Chapter 1
Ritual Offering: Thehistoric and sacred practice of consecrating and offering a physical object,plant, animal, or human life to a god or supernatural power, often for worship,thanksgiving, or atonement.
Doctor’s Appointment
Thewaiting room was too quiet. Keyboard clicks snapped through the low, steady humof the water fountain. Her appointment had been scheduled for four-thirty p.m.,but Dr. Nagalingam was running behind. Karen checked her wristwatch again.Twenty minutes, and still no one had called her name. No one had even lookedup. She fixed her attention on the medical assistant behind the receptionwindow, willing the young woman to notice her. The assistant remained absorbedin the monitor. Pointless. The silence pressed in.
Comeon already!
Theoffice door swung open.
“KarenGrossenburg?” the nurse called, her voice low and dull. Karen was on her feetbefore the final syllable left the woman’s mouth.
Thenurse led her into an exam room and gestured toward the paper-covered table.“Have a seat. The doctor will be in shortly.”
Karenclimbed onto the exam table. The thin paper crackled beneath her. She drew aslow breath through her nose and released it through her mouth. The knot in herstomach loosened, but only slightly.
Maybeit’ll be good news.
Why am Itrying to convince myself? I know I haven’t done my best these last couple ofweeks.
A softknock sounded at the door.
“Comein,” she called, forcing steadiness into her voice.
The dooropened, and the doctor stepped inside.
Thedoctor spoke in a thick Indian accent “Miss Grossenburg. Sorry for the wait,”he said without looking up from his clipboard. He wore a burgundy button-upshirt and black slacks beneath is white physician’s coat. “Let’s see.” Heflipped through the chart. “Your glucose is a bit high.”
Herstomach dropped.
“I’mseeing readings around 190 mg. How have you felt?”
“Alittle tired is all. Nothing major.”
“We needto watch your sugar intake. Dietary changes would help.”
Heflipped through the papers once more.
Karen’sjaw tightened.
Sheclasped the silver Star of David pendant she wore around her neck tightlyin her hand.
“Idefinitely think seeing a dietitian would benefit you greatly.”
The restof the appointment proceeded as expected, with Dr. Nagalingam expressing hisgrowing concerns about Karen’s overall diabetic care.
By the time Karen left the doctor’s office, the afternoon had lost itsshape. The doctor’s words followed her to the parking lot, quiet and firm,settling into the corners of her mind no matter how hard she tried to push themaway.
She sat in her car and went over the visit in her head again and again.
I am such a fuckup.
She rested her head on the steering wheel and shut her eyes.
At this rate, I’m going to lose a foot.
She inhaled deeply. Fishing through her jacket pocket, she found thescrap of paper a friend had pressed into her hand two days earlier, the addresswritten in hurried blue ink beneath a name Karen had only heard once.
Dauenhauer.
