Desire for Perfection
PART 1
“Dr. Anthea Harding,”
the director of the Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia announced to the
onlooking crowd gathered in the building to witness the special event.
Nan walked across the
stage, took her medical degree, and shook the director’s hand. Nan felt a rush of excitement as she looked
at her degree. HER degree, she thought.
Finally, she had done it. She
was a doctor.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Outside the college,
Nan ran over to where her family and friends were gathered waiting for
her. She stopped in front of them.
“Thank you all,” she told them. “I
couldn’t have done this without you,” she held up her medical degree for
everyone to see. Tears came to her
eyes.
Nan walked straight
into her husband’s arms to get a congratulatory hug and kiss. “Nat, thank you for standing by me through
all of this. “
“You’re welcome,
honey,” Nan’s husband of two days, Nathaniel Blake, said to her as they
embraced. Nat and Nan were married only
two days before her graduation. They
wanted their family and friends present for both joyous occasions.
“After we graduated
from college two years ago, you didn’t have to follow me to medical school,”
she told him.
“Of, course I
did. Besides, it’s not like I had
anywhere else to go. It wasn’t too
difficult to find a newspaper to write for here in Philadelphia. I just wasn’t gonna let you get away.”
“I wouldn’t have
gotten away, but it would have been difficult; a long-distance relationship and
all,” she admitted.
“I wasn’t gonna allow
that. Medical school would have been
difficult enough without having me hundreds of miles away somewhere. That’s why I followed you.”
“Thanks again.”
“You know,” he said
as he pulled away, “You may have been announced as Dr. Harding, but you do
realize that’s not your name?”
“Of course, I
do. Just because my medical degree says
Dr. Harding on it, doesn’t mean I’m using that name.” She turned to the others,
“It’s Dr. Blake,” she smiled at everyone.
Nan continued on down
the line of people.
“Father, thank you,”
she hugged her father.
“I love you, my Nan,”
Joseph Harding said to his little girl.
“I’m proud of you. Your mother
would be proud of you too. She always
wanted the best for you.”
“I know she would be,
Father.”
“Nan,” she turned to
the woman standing next to her father.
“Mrs. Jo. I did it.
I really did it,” she said excitedly as she handed her degree to Jo Riley
for her to see for herself.
“Yes, you did. I’m so proud of you, Nan.” Jo hugged Nan.
Nan turned to Jo’s
husband, “Nick, was there any doubt?” she asked him.
He took her hands in
his. “Nope, no doubt at all. I knew you were determined enough to do
this,” he pointed to her medical degree.
“You showed me when you first came to Plumfield that you could do
anything, especially if it had to do with competing against the male population.”
Everyone laughed at that remark. “Remember the sacks of grain you tried to
carry that first day you were there?”
“Yeah, you wouldn’t
give me anything else to do, so I had to show you that I could do a boy’s job.”
“You kept pulling
those heavy sacks of grain off the wagon and falling down to the ground, the
sacks on top of you. Then you’d get
back up and pull those sacks over to where they were supposed to go,” Nick
remembered.
Everyone laughed at
the thought of Nan pulling the sacks over to their pile by the barn. “I was definitely a determined little thing.”
“But that wasn’t the
only time those first days you were there that you were determined to compete against
the guys,” Jo pointed out.
“Dan?” Nan guessed.
“Yep, when you got
lost in the woods with Dan, because you two were intent on racing each other.”
Nick looked at his wife, “You got me in trouble, you know.”
Nan laughed, “I apologize
for that. I didn’t mean to get you in
trouble, Nick. I don’t think Dan meant
to either. Wish he were here,” Nan
looked sad that her friend wasn’t there.
“We all wish Dan
could have been here,” Nat said to her. “Especially me,” Dan and Nat had been
such good friends over the year. When
they were younger they even wandered the streets of Boston together.
“Dan’s out pursing
his dream, as you two are,” Jo told them. “His dream of going out west. Dan knows that you two are going to be in
Colorado Springs for a few months. He
may just come visit you. He expressed
interest in going to visit you in his last letter to us.”
“Really? Great!,” Nan
looked over at the smile coming to her husband’s face. She knew how much Nat wanted to see Dan
again.
“Are you all packed
and ready to leave?” Joseph Harding asked the two of them.
“Yes, we are,” Nan answered. “I can’t believe we’re going out West.”
“That was nice of the
school to let you do your interning with Dr. Quinn.”
“They’re only letting
me cause Dr. Quinn graduated from here herself.”
“When are you
leaving?” Nick asked them.
“First thing tomorrow
morning. It’s a four-day train ride. So we should get there Thursday or Friday.” Nat
told them.
“We’ll send you a
telegram letting you know we got there,” Nan told her father and Jo.
“You better,” Joseph
told his daughter. “I want to know you
made it there alright.” He turned to his son-in-law, “Nat, take good care of my
daughter.”
“I will; I promise,”
Nat assured him.
