{"id":155,"date":"2016-09-04T13:20:50","date_gmt":"2016-09-04T17:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.herbheineman.com\/?page_id=155"},"modified":"2024-07-26T10:09:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-26T14:09:46","slug":"chapter-8","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/herbheineman.com\/Eden\/edensgarden\/chapter-8\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 8: More Than a Cold"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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PART II: 1983<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The best that could be said of Eden\u2019s performance in school was that she rarely missed going. Sadly, her attendance record owed nothing to love of school or the book learning that took place there. Credit \u2015 not the term she would have used \u2015 belonged to her parents, who had taught her long ago that you showed up where you were supposed to be unless you were truly disabled. By the time she was twelve years old, she knew that ordinary colds did not qualify for calling in sick.<\/p>

What began that Friday in November was no ordinary cold. The headache and sore throat came on during her last class. She hoped that a restful weekend would take care of the worst, and by Monday she\u2019d be back at school, not having missed a day. But it didn\u2019t turn out that way. During the night she vomited. Next morning she had fever of 100 degrees and her throat felt worse. Tylenol did nothing for her.\u00a0 She spent Saturday and Sunday in bed, drinking hot tea and soup, because swallowing was too painful for anything solid. Clearly she wouldn\u2019t make it to school Monday.<\/p>

\u201cShouldn\u2019t she be getting penicillin?\u201d Karen asked her husband.<\/p>

\u201cPenicillin\u2019s no good for virus infections.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYou always say that.\u201d It didn\u2019t seem right that nothing should be done for someone as sick as Eden. Other doctors gave antibiotics for sore throats.<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s always true,\u201d he said. \u201cBesides, every time you take penicillin you risk having an allergic reaction.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI had penicillin when she was born, and I didn\u2019t have a reaction.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThat\u2019s no reason why she can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cOK, but that isn\u2019t the only antibiotic.\u00a0 Why not give her one that doesn\u2019t cause allergies?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cIf she did have strep, penicillin would be the one to give.\u201d<\/p>

Karen was having trouble with his logic. \u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u00a0 First you say she shouldn\u2019t\u2014\u201d<\/p>

\u201cLook, we\u2019re speculating about strep, then we\u2019re speculating about allergy. That\u2019s not the way to practice medicine.\u201d Always an argument. And his lawyer wife wasn\u2019t done yet.<\/p>

\u201cYou mean she should never get penicillin, no matter how sick? In case she got allergic?\u201d<\/p>

Alan took a moment to compose himself.\u00a0 \u201cHow sick has nothing to do with it. If she were dying of yellow fever, you could throw the pharmacy at her, so you could say you did something<\/em>, and it wouldn\u2019t do her a bit of good. Antibiotics don\u2019t touch colds, and that\u2019s what she\u2019s got.\u201d<\/p>

Karen wanted it straight, for the record. \u201cBut suppose she did have strep throat. Then shouldn\u2019t she have penicillin, like you said?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYes, she should. And I\u2019d like to have a dollar for every shot of penicillin given in one year for a sore throat that isn\u2019t strep, just to satisfy overanxious mothers. I could retire in luxury.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cBut suppose it is. Doesn\u2019t that sometimes develop into scarlet fever, or other horrible things?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYes, it does \u2015 sometimes. Rarely. You\u2019re far too worried. . . . OK, tomorrow I\u2019ll get a throat culture. For now, let her gargle with salt water. That\u2019s what we tell all our patients.\u201d<\/p>

On Monday Eden was no better. Alan brought home a culture kit. \u201cOpen wide, say \u2018Ah!\u2019 as low as you can,\u201d he instructed her. Her tonsils were large and red, but the telltale marks of strep throat \u2015 white spots and pinpoint hemorrhages \u2015 were lacking. That\u2019s what cultures were for, when you couldn\u2019t be sure from looking. He aimed the swab at one of her tonsils; she drew back and gagged and started to cry. In the end, he didn\u2019t know what he\u2019d swabbed. He took the specimen to the lab Tuesday morning. Finding nobody at the reception desk, he filled out the form, left the specimen, and went about his work. Next day he called for the result.<\/p>

\u201cHold on.\u201d Half a minute later the voice returned. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a culture with that name.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cHow can you not have it? I left it on the desk. Filled the request slip out myself.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cLet me check with Marvin, he was at the desk yesterday.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThere was no one there,\u201d Alan said, already frustrated. \u201cPage me as soon as you know.\u201d<\/p>

It took twenty minutes. \u201cLaboratory, Marvin speaking. May I help you?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cMy daughter\u2019s throat swab. I left it yesterday. Now they tell me they don\u2019t have it.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019ll have to check. I\u2019ll call you back.\u201d<\/p>

Alan hung up and cursed. Another half hour went by before his beeper went off again.<\/p>

\u201cDoctor Avery, this is Angela.\u201d\u00a0 The supervisor\u2019s intervention meant that the issue was beyond her subordinate\u2019s ability. Alan had already come to that conclusion.\u00a0 \u201cYou figured it out?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cName\u2019s Eden, right?\u201d Alan\u2019s relief was short-lived. \u201cHere\u2019s the slip, but there was no specimen with her name,\u201d Angela continued. \u201cIt could have been the unlabeled one.\u201d<\/p>

Alan tried to remember labeling the tube. \u201cI\u2019m sure I labeled it, but even if I didn\u2019t, I left it right on top of the slip, so there couldn\u2019t have been any mistake.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI know it\u2019s frustrating, but we\u2019re not allowed to match unlabeled specimens. State regs. I\u2019m terribly sorry. Can you get another one and send it to my attention? I\u2019ll make sure it\u2019s handled right.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThanks.\u201d He realized they were doing their job. State regulations. Everyone hated them. He swallowed his frustration, picked up a new swab, and faced Eden once more.<\/p>

\u201cWell, Daddy, do I live or die?\u201d She was evidently feeling better. His oversight had cost two days, and he felt even less inclined to go through this exercise again just to allay Karen\u2019s fears of \u201cscarlet fever, or other horrible things.\u201d But he had to be honest with both of them.<\/p>

\u201cHoney, you\u2019re going to live a long, long time. But I must have forgotten to write your name on the tube, so you\u2019ll have to hold still for another specimen.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cBut I\u2019m getting better. Can\u2019t we pretend you took it?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNo, we can\u2019t pretend. Mommy\u2019s also going to ask, and I won\u2019t lie to either of you. So please open up. I promise it\u2019ll be the last time.\u201d\u00a0 She tried, she pulled back, she gagged.\u00a0 This time he made certain to write her name on the label. Two days later he had the report:\u00a0 \u201cNormal throat flora. No pathogens identified.\u201d Alan derived no comfort from it.\u00a0 Ruefully he thought, sick for nine days, getting better, negative culture, and I don\u2019t even know if I swabbed her tonsils or her teeth.<\/p>

By the following Monday Eden felt well. After a ten-day illness, she might have taken an extra day off to gather her strength, but ice-skating was on the calendar for that evening. Under the circumstances, she thought it best to go back to school. The sore throat was soon forgotten.<\/p>

Three weeks later she collided with another skater and fell hard, hitting her head on the ice. The impact stunned her. Her friend, Debbie Rabin, watched Eden stagger up.<\/p>

\u201cI think we should go home,\u201d Debbie said. \u201cYou don\u2019t look too great.\u201d Eden did not resist and called Karen to pick them up. By the time they arrived home, she seemed fully recovered.<\/p>

Next morning her right knee was stiff. Gingerly \u2015 because it hurt \u2015 she removed her pajama bottom. The knee was swollen.\u00a0 \u201cMommy,\u201d she called, \u201cmy knee hurts, and it\u2019s puffed up.\u201d<\/p>

Karen looked and called Alan, who was just putting on his coat.<\/p>

\u201cYou really banged yourself up, didn\u2019t you? Do you remember hurting it?\u201d he asked.<\/p>

\u201cNo,\u201d Eden replied. \u201cI felt woozy after I hit my head, but I don\u2019t remember anything about my knee. It seemed OK when I got home. Wasn\u2019t it, Mommy?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYou didn\u2019t complain about it,\u201d Karen answered. She turned to Alan. \u201cIs it possible to come up like that overnight if it doesn\u2019t hurt at the time?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cIf the knee was all she hurt, she\u2019d have noticed it last night. But like she said, she was stunned, so she wasn\u2019t paying attention to it.\u201d<\/p>

Karen turned to Eden. \u201cYou can\u2019t go to school with that. I\u2019ll call in sick for you.\u201d<\/p>

For the second time in three weeks, Karen also called the law office to tell them she had to stay home with her child. Great life for a lawyer, she thought, take time off anytime you feel like it.<\/p>

Twice Eden tried to walk, but all she managed was to hop to the bathroom. Karen witnessed these attempts with mounting anxiety. Finally she could stand it no longer and called Alan.<\/p>

\u201cShouldn\u2019t we have her x-rayed? She must have broken something.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cIt could be a bad sprain. If it\u2019s no better in the morning, I\u2019ll have Rick take a look.\u201d Rick Harmon had been Eden\u2019s pediatrician of record since she was born. In practice, Alan was the family doctor. Rick would have preferred Alan, an internist, to leave his daughter\u2019s care to a pediatrician, but Alan didn\u2019t think it took a pediatrician to treat sniffles or keep track of immunizations, and he knew when to call for help. So far so good. But Rick worried about doctors\u2019 children.<\/p>

That evening Eden\u2019s knee was even tenderer. As Alan reached out to examine it, she shielded it with her hands. He\u2019d barely touched it when she screamed, \u201cOw! Stop!\u201d \u00a0He quickly withdrew his hand, looking puzzled. \u201cIs it that tender? Maybe you did damage something.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019ve never had anything like this. I have to lie on top of the covers because I can\u2019t stand them on my knee. I wish I knew what\u2019s going on. And I don\u2019t feel good at all.\u201d She burst into tears. \u201cThis afternoon I had a nosebleed. I don\u2019t even remember hitting it. What\u2019s happening to me?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cLet\u2019s take your temperature.\u201d After a minute he read the thermometer,. \u201cHundred one point eight,\u201d he said with exaggerated calm.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ll take you to Doctor Harmon in the morning.\u201d<\/p>

The next morning brought another surprise. Eden now complained of pain in her left elbow and ankle as well, and again she wouldn\u2019t let her parents near the afflicted joints. Still numb from the preceding day\u2019s experience, she announced the new developments without emotion. Carefully Karen helped her dress. They reached the stairs just in time to catch Alan\u2019s \u201cDamn, damn<\/em>, DAMN!\u201d<\/p>

Karen looked at him with alarm but didn\u2019t dare ask what had prompted the outburst. She helped Eden to the car to wait for him. \u201cShall I come along?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYou\u2019d better. Rick\u2019s going to want to speak with both of us.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cDoes he know we\u2019re coming?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNo, but he\u2019ll make room for us. That\u2019s one advantage of not going to him with routine stuff.\u201d<\/p>

The trip took fifteen minutes, five of them over a cobbled street. By the time they arrived at the hospital, where Rick had his office, Eden was in agony.<\/p>

\u201cWhat have we here?\u201d Rick asked as cheerfully as he could, as Eden limped in on Karen\u2019s arm.<\/p>

\u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on,\u201d Eden said, trying not to cry. \u201cI fell on the ice, and all kinds of things happen days later. I know I didn\u2019t I hurt myself that bad.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cTell me the rest of it.\u201d He frowned as he listened.\u00a0 \u201cDoes she get nosebleeds often?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNo,\u201d Karen answered definitively. \u201cOnly that time the swing hit her in the face. But this one makes no sense. In the middle of the afternoon, lying on her bed. She doesn\u2019t even have a cold.\u201d<\/p>

Rick examined Eden\u2019s skin from head to toe. \u201cNothing. Look at her skin from time to time.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cWhat do I look for?\u201d Karen asked. \u201cIs she getting scarlet fever?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNothing like that. What you\u2019re looking for is big funny red shapes, like wobbly circles. They come and go. Here in the morning, gone in the afternoon, back someplace else at night. Also check for nodules.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYou mean swollen glands?\u201d asked Karen. \u201cShe did, with the sore throat, three weeks ago.\u201d\u00a0 Rick turned to Karen with arched eyebrows. \u201cI was coming to the sore throat part. Help her get dressed, and I\u2019ll send in a nurse to get a blood specimen. We\u2019ll also want a throat culture.\u201d Alan stoically kept a straight face.<\/p>

\u201cAnd x-rays?\u201d Karen asked.<\/p>

\u201cNot now. Later maybe.\u201d He turned to Alan, who was standing by the window, staring silently into space. \u201cCome with me.\u201d Rick was a large, overweight man in his late fifties who comfortably filled the Santa Claus outfit in which he made rounds during Christmas season. His iron grip on Alan\u2019s arm made clear his displeasure as he led him into another room, where they could be alone.<\/p>

\u201cWhy in God\u2019s name did you have to drag that poor child all the way out here?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cDon\u2019t you treat rheumatic fever any more? Would you prefer that I handle it myself?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cOf course I treat rheumatic fever. Luckily I hardly ever see it anymore. I meant driving her along that bone-rattling Germantown Avenue. You should\u2019ve called. Wait while I send them home.\u201d<\/p>

Outside, he said to Karen: \u201cWhat Edie needs right now is bed rest and aspirin.\u00a0 Give her two adult tablets every four hours till the joints cool off. If her ears start ringing, cut back, but I bet she won\u2019t need that many. I\u2019ll call you in a couple of days.\u201d<\/p>

To Eden he said: \u201cSee you later, princess. Keep your nose clean. No, I take that back. Better leave it alone; we don\u2019t want another bleed.\u201d<\/p>

Despite her discomfort, Eden smiled at Rick\u2019s pun and said: \u201cI\u2019ll try. Will I be OK?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYou\u2019ll be fine. Just rest up and take your pills.\u201d<\/p>

Rick went back into the examining room. Alan was sitting motionless where he had left him.<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m sorry I blew up. My emotions got the better of me. But you must be feeling like shit, having this happen in your own family. What\u2019s the story on the sore throat? That just about clinched it for me. I could be wrong, but I\u2019d bet my shirt the skating accident was a red herring.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI thought she had a virus. The irony is that Karen got on my back to give her penicillin: Scarlet fever and whatnot, she was fantasizing. I compromised and took a throat culture.\u201d He described the laboratory fiasco. \u201cBy the time we got done with that, Eden was getting better, so the whole thing seemed moot.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cAnd the culture was negative?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cSo what? I didn\u2019t even get a decent specimen. I was so pissed, I was probably just trying to prove Karen wrong.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNow quit the psychoanalysis. You cultured her twice, so how can you say you didn\u2019t try?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI didn\u2019t get anywhere near her throat either time. Mouth swabs is what they were. And the first one I didn\u2019t even label. Some shrinks would call that unconscious sabotage. You call it trying?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYou\u2019re being too hard on yourself.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cGod, I feel so rotten. Here\u2019s my own child getting rheumatic fever because her know-it-all father is too sophisticated to give her penicillin for a strep throat without having it in writing. Just for my information, do you give penicillin without doing a culture?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNo. Throat cultures are fast and cheap.\u00a0 We use them all the time. You did the right thing.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cExcept I didn\u2019t get a good specimen \u2015 or label it.\u00a0 So what\u2019s going to happen now?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019ll run its course.\u00a0 We can relieve the joints, but if her heart\u2019s going to be involved, there\u2019s nothing we can do to stop it.\u00a0 I don\u2019t mean to be insensitive. You know the answers anyway. If she gets past the first three weeks without cardiac signs, we can relax a little. But carditis doesn\u2019t have to be severe to damage the valves, as you know.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cNot encouraging, is it?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cIt could turn out benign. But this is a disease to respect.\u00a0 It\u2019s better not to have any illusions.\u00a0 In any case, she\u2019s going to miss weeks, maybe months of school.\u00a0 Are you going to your office?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI ought to, but I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m up to it.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cYou might be even less up to being useful at home. I\u2019ll call Karen and explain that I told you to go about your business. I\u2019ll be over to check Edie two or three times a week till I know where she\u2019s going, and I expect to hear from you if anything happens in between my visits. Is that clear?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThanks. I wish I\u2019d called you when she had the sore throat, instead of being such an asshole.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cSometime I\u2019ll tell you about my mother\u2019s heart attack. Believe me, friend, you\u2019re not the only asshole treat-your-own-family doctor in town.\u201d<\/p>

A few minutes later he called Karen. \u201cGreat timing!\u201d she answered, house keys still in her hand. \u201cI just got here.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cTake your time. Get Edie settled and do whatever else you have to, and call me back.\u201d The message was clear: It was going to be a long conversation, and he didn\u2019t want her running off in the middle of it. She quietly assented and helped Eden to bed. Then she started the coffee maker.\u00a0 Next she made a ham sandwich.\u00a0 Finally she went to the bathroom.\u00a0 Then she ran out of delaying tactics.<\/p>

Rick wasted no words. \u201cWe don\u2019t have proof yet, but Edie may have rheumatic fever. Ordinarily I wait till I\u2019m sure before telling the mother, but I know you too well to hold out on you. I could turn out to be wrong, but a false alarm wouldn\u2019t be any worse than leaving you up in the air.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cPlease, Rick, no apologies. We\u2019re all intelligent people and I respect your judgment. Of course I hope you\u2019re wrong, but if you\u2019re not I\u2019d rather have you level with me. How serious is it?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cToo soon to tell.\u00a0 It could turn out benign, despite the pain.\u00a0 I\u2019ll let Alan explain everything.\u00a0 Too bad about the sore throat. He told me about the problem with the lab.\u00a0 I imagine you know that rheumatic fever only happens after a strep throat.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI know about scarlet fever, but nobody ever mentioned rheumatic fever.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cHow bad was the sore throat?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cPretty bad. Fever over a hundred two, and really sick. Couldn\u2019t swallow. Alan wouldn\u2019t give her penicillin without being sure. She got over it without, so I figured he was right.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cIt was a judgment call.\u201d\u00a0 Rick kept his opinion of that judgment to himself.\u00a0 \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have known whether she had strep or a virus. And people do get over strep without penicillin.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cBut if you treat a strep throat, can you prevent rheumatic fever?\u201d\u00a0 The question made Rick uncomfortable. He did not fancy being caught in the middle of a spousal fight, particularly one with such serious implications.\u00a0 \u201cYes, but sore throats are so common, you\u2019d want to be pretty sure.\u201d<\/p>

The answer met with a brief silence. \u201cWhat about Alan? Is he on his way home?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI took it on myself to send him to work. There\u2019s nothing he can do at home that you can\u2019t, and to have him hanging around all solicitous and useless \u2015 I couldn\u2019t imagine it helping anyone.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cMaybe he\u2019s not as worried as I am. He knows enough to be objective, and I\u2019m just an overanxious mother.\u201d She forced a laugh to mask the chilling questions welling up in her mind. \u201cI gave Edie her first aspirins, and I don\u2019t hear a thing. I bet she fell asleep.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cLeave her that way. She won\u2019t feel any pain. Don\u2019t forget, if anything happens before I call you back, get on the phone right away.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThanks a million, Rick. I\u2019m all confused about this, and it\u2019s a comfort to have you to talk to.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThat\u2019s what I get paid for.\u201d<\/p>

She smiled as she hung up, knowing he would never charge them a penny.<\/p>

~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>

Eden was a child of privilege, the only offspring of a lawyer mother and physician father. Taking the well-oiled routine of her parents\u2019 workdays for granted, she had no idea of the ambition and hard work that paid for her comforts. Ambition and hard work were decidedly not Eden\u2019s forte.<\/p>

Perhaps her indifference was born of an indifferent self-image. Her appearance was anything but remarkable. A gym coach might have looked with passing interest on her lithe but immature body; her male contemporaries found nothing there to turn their heads. In her round face, crowned by a head of unruly auburn hair, the only notable feature was the abundance of freckles. No one ever called Eden beautiful; plain might have sounded unkind but was certainly more accurate. Her chief asset was an engaging cheerfulness that assured her an abundance of friends.<\/p>

Her scholastic performance was as indifferent as her appearance. Three months earlier she had settled into sixth grade at the Charles W. Henry School, where she continued her education in the same detached manner as before. She had done well enough to keep up but, in her teachers\u2019 estimation, had absorbed the necessary learning by sheer accident. Their classes were a poor match for Eden\u2019s daydreaming and her fascination with activity outside the windows. Nobody, herself included, had any idea what she wanted to set her brain to.<\/p>

Her lack of motivation had been the subject of numerous mother-teacher conferences, followed by a lecture, a few days\u2019 improvement, and relapse. Alan was no help.<\/p>

\u201cI wish you\u2019d talk with her,\u201d Karen had said to him. \u201cI sit down with her, and she promises to keep up. Then a couple of weeks later I get another call. Even Mrs. Lopez called last week.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cMrs. Lopez?\u201d Alan did not recognize the name.<\/p>

Karen swallowed her irritation and answered, yet one more time, \u201cThe principal.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cWill Edie have to repeat the year?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cIt\u2019s only October, but the same old pattern\u2019s developing, and it needs to be stopped.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cDon\u2019t you think Mrs. Lopez is a bit overanxious? Edie\u2019s barely started fifth grade.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cSixth,\u201d Karen corrected him with heroic self-control. She took a deep breath. \u201cNo, Mrs. Lopez is not overanxious. On the contrary, I\u2019m thankful she\u2019s so concerned. She also knows that Edie\u2019s bright enough to do better.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cHow about some counseling?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cHow about some paternal involvement?\u201d<\/p>

It was Alan\u2019s turn to bite his tongue. Karen was right. More and more he had been leaving it to her to deal with school-related matters. One time the telephone had rung as Karen was on top of a stepladder.\u00a0 As he picked it up, he heard the voice of the principal. She seemed delighted to have caught her student\u2019s father at home. \u201cIs that Doctor Avery? I\u2019m so\u2014\u201d\u00a0 Before she could announce the purpose of her call he had shouted, \u201cKaren, it\u2019s the principal,\u201d and put down the receiver. As he recalled the incident now, he thought surely she must have given her name and he hadn\u2019t listened.<\/p>

And now the fifth-sixth-grade gaffe. Yes, he needed to become more involved in his daughter\u2019s education. He resolved to do so. Trouble was, he had resolved similarly in the past. Then his practice demands had got in the way again. An occasional stern lecture was no substitute for the day-in-day-out attention Eden needed. It was easier for Karen, who only worked half days, while he often didn\u2019t get home till nine o\u2019clock. That was no time to deal with his daughter\u2019s study habits.<\/p>

~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>

The Rabins lived fifteen minutes by foot from the Averys. Newcomers to Philadelphia four years earlier, they had enrolled their children in the Charles W. Henry elementary school. Three days a week, after school, Eden walked with Debbie over to the Rabins\u2019 on McCallum Street, where they worked together until Karen, on her way home from the office, picked her up. Their assignments might or might not be done, depending on Debbie\u2019s fourteen-year-old brother. Joshua was not one to keep his bountiful wisdom to himself, and when he was in a sharing mood the girls accomplished little.<\/p>

Joshua also had the teenager\u2019s instinct for shocking his audience. Neither girl would ever forget that summer. His mother had prevailed on him to take out a bag of garbage. As he opened the bin, he stopped cold, first in shock, then in fascination. He replaced the lid, recovered his composure, and seized the opportunity for a little diversion.\u00a0 \u201cHey, come out here, you got to see this.\u201d<\/p>

His tone held such promise that it didn\u2019t occur to the girls to ask what they were being treated to. With a flourish he swept away the lid. Debbie stared, went pale, and vomited right into the bin.<\/p>

\u201cDid you have to do that?\u201d Eden, with a tougher stomach, demanded.<\/p>

\u201cWhat do you mean, \u2018have to\u2019?\u00a0 Would you be puking if you saw a bunch of flies in there?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThose \u2015 are \u2015 not \u2015 flies,\u201d she said through clenched teeth.<\/p>

Debbie\u2019s answer was less restrained. \u201cYou louse, you rotten \u2015 ooh \u2015 you WORM!\u201d she screamed, punching him on the chest with both fists.<\/p>

The hubbub brought Esther Rabin to the door. Following Eden\u2019s eyes to the bin, she looked inside and slammed down the lid. For two seconds she stood still. Then she took a deep breath, surveyed the assemblage, and went for a pail of hot water and ammonia. Her words were few:\u00a0 \u201cGo get into clean clothes, Debbie.\u201d<\/p>

Joshua and Eden were alone.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t think they\u2019re the same as flies?\u201d he asked.<\/p>

\u201cWhat\u2019re you talking about? There\u2019s a thousand maggots in there.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThey turn into flies.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI don\u2019t believe it. You\u2019re putting me on.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019m serious.\u201d And his face showed it. \u201cA maggot is a larva. You\u2019re disgusted because that\u2019s how you were brought up. Just tell yourself not to be, and you\u2019ll see how fascinating they are. Real works of art. Those slimy little worms grow wings and turn into flies. . . . Still feel like puking?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cAre you pulling my leg?\u201d Both the biology lesson and Joshua\u2019s earnestness were new to her.<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019d never do that. . . . OK, I would. But my word of honor, this is true. Look it up.\u201d<\/p>

Eden looked skeptical but said nothing. Joshua had another idea.<\/p>

\u201cDo you know what a caterpillar is?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cOf course I know what a caterpillar is.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cDo you know that caterpillars turn into butterflies?\u201d<\/p>

\u201cThat\u2019s different.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cHere\u2019s more\u2014\u201c<\/p>

\u201cI\u2019ve heard enough\u2014\u201c<\/p>

\u201cNo, wait a minute. This I have to tell you, then I\u2019ll stop.\u201d<\/p>

Eden\u2019s expression said this had better be good. She waited for him to speak.<\/p>

\u201cDid you know that you were a fish before you were born? Gills and all?\u201d<\/p>

She rolled her eyes and turned to go. As she crossed the threshold, he dropped one more pearl:\u00a0 \u201cA fish with a freckled face. I love it!\u201d<\/p>

That evening she checked with her father. Everything Joshua had said was right \u2015 except for the freckles; Alan professed uncertainty about that detail.<\/p>

Monday and Thursday evenings were for skating. Dinner was at the Averys\u2019 on Wayne Avenue, Esther and Karen taking turns driving the girls to the Wissahickon Ice Skating Club.<\/p>

\u201cIn two years Josh\u2019ll be old enough to drive,\u201d Karen said one day. \u201cThe girls will love that.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cI bet they will,\u201d Esther said, with a suggestive lift of her eyebrows. \u201cBoth of them.\u201d<\/p>

Karen smiled at the hint. Esther continued, \u201cI don\u2019t know that I\u2019d trust him behind the wheel, though. He\u2019s a good boy, but driving and playing practical jokes don\u2019t go together.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cHe could change a lot in two years.\u201d Karen sometimes wondered how a son of hers would have turned out. But she had determined to have no more children after Eden and quickly scotched any regrets. Anyway, Debbie and Josh did just fine as surrogate siblings.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Chapter 9 >><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PART II: 1983 The best that could be said of Eden\u2019s performance in school was that she rarely missed going. Sadly, her attendance record owed nothing to love of school or the book learning that took place there. Credit \u2015 not the term she would have used \u2015 belonged to her parents, who had taught […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":21,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-155","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/herbheineman.com\/Eden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/herbheineman.com\/Eden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/herbheineman.com\/Eden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herbheineman.com\/Eden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herbheineman.com\/Eden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/herbheineman.com\/Eden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":891,"href":"https:\/\/herbheineman.com\/Eden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/155\/revisions\/891"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/herbheineman.com\/Eden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/21"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/herbheineman.com\/Eden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}