^^^June, 1972. In a nursing home outside of Philadelphia, PA^^^
"Oh, my God!"
Charles shouted those words when a woman unexpectedly bent over in front of him to pick something off the floor. She gave the eighteen-year-old a downblouse view of the largest breasts he'd ever seen. He stared at them with wide bulging eyes.
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the young man's face turned red and he regretted his outburst.
"Sorry," he said. "I can't believe I said that. I apologize, Ma'am. I shouldn't have cried out, and I shouldn't have looked."
The chubby, thirty-something woman grinned and said, "It's okay. It's been a while since a man has reacted to me with such enthusiasm. I've put on some weight, and the girls have gotten pretty big. When I leaned over, they spilled out of my top. You'd have to be blind not to notice."
^^^Earlier that morning^^^
Charles entered a nursing home run by the local church. He signed in at the desk and went to the wellness clinic.
"Hello," he said to a woman at the desk, "I'm Charles, the new assistant for the visiting doctors. Today, I'm working with Dr. Harvey."
"Hi, I'm Cindy," she responded. "You're the son of missionaries who live in China. I was told to expect you."
"I lived there for ten years."
"Your parents are still in China, and you're back in the States to go to medical school?"
"Yes. I start college in September and, if all goes well, I'll go to medical school after that."
A short, bald man walked briskly into the room and said, "Ah, Charles, I see you've met our receptionist. Cindy, Charles will be helping the other doctors and me this summer. He's getting some hands-on experience as well as a sampling of different disciplines."
The two men went into the exam room. The podiatrist gave his new assistant a sheet of paper and said, "Here is a list of patients I'll be seeing today and the scheduled procedure. Beside each name is their room number. Your job is to bring the patients to me and assist me."
Charles nodded and glanced at the page.
The doctor said, "The residents have physical and cognitive limitations. Some have Alzheimer's. Almost all of them have trouble hearing. Don't assume you have the correct person because they are in the specified room or respond when you call out a name. Ask the staff. They will point out the right person."
Charles nodded.
The bald man laughed and said, "There's nothing magical about the list. If the first person isn't dressed or hasn't finished breakfast, bring me who is ready. I'll see them in whatever order suits them."
The eighteen-year-old left the room and got a patient. After the doctor saw her, he took her back to her room. He repeated the process.
By mid-morning, many of the residents were in the activity rooms.
Charles walked into the activity room on the third floor and saw a dozen people. Some were sleeping. Others watched a nature show on the television. Two women were folding towels. An overweight, middle-aged woman wearing a colorful uniform was watching over them.
Charles addressed her politely. "Hello. My name is Charles, and I'm getting patients for the foot doctor. He's ready for Mrs. Schmidt; is she here?"
The attendant pointed to an old woman sitting in a chair and said, "That's her in the pink blouse. We better put her in a wheelchair. She doesn't walk well." The big woman rose slowly as if standing took a great effort. She grabbed a wheelchair. Together, they got Mrs. Schmidt into it.
"Wait a second," the older woman said breathily. "I need to put the foot pedals on. Otherwise, her feet will drag on the floor."
She fetched the pedals and bent over at the hip to put one on the chair. Her scoop-neck top fell away from her chest and exposed her huge breasts.
Charles gasped loudly and stared wide-eyed at her boobs. The embarrassing words were out of his mouth before he realized that he'd said them.
"Oh, my God!"
He immediately blushed and apologized.
The chubby woman grinned sheepishly and said it was her fault. Charles studied her face and was relieved when it appeared that she wasn't upset with him.
^^^
When the doctor went to lunch, Charles went to the employee dining room. He stood in line, got his meal, and went outside to a picnic table to eat in the shade of some large oak trees. It was a beautiful sunny warm June day.
He took a bite of his Reuben sandwich and heard a voice he recognized. It belonged to the aide whose bosom he'd seen. She came up to him and said, "I try to get out and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air whenever I can. May I join you?"
He nodded. She went to the other side of the table and put her tray down.
"My name is Betsy Summer."
"I'm Charles Young."
She sat, and they ate their sandwiches. She made a couple of attempts to talk to him. He responded with monosyllabic answers, and the conversation fizzled.
She chuckled and said, "You're not much of a talker, are ya?"
"No."
"Are you being shy because of what happened earlier?"
Instead of answering, Charles's face turned red.
She laughed and said, "Don't worry about it. Dozens... no, probably hundreds of guys have seen my boobs. The best place to party around here is at the lake. When my girlfriends and I turned eighteen, we went there every chance we got and started what we called the 'Boobs for Beers' campaign. We'd flashed any guy willing to give us a six-pack."
Charles' face blanched with horror. Betsy noticed, laughed, and said, "Sorry, if I shocked you. We were young. Haven't you ever done anything like that?"
Charles answered quickly, "No." He looked aghast.
"Too bad. Sounds like you haven't had enough fun in your life." She looked at him with a twinkle in her eye and added, "For a second this morning, you made me feel eighteen again. Beautiful and desired. Revisiting those happier, carefree days was worth a moment of embarrassment."
That broke the ice, and they had a nice conversation. Charles learned Betsy was thirty-six. She'd been married and divorced three times, and she had a child with each man. Her daughters were fifteen, twelve, and nine, and she called them Sissy, Boo, and Mouse.
Charles gave her a questioning look. The mother laughed and said, "They're nicknames. Didn't you ever have one?"
"Sometimes people call me Charley," he offered.
She shook her head and, said "Sissy is the eldest. The others tried calling her sister, but it came out as sissy. My middle daughter loved to play peek-a-boo and insisted we call her Boo. My youngest was born small and has always been small for her age, so we call her Mouse."
Her eyes teared up as she confessed, "My last husband broke my heart two years ago when he left me for a younger woman. I got depressed and ate to ease my pain. Now I'm in my mid-thirties, a struggling single mother, and forty pounds over my normal weight. As you can see, the majority of the weight went to my hips, butt, and boobs."
Charles felt obligated to share. He told her that he was born in the States, and for the last ten years, he lived in rural China with his missionary parents, and he wanted to be a doctor like his father.
"Cool," Betsy said. "What are some of the biggest differences between the United States and China?"
"For one thing, China is much poorer, or at least the part I was in. Our neighbors worked in a low-wage, state-run factory or were subsistence farmers. They were very conservative and family-oriented. The way American women dress, exposing their legs, midriffs, and cleavage, would shock the average Chinese person. The other thing that struck me when I got here is how many Americans are fat."
His face turned red, and he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you."
She laughed. "I know I'm fat. Many of my countrymen are overweight too. You're very fit," she said, eyeing his toned body.
"I exercise, try to eat right, and apply the knowledge I've picked up from my father and my studies about the human body. Did you know there is a whole discipline called kinesiology that focuses on how the body moves? I'm fascinated by how our muscles and skeleton work together. Moving efficiently and painlessly can improve a person's mood and self-confidence."
"Can it help a person lose weight?"
"Sure. Movement is exercise, and we all know that burning calories helps a person lose weight. Misalignment or bad technique can interfere with a person's ability to exercise, adding to their stress and contributing to emotional eating. With testing, we can identify problems and help with the process of losing weight."
"I think we can help each other," Betsy said. "Can I be blunt?"
"Sure."
"You aren't very confident around women, are you? You have trouble looking me in the eye and talking to me. I'm guessing you're even more ill at ease around girls your age?"
He grimaced and nodded.
"I can teach you how to approach and chat up a girl. Have you ever been on a date or kissed a girl?"
"No," he replied sheepishly.
"I have an offer for you. How about I teach you how to get a girlfriend and in return, you help me lose weight. Deal?"
"Yeah...Sure. Deal!"
She smiled and said, "I get off work at three o'clock. What about you?"
"My afternoons are free to read, study, or whatever."
"Meet me at the scale room on the second floor at three, and we'll get started today."
^^^
The denomination that ran the nursing home and supported his parents in China gave Charles the job of assisting the doctors and set him up in a tiny apartment in the basement of the nursing home. The little room had a twin bed, lamp, television, dresser, chair, and a desk. Attached was a small bathroom behind a curtain.
A little before three, he left his apartment and walked to the room that housed an electronic wheelchair-accessible platform scale.
Betsy joined him a few minutes later, red in the face from the brisk walk. "Sorry, I'm late. One of the residents spilled a drink and needed a clean shirt."
She closed and locked the door, placed her handbag on the floor, and kicked off her shoes before she pulled her top over her head. She saw Charles fidget, and his face turned red. She smiled, pulled off the matching scrub pants, and said, "We both know how this goes. You need baseline info so you can track my progress. Weigh me and take my measurements."
