Chapter 71
Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 1885
Margie had been asleep for nearly two solid days when James left to go back to work two mornings past his conversation with Uncle Culpepper. Since that time, James had continued to feel the uneasy sensation in all of his appendages and had experienced some severe cramping in his midsection. He could definitely feel something was amiss, but he refused to accept that he was actually turning into one of them. Perhaps he’d just caught an ailment from a patient.
“We’ll likely be gone by the time you return today,” Uncle Culpepper said, stopping James just before he went out the door. “If your sister is awake, we’ll be off to catch the spook the pair of you were chasing the other night.”
“I bid you farewell, then,” James said, straightening his cufflinks.
“James, I can see that you’re uncomfortable. Letting us inject you will end all of that, and you can go on about your business without the aches and pains.”
He had gone back to bed to rest the other day when Uncle Culpepper had administered the serum to his sister; she’d screamed in agony for two minutes straight before she finally passed out. “No, thank you,” he replied.
Culpepper took a step in front of him. “I know it sounded painful with Margie, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes, it’s nothing at all. Other times, it’s uncomfortable. But it’s over quickly. The serum will activate all parts of your body in less than two minutes. Then, you’ll slumber while your body changes over.”
Clearing his throat, James repeated himself. “No, thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m in a bit of a rush to get back to my duties.” He wanted to return to the hospital the day before, but his father had already spoken to his supervisor and requested a second day off.
“Very well then,” Culpepper said. “You may change your mind, however, now that you’re up and about. It may make it worse.”
Ignoring the warning, James headed out into the fresh morning air. It was cool, but not too cold, and a nice breeze was blowing. He was thankful he could walk to work; it would give him an opportunity to clear his mind. It wasn’t too far to the hospital, and he had plenty of time.
He’d have to cross the alley, but this time he didn’t even bother to look in that direction. If there was something there, he didn’t want to see it, didn’t want to know it existed at all.
When he was within a half-mile of the hospital, he realized his legs were burning. It wasn’t the same sort of ache one gets from growing or from pulling a muscle while running. This was something different entirely. He stopped for a moment to feel his own muscles in his legs. They felt larger than they had before, stronger. But the pain was still there, and now he noticed it in his arms as well. Refusing to acknowledge any of it, he walked on.
By the time he reached the hospital, the pain was a reality he could no longer ignore. Nevertheless, he had a job to do, and he greeted his colleagues with a smile, hoping none of them noticed how much he was struggling.
None of them said anything if they noticed, only welcomed him back. It wasn’t until he ran into the nurse, Annie, that a question was asked. “Dr. Joplin?” she said, peering up at him, as he was now taller than her, “are you feeling all right? You don’t quite look yourself?”
“I’m fine, Annie,” he assured her. She was still beautiful, even though she was now in her mid-twenties, and the fact that she had recently started courting one of the doctors closer to her age had James looking her direction much less frequently. Nevertheless, he considered her a friend, and clearly, she cared about him or else she wouldn’t have asked.
“There’s a patient who needs to see you,” she said, though her eyes revealed she had not quite dismissed her concerns.
“What’s the ailment?”
“He’s got an ulcer on his leg that won’t heal properly,” Annie replied.
“Let me have a look at it, then,” he replied, following her to the correct room, although the pain in his legs made it difficult.
He entered to find an older gentleman on the bed, his pant leg pulled up. “Good morning, Mr….”
“Stuart,” the man supplied. “I thought you were fetching a doctor.” The second part was directed to Annie.
Despite the fact that he was dressed like every other doctor in the hospital, James was constantly mistaken for an orderly or some other laborer because of his age. “He’s a doctor,” Annie assured the patient. “He just looks young.”
“He looks like he could be in nursery school.” Mr. Stuart’s leg must’ve been bothering him, as his disposition was rather rough.
“I’m Dr. Joplin,” James said, forcing a smile, “and I assure you, I can look after you just fine.”
Mr. Stuart grumbled, but James ignored him and bent to examine the ulcer. It was about the size of a half dollar, red with a bit of ooze coming out of it. James asked Annie for a damp cloth so that he could wash it, hoping to see the source of the irritation better that way, but as he touched Mr. Stuart’s leg to reposition it so that he could better see, the ulcer began to clear up on its own. Flabbergasted, James watched as the wound nearly disappeared before his eyes.
“What’s that you’re doing now? It stings a bit,” Mr. Stuart said. From his prone position, he couldn’t see what was actually happening to his leg.
Suddenly, James felt very tired, although not quite as exhausted as he had when he’d saved Margie. He took a few deep breaths, and Annie handed him the cloth, more concerned with him than the patient, her eyes locked on his face. “Dr. Joplin, are you all right?”
“Yes, fine,” James replied. He took the cloth before she had a chance to look down and covered the spot on Mr. Stuart’s leg where the ulcer had previously been located. “Get me a bandage, won’t you? And some salve.”
Annie continued to stare at him for a moment before she stepped aside to get the required items. James knew he needed to let go of Mr. Stuart if he was to have a chance to recover, but releasing him just now would give Annie a chance to see what he’d done. She was back in a moment, and he took the salve and slathered it on before wrapping the bandage around as tightly as he could. Wiping his hands off, he said, “There you are, Mr. Stuart. Check the wound again tomorrow, and I think you’ll find everything much better.”
“But, I’ve tried a salve, an expensive one. And it didn’t do anything.”
“This one is much better,” James assured him, and before he could argue more, he hurried out of the room.
Unsure of exactly where to go to catch his breath, James took a seat in the doctor’s lounge. He was sure there would be other new patients he’d need to see and many he’d already treated who would need checking. But he didn’t have any surgeries scheduled for that day, barring any emergencies, and he decided he should just rest his head for a few moments.
