Malpractice (Invitation Only)

[LadyAria]

Three dumplings floated in cloudy yellow liquid in a glass bowl. She thrust the chopstick into the swollen middle spearing it. Pulling it from the soup, the broth dripped down the stick while she brought it to her mouth. Her teeth tore the doughy flesh from the meat-filled center. The feel of her teeth touching and ripping away the covering was as sweet as the dumpling. The joy of discovering what is hidden was a private pleasure that was always fulfilling to her.

“Dr. Carpenter, where do you stand on hymenoplasty? Is it an unnecessary surgical torture to satisfy a chauvinist culture or a life saving procedure for females which saves them from honor killings?” the older gentleman asked her from across the table.

“I think both,” she answered dunking the half-eaten dumpling back in the soup.

“Really now! We have a responsibility as doctors to the patient’s health not to risk infection with a biologically unnecessary surgery,” a young female doctor with black hair shot out in protest.

“Did that argument not go out with cosmetic surgery?” Dr. Carpenter countered. She stabbed at a second dumpling in her bowl. “Gynecologists are performing more ‘cosmetic’ style procedures then every in America. Do you detest playing God or just that you would be doing it for the benefits of a male centered culture?”

“No, yes, you are missing the point,” she answered flipping her hair over her shoulder.

“It saves these women from being set on fire or dosed in acid,” the older gentleman doctor said sadly. “If it saves them from this fate…”

“The mindset that would do such a thing should be treated not a adult woman’s vagina!” the dark haired woman glowered. “It can make them infertile.”

“The world is not such a simple place as that, dear.”

“Do not speak down to me with your nicknames meant to belittle my position because I am a woman,” she hissed furiously. “It is that mindset that keeps hymenoplasty a legitimate procedure.”

“It is all legitimate,” Dr. Carpenter stated with a frown. “I thought we were here for my farewell dinner.”

They all shook their heads in agreement. The dinner continued quietly for the evening with the occasional debate arising between peers. After seven years of listening to their arguments, she would finally be free of their judgment. She was setting up her private practice where she could finally commit to her life’s goal. Alone, she could explore their systems, document their secrets and cure their failings. The female anatomy would be her playground to find power.

Two weeks later, she opened the front door to her private practice. The tiny brick building was set in a small town far from the busy hustle of the Chicago office. Big boxes of pink flowers over flowed under the windows and dainty white lettering announced her name. Intentionally, she’d hired two local nurses straight out of college with little real world experience. They needed to stay out of her way. With a plastic smile etched on her face, she slid open the lock and flipped the old fashion bell over the door. She was ready now. With a sip of coffee, she sat down at the desk across from the front door. They would come to her now. She just needed to wait.

 

[White_Jade]

The apprehensive expression on Jane Cartwright's face seemed at odds with the bucolic scenery around her. The sun was shining, a rare thing this close to the Lakes, the trees were green and alive again, and flowers winked and bobbed in a warm spring breeze. Men and women wandered down the street in light shirts and shorts, basking in the heat, talking and laughing, enjoying the glory of the day. Jane paid them little attention, save for a few disapproving glances at some of the women who were displaying more than they should be, as she made her way toward her destination. Despite the warm weather, she wore a pale blue long sleeved shirt, the collar buttoned snugly and the bottom tucked in, and a long black skirt that swished about her ankles.

Those women. How could they show off like that? The very idea was terrifying...maybe if she had more to show...but even then, how could they be so bold? Hussies. She wondered how much they'd spent to look like that. Maybe they were just born beautiful...not like her.

Jane was of average height, her weight at exactly the right amount for how tall she was. Perfectly average. Which was the word that possibly most described Jane. She had somewhat bushy sandy blond hair that fell to her neck, simply brushed and parted down the middle, and timid brown eyes that hid behind a small set of gold framed glasses. She was pretty, in an ordinary kind of way, pleasing but not the type to get much attention from men. Not that she wanted it. It might be nice, but, she wasn't looking of anything. Much like her name, she was simply rather...plain.

Jane glanced at the number on the door of a musty old book store. "Almost there," she thought. Her anxiety mounted somewhat as her pace slowed. Jane hated going to any doctor's office, but for this kind of thing it was even worse. She felt so...exposed. At least she'd finally been able to find a woman practitioner. That was much better than the alternative, in her mind.

There. Jane felt her concern ease as she examined the building. The windows were nice and clean, and the burgeoning flower pots beneath were pleasant. Even the letters on the door radiated a calming feminine aura. She was just getting worked up over nothing.

As she opened the door, a bell clanged out, and Jane smiled in spite of herself. What a quaint touch! By the time she'd actually stepped inside, the atmosphere and appearance of the little doctor's office had dispelled much of her concern. There was a smartly dressed woman sitting at a desk across from the door. Jane's smile faded, becoming a simply gesture of politeness as she slowly approached. "Hello, um, My name is Jane Cartwright, and I have an appointment with Dr. Carpenter at 1?"

 

[LadyAria]

The bell announced her one o’clock appointment. Would she be the one? The doctor’s mind wondered with the sound. Distracted, she slipped the blue plastic closed over the pap smear swab and passed it to her attending nurse. Then, she pushed back the bending lamp and rose from her stool. Standing in the spread of her current patient’s legs, she checked her cervix as the woman focused on the ceiling. She was eager to send this patient on her way.

“Does that hurt?” she asked pressing down on her lower adomen.

“No,” the patent murmured.

“Okay, everything looks good. We will call you if anything shows up of concern on your pap smear. Have you considered any birth control options?” she inquired pulling the plastic gloves off of her hands with a snap.

“No, I don’t need anything,” the lady responded sitting up on the examination table.

“I see. Do remember your monthly breast examines for health. Good day.”

Dr. Carpenter left the examine room and walked up to the front of the office. The manila folder with her self-completed history was in the rack on the inner entry door. Looking through the details, she smiled at the purity of her anatomy. A woman uncorrupted by the world. A small vein of excitement made her stomach jump. However, she’d didn’t want to get too excited. Maybe, she’s lying So many of them lie to her. She closed the folder shut and step into the waiting room. Jane Cartwright leafed through a magazine. The gold glasses slid off the end of her nose as she read. Her dress concealed every inch of her skin from the penetrating eyes of the public. This one could very well be the one.

“Hell Jane. I’m Dr. Carpenter. Thank you for choosing my practice for your medical care.”

She reached out her hand to the patient for her to shake.

“Would you like to join me in my office to discuss your medical history and any concerns you may have before I examine you?”

 

[White_Jade]

Jane rose as the physician approached, her apprehension flaring up as it always did in the presence of a new person. And an authority figure at that! "Hello, Dr. Carpenter." "Thank you for seeing me." She smiled timidly, taking the offered hand. Her handshake was a brief contact, and she made no attempt to squeeze the other's hand or prolong the touch. Just a momentary brush, and her hand retreated. "Of course, please." She wasn't sure what about her history needed discussion. It was all on the forms she filled out, wasn't it?

Jane followed Dr. Carpenter to her office, trying to decide what she should feel about the woman. She was pretty, but professional. There was some friendliness in her smile of greeting but...it was almost like the smile didn't make it to her eyes. There was something...watchful, judging, calculating about those eyes. Although, she was probably just imagining it. Everything about this office said this was a warm, nice woman. "Umm, doctor...there wasn't anything...wrong with what I wrote down, was there?"