Chapter 10: The Visit
Saturday came in a flash for Carlos. With another work week closed, he was glad he didn't fuck things up with Tiffany too badly. He had a suspicion he would have to answer to either Dr. Weiss or Juan or maybe both someday.
But at that particular moment, he cared nothing for other people's opinion of him. What mattered to him was getting to his meeting.
When he parked his car, he walked into the large multi-storied building. He went in through the entrance, passed the pharmacy, past the atrium to an elevator, and once inside, he his the button for the neurology department.
Once he was there, he found a woman at a desk. She looked up to him with the doe-eyed look of a twenty something who had been to nursing school and picked the comfiest job for the right amount of pay.
He could not judge her for that. Risk assessment was not the only thing he was good at. He had also been very good about product value. No shame in it.
"Hello. I am Carlos Santiago. I am here to see Doctor Elliot Goldstein," he said, leaning on the counter.
"I am sorry, Mister Santiago, but Doctor Goldstein is busy," she said with some level of uncertainty.
"A-lys-sa! Get your butt up," said the lovely southern voice of Nancy Avery. She snapped her fingers and came up by the young nurse's side. "Didn't I tell you that Dr. Goldstein would have a guest?"
Carlos laughed and motioned for Nancy to come around to give him a hug. Of course the five foot six plump woman would comply with his desires.
"It's good to see you, Nance," he said, holding her in a big hug.
"It's good to see you too, sugar," she said, enjoying his strong arms holding her. "I wish it was under better circumstances."
"We can't help that," Carlos remarked simply.
When he pulled back, he looked at the woman in her nurse's scrubs. Her hair was in braids and did not hide the streaks of gray she developed from healthy aging. She was a near sixty year old woman, and the only sign of that was in her hair. Her smooth skin and deep brown eyes hid the rest of her time alive from everyone.
"I'm still sorry Dr. Kauffman tried to throw his weight around, baby. I know how much this means to you."
"Thank you, gorgeous," he said back.
"Gorgeous?" Nancy said, turning her head and blushing slightly. "We
both
know that compliment ain't real."
"You know it is. You are doing me a huge favor," he said, holding up his two books. They were paperbacks and well worn.
"I'll take those, baby. I wish you would visit more often," she said with a sigh.
"Well, I have a business to run, and you and I both know I have to avoid you-know-who."
"Begging my pardon, but fuck that man," Nancy said in a lower tone. "I don't give a damn about him. I give a damn about the man that
actually
visits for any reasonable amount of time." She shook her head in annoyance. "Did you know I saw him bring another woman in here with their kids?"
Carlos clenched his right fist. "Nancy...Don't tell me that. I will end up hurting him and going to jail."
"You have good lawyers," Nancy clapped back quickly. "Besides, he brought that young thing in here with the kids... Lord knows that woman is here
because
of that man."
Carlos smiled. If ever he were to appear before a judge, he would have no better ally than that of Nancy Avery in his corner.
With his books in hand, she motioned to where a tall, thin, bald white man (who sported a light tan) was standing. On his face were a pair of circular eyeglasses that only made the medical professional even more distinguished. Truth be told, Carlos always likened him to a 90s Jeff Goldblum, but he worried that it would come off as disrespectful to the man's heritage given one was named Goldstein and the other was Goldblum.
"The doctor will see you now," Nancy said in her sing-song voice as Carlos walked up to Elliot Goldstein.
"Ah, Carlos!" the doctor said.
Carlos reached into the sleeve of his coat. He was not sure how security or anyone would have taken to him bringing in a twenty five year old Cognac, but he proffered it to Elliot.
"Tell Doctor Kauffman that I am sorry. I didn't mean to be disrespectful."
"You always bring the nicest apology gifts," Goldstein said. He could appreciate what he was given. The drink he accepted was worth more than a grand, and so the doctor made it a point to disappear into his office and then reappear empty handed. "Take a walk with me?"
Of course, Carlos would say yes. This was his only chance to talk to the man responsible for someone important to Carlos.
"Is she improving?" Carlos asked bluntly.
"Her condition remains the same, Carlos, but you know that," Elliot said.
"I just thought with time..."
"That's not how this works," the doctor replied as they walked away from the more public area of the department. "We've been over this. I know you care for her, but after the blood loss, coupled with her anemia and
significant
-- and let me be clear, it was significant, Carlos -- blood loss, her case is complex to say the least."
Carlos would not have it. He lifted both hands to his chest level. "But there
has
to be something you can do."
"We are doing it, Carlos. You
know
that. Comas can vary depending on circumstances. Everything from the underlying cause to how long she's been unconscious to the brain damage from not having enough blood and oxygen." Doctor Elliot Goldstein made motions with his hands, so Carlos could understand how serious it was, given the stress on Carlos.
"Okay...What are the odds she wakes up?" Carlos asked with his usual straightforward directness.
Elliot paused them, motioning to a window to look out to the cars down below. He let out a heavy sigh. "That's what I am trying to tell you, Carlos," he said softly. "In Priya's case, since she has been in a coma for over a year, the prognosis suggests that she is not likely to wake up."
Carlos heard words like that before. Those were vagaries made to save a doctor from being sued.
"Give me a percentage, Doc. I need to know!"
The doctor shook his head. "That's not how it works. Our best research indicates that recovery from a coma lasting more than a year is small. The odds of meaningful recovery decrease significantly after such an extended period of time." He paused, looking out the window. "I know you want to continue to provide support and care for her, but Doctor Kauffman was right. The hospital will need the room."
"Don't give me his line!" Carlos said in a raised voice.
"You're going to hear it, Carlos!" the doctor snapped back. When he realized how he had reacted, the medical professional calmed himself. His familiarity to Carlos was breaking his usual professional demeanor. "I understand you wish to keep Priya here, and I truly empathize with your feelings here; believe me, I do. But...Carlos, please...listen to reason. It's important to consider moving her to a long-term care facility given her current condition. Doctor Kauffman was right, it is more cost-effective for her to be moved."
There was a moment of silence between them. These were not new facts to Carlos. He had heard them all before. He knew Kauffman was not wrong. Pragmatism was what helped him keep his fortune. It was the single-most useful quality in getting others to do as he wanted, but when it came to Priya, that did not matter.
"For me or the hospital?" Carlos asked.
