Death Benefit

14.

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER NEW YORK CITY MARCH 3, 2011, 7:15 A.M.

The call early the previous evening from his grandmother Sally had jolted George back to a place nearer his usual moorings. One day before that, he had found Pia in the hospital cafeteria with Will McKinley. Lesley Wong had been there too, but George had fixated on the fact that Will McKinley had worked his way to Pia’s side for a month’s elective. Although George considered himself reasonably facile with women, in that he got along with most, Will was a more practiced seducer with fewer scruples. George wouldn’t have imagined Pia would be interested in a guy like Will but what did he know? Jealousy was a cruel emotion and while the four of them had sat together he’d suffered through believing Will was reveling at the scale of George’s discomfort. Will had never made any secret of just how attractive he found Pia. More than once, he’d asked George what he thought Pia saw in him. George secretly enjoyed Will’s rude question because it implied that he as well as others saw him and Pia as some kind of couple.

George knew his grandmother well enough to know she would disapprove of Pia. Or, rather, she would find his continued interest in her to be unhealthy for him. With all that he had on the line, George wondered for the thousandth time what he was doing continuing his pursuit of Pia’s affections. It wasn’t so much the time that it took up, though it took up enough, it was the amount of emotional energy he expended on her, dissecting her words and actions, thinking of strategies to win her affections, worrying about her well-being. He needed to conserve that energy for his studies. More than anything, he wanted to be the best doctor he could be.

George knew how much his family was pulling for him to succeed. They had suffered so many reverses, and it seemed like they were sliding down a one-way slope like so many middle-class families. If he didn’t make it, he knew his mother and grandmother might put a brave face on it but be devastated inside.

George also knew his mother, Jean, had money issues. She’d moved into a much smaller house in the same Baltimore neighborhood a few years before and still didn’t seem to have any extra cash. Jean had had the misfortune or lack of foresight to work in decaying industries after George’s father died. She had been a bookkeeper at the Bethlehem Steel works at Sparrows Point for a while, then she found and lost a job at the General Motors plant. She always said she was fine when he asked about her finances, and refused to let him look at her bank statements. Although George was on a full scholarship, she never failed to send him a twenty-dollar bill whenever she could.

“You’re a student, George,” she told him. “You concentrate on your education!”

When Sally had called it was five o’clock in the East, and she didn’t expect George to pick up his cell phone. Her intention was to leave him an encouraging message without taking up any of his precious time. She had an exaggerated sense of how busy George was every minute.

“Busy day?”

“Not too bad. They’re not killing us just yet. Actually it was a good time for you to call since I’m on a break. I’m taking a radiology elective, and they don’t work themselves to death like some other specialties. How is your day going?”

“Oh, you know. It’s pretty quiet around here these days. Have you spoken to your mother recently?”

“Not lately. What’s up?”

“Something interesting did happen yesterday. I sold your grandfather’s life insurance policy to a very nice gentleman. I’ll be paid in a few days. How are you doing money-wise? Are you okay? I could send you some.”

“I’m doing fine,” George said, even though he was constantly short of cash. He couldn’t wait for July 1, when he’d start his residency. Instead of money going out, he’d be getting a salary. It wasn’t going to be great, but anything was better than it was at the moment. Even with his scholarship, he’d assumed a sizable debt.

“If you need any money, let me know.”

“I will,” George said, although he had no intention of asking his grandmother for money. “I’ve never heard of someone selling a life insurance policy. Is that common?”

“Mr. Howard Essen, the man who bought it, said it’s very common.”

“Oh,” George said simply. He told himself he’d try to remember to investigate online such a scenario when he got back to his room. At that point he’d switched the conversation with his grandmother back to her health, which he knew was not good as she was being kept alive by kidney dialysis.

Later when George had looked up “Life Settlements” and read about the issue, he wasn’t happy. It seemed to him that it was one more way that the elderly could be victimized, this time by the financial world. He couldn’t help but worry that his ailing grandmother had been taken advantage of, and such a thought had helped rearrange his priorities.

Grabbing his jacket from the closet, George headed down to the elevators. Once there he briefly thought about Pia, and wondered if he should go up to her room to make sure she was awake. But he hit the down button. Hell, if she was going to be spending the day with Will, she could get herself up. Instead he decided to grab a coffee, rewarding himself with a more leisurely entry into the day than usual.