Chapter 2

Jonathan finished the operation shortly after six o'clock. In the sterilization room, Nurse Chang removed his scrubs, operating mask, and thin rubber gloves and, with all of these in hand, walked down the ramp that led directly to the laundry room. Jonathan took off his rubber boots, took off his cap and began to wash his hands and arms with the disinfectant liquid.

"Good work," he said to his assistant. — A case of appendicitis may seem simple, but it has its tricks. Thank God, the man is saved.

Thank God and Jonathan's efficiency, thought Maynard, his assistant.

"Yes, it was good work indeed," he agreed, "but I think I should get some rest now." You've been working too hard, with all these operations you've been doing, in addition to the superintendence job. When most doctors become superintendents, they abandon medicine a little.

“Well, don't expect me to. I would die of boredom.

Maynard couldn't help thinking that there were more pleasant ways to stave off boredom, especially in Hong Kong, but Jonathan didn't seem to want to accept that.

"At least I think the service will slow down a bit now," said Maynard. “I've got someone in charge of the clinic, so Chris can go back to surgery.

“The new resident still needs to prove he's competent to own the practice.

- Doctor? Hey, I heard she was a woman.

— Yeah, I forgot. Jonathan put the towel aside, rolled down his shirtsleeves, and donned his jacket. — Yeah, even worse... the new doctor is a woman. We're really out of luck. We also don't have much choice, financially we can't compete with the other two hospitals here and with the salary we offer it could only do that. I hope it's at least not the worst.

"Why do you think she's no good?" There are a lot of outstanding female doctors these days, Jonathan.

“They stand out because they are a minority and therefore much more noticeable.

"You don't approve of women in medicine?"

“Only as nurses. Then they are great, I don't know why they are not restricted to this field of medicine. Yeah: that's what this whole story of women's liberation leads to... they want to invade our field! - He smiled. — My father thinks I'm bigoted and narrow-minded when I talk like that.

At that moment the door opened and Nurse Chang appeared again. She was small, dark and pretty. There were rumors that she was in love with Chris, but there are always a lot of rumors and gossip among hospital workers and Chris was always seeing pretty girls.

—Dr. Jonathan, the secretary called and asked me to let you know that the new doctor has arrived and is waiting in her office.

- Excellent. Have some tea brought there, please, I think an Englishwoman will be happy about that. Then tell her I won't be long, I need to sort out a few things first.

He left the room with long, sure strides. A young nurse saw him pass and sighed discreetly. He was so aloof and haughty, so reserved and so distinguished with that gray hair at the temples framing his still youthful face! His attitude aroused romanticism in most girls. The operating room nurse secretly sighed for him too. Her name was Helen Collard, but he treated her formally and Helen never dreamed there could be a closer relationship.

"Wow!" The man is really good, huh? said Davis, the little guy in charge of cleaning the OR, looking at Helen as she cleaned the tiles. "Says he did every operation this afternoon!"

Helen smiled and went into the office to prepare the day's report. She fully agreed with Davis. No doubt Jonathan was an excellent surgeon, very competent, but it was a pity he was so inaccessible. Several hospital staff thought he was inhumane because he appeared cold and haughty, others thought that his reserved attitude was the product of an enormous shyness, but Helen believed that a man so dedicated to saving human life could not be cold as a computer. She was sure that behind that appearance there was a heart full of feelings.

Chang entered the room, picked up the phone, called the kitchen and asked to send tea to the superintendent's office, but the kitchen came the complaint: they were very busy, there was no one available to take the tea. Chang sighed without losing his temper.

“Okay, I get it. I have half an hour off now. You can prepare it and I'll take it.

She hung up and went to get the tea. In England a nurse would never do that, but there they were all the same and people sometimes did things that were the responsibility of other employees without it being humiliating. The atmosphere there was not formal as in an English hospital. The supervisor liked to say that they were a big happy family. But, after all, Chang was really curious to see what the newly arrived doctor looked like.

Later, in the nurses' quarters, Chang told how amazed she was when she saw Diana. She was really young and stunningly beautiful. She was very elegant and didn't have to wear that horrible hospital uniform or hide her beautiful blond hair in that ridiculous cap they had to wear. And she told the other nurses that they were lost that no one else would look at them with that beauty around.

When she entered the office, however, Diana was standing by the window, looking out over Kowloon Park. Without meaning to, she was thinking about her house and Clive, of course. She was already missing everything she had left in England, so when she saw the nurse come in with the tea she almost wanted to cry.

— Ah, but how kind of you! she exclaimed, looking at the tray.

“It wasn't my idea, Doctor, it was Dr. Jonathan.

“The superintendent? But I was told he was a monster.

- Who told you that?

— The boy who picked me up from the airport. I was already imagining that the superintendent treated the employees like slaves! But a man who has such a nice idea can't be that type!

Immediately regretted it. to have spoken so impulsively. She knew that the nurses' quarters was the center of gossip in a hospital and that anything she said there would be the subject of dinnertime conversation. It's just that she was nervous, but she needed to control herself and be more discreet. The girl seemed willing to talk.

- The Doctor. Jonathan asked me to tell you that he will be coming soon, it won't be long... I'm Chang, I work on the ward in the surgery ward. A patient of mine was operated on this afternoon for appendicitis... Dr. Jonathan did a wonderful operation, in fact he always does. If I were you, I wouldn't listen to what Chris said. He says a lot of lip service. In fact, he is one of Dr. Jonathan though doesn't like to admit it. Chris seems a little crazy and irresponsible but when he's working he's unrecognizable, serious and focused.

She seemed to be eager to defend Chris, which was pretty significant. Diana smiled and tried to reassure her.

'I'm sure he's a competent doctor, I didn't doubt that for a moment.

"So he was the one who picked you up at the airport!" she said with a hint of envy in her voice.

“It was.

Chang was surprised, because it was Chris's day off and she imagined that he was with one of the beautiful girls he liked to go out with.

"Well, I better go...

With a kind smile she walked away even though she wanted to stay and find out more. I wanted to know, for example, how Chris had found the doctor. Perhaps it had been an order from the supervisor... and more importantly, I wanted to know what Chris's reaction would have been when he saw this stunning redhead. He had a weakness for beautiful women, Chang was tired of knowing. She loved him and knew him very well, so she could imagine how he had looked at this girl with the shapely body and pretty face.

Chang was the daughter of an English mother and a Chinese father, which resulted in an exotic beauty, a mixture of East and West, but she was short and therefore looked enviously at Diana's slender stature. In addition, Diana knew how to value her body with well-chosen clothes appropriate for her type. Her eyes were wide and deep, and her fair, flawless skin had the freshness of a rose petal. Her nose was small, straight and delicate. Finally, everything in 'harmonious balance, forming a sensitive and adorable face.

As she left the office, Chang was walking along the corridor when she saw herself reflected in the glass door and sighed desolately. She couldn't say that she was beautiful! She could be cute at best, although Chris had said several times that he found the mix of races in her fascinating, that the oriental touch gave her a certain air of mystery that made her endearing. But even though he repeated it countless times Chang couldn't believe it was true.

Diana sipped her tea, feeling comforted. After all, that was too delicate a gesture for a man who was said to be an insensitive monster. Maybe he wasn't that bad... It was best not to listen to personal opinions, to gossip, because she was tired of knowing how much gossip there was in the hospital environment, among employees and especially among interns. But now she was no longer a student, now she was a doctor and needed to face her work responsibly and seriously. There would be no one else to teach her, to tell her what was right or wrong. Diagnosis and treatment depended entirely on her, she couldn't make mistakes. At the slightest slip she would be lost. She knew that she would be being furtively watched and judged by the most experienced doctors and she suddenly felt terrified, wishing she were home.

At that moment the door opened. Diana turned with a start, splashing tea on the lapel of her white dress. She became desolate and looked awkwardly at the superintendent. What a beautiful start! She would look clumsy and clumsy in his eyes. Diana ran her hand over her dress, trying in vain to wipe away the stain.

“It won't do any good. That's better...

Jonathan took the handkerchief out of his pocket, but instead of handing it to her, he began to clean the stain himself, and this time with result. His hand was firm and light, the hand of an efficient surgeon.

“Okay, the worst is out, but I think you should send it to the hospital laundry so it doesn't get stained one bit.

He went to the desk and gestured for Diana to sit in the opposite chair. She did this and watched him. She thought he was a handsome man who made a good impression at first sight. His fine features, his piercing, shrewd eyes, and the prematurely gray streaks at his temples gave him a certain air of distinction. The shape of his nose and chin suggested strength of character. His body was lean, lithe and taller than average. Next to him every woman felt small and very feminine. Her eyes were really attention-grabbing, they were deep and brown and he looked people straight into their eyes so incisively that it seemed impossible to hide anything from him.

In a way, he was a striking presence that left her disturbed and Diana knew she wouldn't forget that figure so easily, as he had impressed her a lot. It was completely different from what she had imagined. She'd expected a mean, gruff, scary type, and Jonathan was none of those things. He was calm, courteous without being pretentious. When he started to speak he got straight to the point, bluntly.

“It is my duty to welcome you here, Doctor. The agency selected you because they thought you were the most suitable candidate and we respect their opinion because this agency has a reputation for being very strict in its criteria...

"...But personally you are not happy with the choice," Diana added impulsively, almost without realizing it. When she realized that she had interrupted the superintendent, she immediately apologized.

"No need to apologize... you're right," he replied. “I do have a certain prejudice against women doctors, but as I'm part of a minority you shouldn't even consider that. And you can call me you...

“It'll be hard not to take that into account, since you're the superintendent. Your opposition or dislike, I don't know, already puts me at a disadvantage to start my work here! -She was tired, disappointed and continued to speak with a trembling voice of indignation without caring about the face he made. "I know that you will be judging everything I do in a partial way and therefore you will be able to reproach me unfairly!"

"I don't think it's without reason." You are demonstrating, right now, exactly what I most criticize in women and what I think makes it impossible for her to be a competent doctor: emotional instability. Women are very sensitive, they are easily carried away by emotions and this cannot happen with a good doctor. Nurses can still get emotionally involved with patients... in fact, sometimes it even helps with their treatment... but the doctor has to remain calm at all times and never allow emotion to interfere with his reasoning. And that's what you just did. Well, but since you're here I want to tell you that I hope you're happy and do a good job. This hospital means a lot to me.

'And the job means a lot to me, that's for sure.

She had already regained control. She wasn't going to let this man get to her again. From now on she would be cool and efficient and he would never be able to criticize her again. Diana loved medicine just as her father had. Since she was a child, she had played doctor with the dolls and now that she had grown up and graduated, she was prepared to dedicate herself fully to patients, to bravely face the suffering of the sick. She was fully aware of the responsibility of dealing with human beings.

— Another restriction that I have, regarding women in medicine, is the regrettable tendency they have to seek marriage, because when they get married, the dedication is over, the profession goes into the background and then you can no longer trust them.

Diana wanted to scream "pig-chauvinist", "macho man", but she had to control herself and argued calmly.

'You can rest assured that I have no intention of marrying or showing myself untrustworthy. I came here to work and that's what I'm going to do efficiently.

He didn't look the least bit impressed.

"If you don't, you'll have to deal with me later," Jonathan snapped. He scrutinized her coldly for a few moments, then added awkwardly, "Why did you choose medicine?"

“I've always wanted to be a doctor. My father wanted it too; he wasn't like you, he didn't think the profession was inappropriate for women, nor did he think I was incapable of doing it.

He ignored the hint, got up and tried to end the conversation.

“Report for work in twenty-four hours.

- Twenty four hours?! But I thought it would start right away!

— You've just come back from a long and tiring journey and you haven't even adjusted to the time change yet. He is in no condition to work. Now what you have to do is go to the barracks to unpack and go to bed. Stay in bed all the time. Your meals will be taken to your room, if you wake up earlier and want something just ask for it on the internal phone, but I order you to rest at twenty-four hours. You might think it's unnecessary, but it turns out it's a proven fact that jet flying and the time change lower physical stamina and slow reflexes. Don't think you can sleep a little and then go out walking and shopping. I said bed rest for twenty-four hours! I will admit no doctor to this hospital who is not in perfect condition for work.

Then he pressed a button on the intercom and called the supervisor.

— Dr. Diana is here with me. I have ordered her to rest twenty-four hours as usual, and I would like you to make sure that she obeys me. She strikes me as willful and stubborn. I think you'll have to tame her.