Read Online Stranger by David Bergen - Free Book Online

his pickup. No one offered him help. He stooped and picked up the doctor. It was difficult, and he dropped him twice before he managed to hoist him over his shoulder. He walked back to the pickup and laid him in the bed of the truck. Carlos climbed back into his pickup and drove to the clinic at Ixchel, where he knew there were qualified doctors.
    Ã SO heard the following morning that Doctor Mann had been driven to the city, and that he was in surgery at one of the private clinics there. Her manager told her the details of the accident, and of the attack. She worked that day, but her heart was elsewhere. At noon she sat in the garden and she put her face in her hands, making certain that no one saw her. She knew nothing about Eric’s condition.
    The following morning when she arrived at work, she asked after the doctor. Her relationship with him was seen as friendly. It was not known how deeply she cared for him. And he for her. And so she had to pretend that she was simply concerned because he was popular, and they were friends. The news was that he hadsuffered a broken clavicle and he had some swelling on the brain. He would be okay. She was amazed at her relief. At the end of the day she found Illya, and Illya, who had heard about the accident, hugged her, and it was then that Íso cried and cried as Illya spoke softly into her ear.
    What will happen? Íso asked.
    He will live, Illya said. Don’t worry.
    Poor Eric, she said.
    The following morning she arrived early at work and asked again after the doctor. She was told that the doctor’s wife had been contacted, and that she might arrive soon. Or she would come later. In any case, it was clear that the doctor’s wife would be making an appearance. When she told Illya, Illya said that she should go to see him as soon as possible. The next day was Friday, and even though there was work, she should go. Illya said she would tell the director that Íso was not well. She hugged Íso again, and said, You must.
    And so on Friday morning, she went with her mother to visit Doctor Mann. They rode the boat across the lake in the early morning and took a bus up to Sololá and transferred to another bus that would take them into the city. It took a long time to reach the main highway, and after many stops they turned onto the Panamericana. She held her mother’s hand and they looked out at the fields and as they ascended the highlands a mist enveloped them and it began to rain and the world disappeared.
    The doctor was in a private hospital that resembled an expensive hotel. It was silent and spotless and there was no poverty to beseen on the faces of those who whispered through the halls. The floors were of hardwood and ceramic, and the chairs in the waiting room were of leather. Her mother sat in one of these chairs while she made inquiries at the front desk. Íso would be allowed to see the doctor for ten minutes.
    A nurse guided Íso to the elevator and then took her to the third floor. The nurse was young and she had a strong jaw and she didn’t say much to Íso except to state that Doctor Mann was known here. He is very fortunate, she said.
    Will he live? Íso asked.
    The nurse looked at her as if she were crazy. Of course, she said. Then she said that Doctor Mann did not like to be touched. It upset him. Íso nodded. She could not imagine Eric not wanting to be touched.
    He was sitting up in bed. The nurse went in first and told him that he had a visitor and announced her as Íso. His face, when he saw her, registered no surprise or curiosity, and it was as if she were a stranger. She went to him and told him again that she was Íso. He repeated her name several times, as if it were a game. The nurse remained in the room, but this did not stop Íso from standing near his bed and saying his name. His neck was bruised and she put her hand near his throat and asked if it hurt. He shook his head. She was crying. And then she said