Rules Get Broken Read Online Free Page A

called, she’d be there. But that was almost an hour ago. It was now four-fifteen, and for the last fifty-five minutes all she had done was chew on the sides of her fingers, first one hand, then the other. And each time she realized what she was doing, she very consciously clasped both hands together and placed them in her lap before starting to nibble on her lower lip. And when she realized she was biting her lip, she brought a finger to her mouth and repeated the process, over and over again.
    Finally, at eighteen minutes after four, she heard her name being called. “Mrs. Herbert?” yesterday’s nurse again half called, half announced. “Mrs. Herbert?”
    “I’m here,” Peg answered, louder than she had intended to. “I’m here.”
    “I’m sorry you had to wait so long,” yesterday’s nurse said as she led Peg down Internal Medicine’s hall for the second time in as many days. “Dr. Edwards had an emergency over at the hospital this morning, and we still haven’t recovered. Here we are.”
    She stopped at a closed door halfway down the hall, knocked softly, waited a second, then opened the door and stepped just inside. From where she was standing out in the hall, Peg could see she was being ushered into Dr. Edwards’ office and not an examination room. The nurse indicated with a small wave that Peg should come into the office and pointed to the leather armchair next to Dr. Edwards’ desk.
    “Please. Have a seat. Dr. Edwards will be right with you.”
    Peg did as she was told, and as soon as she was seated, the nurse left and closed the door behind her. She was just starting to take in the clutter of patients’ files, medical journals, lab reports, X-ray envelopes and “While You Were Out” messages that covered the desk, part of the floor and the top of a bookcase that ran along the wall, when the door opened and Dr. Edwards came in.
    “Good afternoon,” he said, extending his hand to Peg for a gentle handshake. “I’m sorry I’m so late, but it’s been a difficult day.”
    “So I gathered,” Peg replied with a small smile.
    Dr. Edwards returned her smile, looked at her for a second or two longer than she would have expected, and sat down behind his desk. He rummaged through the pile of patient files stacked in the center of the desk, and when he found Peg’s, he removed the lab report clipped to the inside of the maroon folder. He looked at the report for several moments, then looked up and across the desk at Peg.
    “Based on the results of your blood test,” he began slowly, “I’d like you to see another doctor. I have someone in mind, and I think I can arrange for him to see you this afternoon.”
    Peg swallowed hard. “Today?”
    Dr. Edwards nodded.
    “What kind of doctor?”
    “An oncologist,” Dr. Edwards replied, looking directly into her eyes, measuring the impact of his answer.
    He waited a moment before continuing. “I think you have some form of blood cancer. I’m not an expert in this area, and I could be wrong, but your white cell count is very high, and your red cells are very small and underdeveloped. Which would explain why you’ve been so tired.”
    Peg tried to swallow again, but she couldn’t. She said nothing. Questions at that moment seemed superfluous. She just sat quietly looking down at her hands in her lap, one placed flat on top of the other, and bit her lower lip. Finally, she raised her head and met Dr. Edwards’ gaze. “Okay,” she said with a weak and frightened smile.
    Dr. Edwards turned to the Rolodex file on his desk and found the telephone number of a Dr. Goldstein, an out-of-group oncologist to whom he had referred patients before. He dialed the number and gave Peg a reassuring smile. She could hear the phone ringing at the other end of the line. Then it stopped.
    “Yes, good afternoon. This is Dr. Edwards with North Shore Medical Group.”
    A pause.
    “I’m fine, thank you. I have a patient sitting here with me, a Peggy Herbert, and I’d