Could I Have This Dance? Harry Kraus

I May 2000The end of a tough road."The beginning of a dream."Claire McCall closed her eyes as the commencement speaker droned on with another clichéd graduation metaphor. She was about to do what everyone in Stoney Creek had said would never happen. In a few minutes, with diploma in hand, she would join the ranks of the medical profession as Elizabeth Claire McCall, MD. She wanted to savor the moment, to not think about the future, the years of training yet ahead. But she''d heard too many of the horror stories about internship to relax for very long. Stormy water was dead ahead. She only hoped she''d be ready when the wind picked up.Claire kept her eyes closed and smiled. She''d shown ''em. The people in Stoney Creek, that is. God bless ''em, she thought. They''re simple people, with simple dreams. Her smile faded. Too simple. And narrow, too. People need vision to stay alive.Thankfully, she hadn''t listened to the town gossip, though she knew exactly what they thought. Little girls shouldn''t grow up to be surgeons. Especially girls with fathers like Wally McCall. Around her, the portraits of past medical school deans lined the mahogany-paneled walls. They were near-idols at Brighton University, those who had risen to lofty heights by hard work and academic excellence. They seemed to be watching her today, welcoming her with their long white coats and studious expressions."A new dawn. An open door."Claire yawned. The speaker had over a hundred book chapters to his name, but couldn''t seem to find an original phrase to captivate his nodding audience.She turned and squinted to see her family. Della, her mom, sat motionless in the back. Looking at her was like looking into a magical mirror, capable of revealing the future. Della was gorgeous and youthful and enjoyed every stranger''s confused insistence that she must be Claire''s sister. Strawberry blond without a hint of gray, high cheekbones, a figure that could turn a man''s head, and a smile that could melt his heart. Fortunately for Claire, she looked just like her mother. "I know I''m pretty," Della would tell her, "but you''re pretty and smart."Next to her, Claire''s grandmother, Elizabeth McCall, cast a worried glance toward the rear exit. Clay, Claire''s twin brother, sat next to Grandma, leaning against the bench back with his eyes closed and his mouth open. Oh, well-she couldn''t expect Clay to stay awake if she was having trouble paying attention herself. Next to Clay, John Cerelli, Claire''s fiancé, was hidden by a woman with a large hat. If Claire leaned to the left, she could just catch a glimpse of his wonderful dark hair. But where''s Daddy?Claire looked at the clock hanging on the back wall and checked it against her watch. Her father must have gone out to the bathroom. Or to smoke. Or worse. Wally, her father, was the one person in Stoney Creek that she''d been glad to leave behind. Their relationship, close during her early school years, had been on a roller coaster since Claire entered high school-up when he was dry, and down and dangerous when he was drinking. Their communication had been on a continuous slide since she''d left for Brighton for undergraduate studies eight years ago. Now, she barely visited, and when she did, his erratic behavior and mood swings transformed every family gathering into a shouting match. When she''d last talked to her mother, Della had hinted that he''d given up on AA again, and hadn''t been able to find work.He''s probably out for "a little drink."Claire touched her throat and tried to refocus on the speaker, who sidetracked into a story of his own triumph in the discovery of some obscure gene responsible for a rare form of kidney disease. Genetics didn''t interest Claire. She liked real, hands-on medicine, not futuristic theories of gene alteration. It went without question that she would be a surgeon. She was captivated by the prospect of making quick decisions on her feet, of seeing the gratifying results of her hand''s work without delay. Yes, sheKraus, Harry M. is the author of 'Could I Have This Dance? Harry Kraus' with ISBN 9780310240891 and ISBN 0310240891.