Nancy (part 1 of 3)

Nancy

"It's not a big thing, but it kind of is too,"

Nurse at St. Mary Benedictine Hospital

Nancy and Ador got off the bus at Jordan and Fourth.  The hilly side-street was gorgeous to look upon but was in fact checked with neglected, empty lots.  The dense foliage that came up from the fresh earth above a thick layer of clay allowed for vines, wild grass, and various prairie flowers.  The seasonably warm Spanish spring joined with recent rain made Fourth Street seem straight out of a jungle.  The contrast from the dirt roads, aluminum housing, and the hectic urban life of Water, was so extreme Nancy laughed when she finally took it all in. “Sumeet must live in the strangest neighborhood in Spain,” she declared to Ador.

Sumeet seemed to be Nancy’s best hope of getting to Crete without using Matin and the rest of Ador’s group.  Ador’s faithful group from the street of Water as well as Matin were eager to help Nancy get to Crete.  Matin had promised in the heat of an argument with Taneesh.

“I can get you to Crete in four days, want my help?” Matin had said.

Nancy could not question Matin’s energy or commitment but neither she nor Ador were sure how he could do what he claimed.  Asking Sumeet for help was an obvious option.  Asking Sumeet for help without offending Matin meant doing this without him. And nonetheless they both looked forward to the meeting and reuniting with an old friend. 

Finding Sumeet in the first place was hard since he no longer lived in his college apartment from nearly half of a year ago.  Ador had found Sumeet though one of the would-be thieves, Jorfe, from Nancy’s first day in Spain.  He had protested with Sumeet outside of Madrid soon after Nancy returned home to Newtopia. But sometime during the protest Sumeet fell ill.  “Sumeet just passed out and started puking,” Jorfe had told Ador.  Jorfe had not tried to console Ador but he did give her the name of the hospital where they took him. 

St. Mary Benedictine Hospital was painted on the sign outside of a large beige building when Nancy and Ador visited.  A hunched male nurse was typing frantically behind a tall marble desk when they approached. “Great timing,” he mumbled when they walked in.  After a second and a few slams on the spacebar key he looked up.

“Our friend was in here a month or so ago,” Nancy said in an innocent and confused way.  She put her hands on the cool marble and smiled between words. “He had passed out during the Madrid protests- “

“You mean riots,” the nurse said and spun in his chair.  He pulled out a milk crate filled with files.  “Let’s have a look.  Can I get his name and your relation to him?”

“Sure, his name is Sumeet Sehbadar and we are his friends,” Nancy announced.  When it looked like she had given the wrong answer she added, “we were really good friends.  We went to school together.”

“I forgot you said that.  Sorry, I can’t help you.  It’s not a big thing but it kind of is too,”  He said.

“So you’re not going to give us the address of our friend who could be dying for all we know?”  Ador said, speaking for the first time.  Those words, Nancy had thought.  Those words Ador would use to lash out with were subtle warnings of more dangerous verbal combat.

Sensing the impending and sudden rage of Ador Nancy apologized and thanked him.  She grabbed Adors arm and they walked away.  That was when Ador whispered to Nancy, “Check the computer. I’ll meet you outside.”  Ador meandered away from Nancy and back towards the formidable marble desk and curious nurse looking on.  Ador let out a laugh and swept every pamphlet and flyer about pregnancy, blood pressure, and sexually transmitted diseases up and off of the sleek desk.  She began pulling down a poster about prenatal diets while the nurse scurried after her.  Nancy didn’t check the computer and instead traced her fingers through the papers in the milk crate the nurse had taken out.  She found the exact date of the protest and then found one labeled ‘Sehbadar’.  She grabbed the papers from inside of it and slipped them into her pocket.  She walked out calm and slowly.  Sure enough Ador was already in front panting.

“Let’s go!” Ador said and grabbed Nancy’s hand and they ran.