requiring stitches”.
The wait was only about an hour when a nurse walked into the waiting room and called out Rudy’s name. “Rudolph Rodriguez”. Rudy stood up and followed her into another room and then into a curtained cubicle. “Sit on the gurney and remove your shirt” she commanded. Rudy did so without comment.
The nurse removed the bandage and tape Rudy had applied to his shoulder. The wound began to bleed as soon as the dressing’s pressure was released. She frowned upon discovering the severity of the deep cut. “How on earth could you have cut yourself this badly” she asked. “Sword practice” Rudy answered. “Sword practice” she repeated. “Yes” was Rudy’s only answer. She placed a large gauze pad over the cut and said “Hold this in place until Doctor Bean can see you”. As she left she swung the curtain closed, leaving him in the privacy of the cubicle.
The curtain re-opened a short time later and Doctor Bean entered carrying a clipboard with Rudy’s admission paperwork attached. “Mr. Rodriguez, I’m Doctor Bean” the pretty blonde young woman said. Rudy said nothing, just smiled back at her.
Without waiting for a response, she continued, “A laceration, self-inflicted with a sword” she read aloud from the forms. Rudy slowly nodded his head and said “Yes, that’s correct.”
She moved to his side and removed his hand and the gauze pad from the wound. She tenderly examined his shoulder.
“Looks like a knife wound to me” she said. “Tell me how you did this with a sword and why would you be practicing with a sword at this time of night” she prompted.
“Sword practice” he persisted.
“I am a matador, and in my country, Spain, I am well respected for my swordmanship, and that takes practice, lots of practice” he said. “I practice blindfolded, late at night to hone my balance and concentration” Rudy said somberly. “Tonight I lost my concentration for a moment” Rudy confided.
Dr. Pamela Bean was quiet for a moment and then said, “You’re going to need three stainless steel staples and ten sutures to close this up.” Without waiting for his reply Doctor Pamela set about the task of sterilizing the wound and readied the staple machine. “This is going to sting a bit” she said, as she held the stapler to his arm.
“So what brings a sword wielding matador to New York City?” she asked. “I’m here about my parents’ estate” Rudy said, and at that moment Doctor Pamela pulled the trigger of the staple machine. “Eee” Rudy moaned as the first stapled fastened his flesh together, but without pausing he continued to explain his visit to New York City.
“My father was Doctor Hector Rodriguez, you may have heard of him” he said.
“The cardiovascular surgeon Hector Rodriguez?” she asked as she pulled the trigger for the second time. “Eee...yes” Rudy winced. “Of course I’ve heard of him, what doctor hasn’t heard of him? He was world famous.” she blurted out as she pulled the trigger for the third staple.
“Oooooh, I was just a boy when he and my mother drowned” Rudy sighed. “I really have no memory of them, it happened over 25 years ago” said Rudy.
Doctor Pamela put away her instrument and asked, “How’d it happen?”
“My father’s yacht was lost at sea and assumed sank with all hands on board. It was never found, and to this day it’s a mystery as to what really happened” Rudy said, as he looked at his shoulder and three silver staple crowns.
Pamela threaded a curved needle for the sutures and said, “The staples will need to be removed in about ten days, the sutures I’m going to use will dissolve by themselves....You would have been a very young boy 25 years ago,” she continued. “How did you manager to be the only one to survive the yacht’s sinking?”
Rudy paused for a moment before answering. Was it prudent of him to tell her so much about his past. “We were not aboard the yacht when it vanished,” he said. “My twin brother, Roberto was sick with the flu at the time, so the two of us were not permitted to sail. We were sent to the abbey of the Franciscan monks to wait for their return and for Roberto to be nursed back to health. Of course they never returned, so our planned four week sabbatical turned into fourteen years. We never left the abbey, and it became our permanent home. The Franciscan monks were made our guardians by the terms of my father’s last will and testament” Rudy said, and then sat quietly.
Doctor Bean proceeded with the sutures. “Living in a monastery must have been very tough for a little boy” she commented.
“At first it was very hard, but after a couple of years I learned how to deal with it. I was well cared for and had the best education available. I was not expected to live or act like a monk, but I did have some obstacles to overcome” Rudy said.
Dr. Pamela looked into Rudy’s blue eyes and for the first time smiled and said “I’m sure it was a lonely childhood without any women or little girls around.”
Rudy gazed back into Pamela’s green eyes and a broad smile beamed across his face as he said “You have beautiful green eyes...and there have always been women around.”
Pamela slowly nodded her head and said “I’ll bet there were.”
She placed a large bandage over the wound and said “You will have a faint scar here, a thin pale line, nothing too noticeable. You can put your shirt back on now and I would like to see you in a couple of days to see how you’re doing.”
Rudy said “I’d like to see you again too, perhaps you would join me for dinner one evening soon”
Pamela looked at her watch and said, “It’s almost 5:00 A.M., I’ve worked a double shift and I’m starving. If you change that invitation to breakfast, you have a date. It will take me about ten minutes to be ready and I know this great little café that serves a scrumptious country style breakfast. You’ll need to go to the admissions desk to pay your bill. I’ll meet you there,” she said, then turned and walked out of the curtained room.
Rudy put his shirt on, paid his bill and waited.
Pamela had removed her white smock and changed her clothing. She wore tight shiny black pants and a form fitting pink pullover top that showed off her curvy shape. Rudy smiled his approval. She was beautiful and sexy.
“Do you dress like that for all your dates?” he asked as he offered her his arm.
“Just for breakfast with a handsome matador” she teased with a smile, and took his extended arm.
Arm-in-arm they walked through the corridor to the main entrance double doors and out onto the street.
She said, “the café is in the next block. Are you okay to walk that far?”
He nodded his head yes and said “Sure, why not?”
She looked him in the eyes and said, “Well, you’ve lost a lot of blood, remember?”
“I’m fine,” he said, I’ve almost forgotten that it even happened, thanks to you.”
They walked the rest of the way to the café in silence.
“We’re here,” she said, and reached for the door handle.
Rudy put
