last glimpse of the girl was of her soft brown hair, feathering gently against her face as she disappeared around the corner.

He realized that he hadn’t been this emotionally assaulted since the death of his parents.

"What a smile!" He thought. "She’s not only beautiful, but she radiates joy like a song. Would I ever like to meet her! Maybe, if I get this job, I’ll have that chance."

The thoughts running through Neil’s mind were totally alien to him. He dated little, as there never seemed to be enough money for him to afford to ask a girl he would like to go out with him. He usually became part of a double-dating couple, matching up with somebody’s roommate for a dance or a rare movie.

As his thoughts remained on the nurse, the door opened and he was ushered into the plain, cubicle-like office that Catholic hospitals are known for, and his interview began. Quickly, he cleared his mind of all other thoughts.

The austere Nun behind the plain, but functional desk was reading his formal application as he entered. Motioning him to a seat at the one chrome and vinyl chair across from her, she indicated that he should be seated.

"I’m Sister Mary Catherine," she stated coolly, "and I presume that you must be Mr. Templin.

She raised her eyebrows as she awaited his response.

"That’s right, Sister," he replied in a choked voice.

"Now, Mr. Templin, I see that you have applied for a position as a medical aide for the next six months. Pray tell me why I should hire you for such a short period of time."

Her discouraging tone and the wording of her question unnerved Neil.

"Sister Mary Catherine," he began, "I need the money if I’m to go on to medical school in the fall. I fee that the experience gained here would help me to obtain a better insight into my future career. It would also be a good reference when I apply for work at University Hospital in Columbus while I’m in med school."

"I think I want to be a doctor," he continued, "but working on my father’s farm, before his death that is, kept me from really seeing the inside happenings of a hospital. When I read your advertisement in the school paper for part-time help, I felt that it would serve a dual purpose to take the job here."

"I see," replied the Nun sternly. "Are you in good physical condition? This job can be demanding in that respect, as you’ll be lifting patients and pushing gurneys most of the day."