The Lobotomist's Wife: A Novel by Samantha Greene Woodruff

Author:Samantha Greene Woodruff [Woodruff, Samantha Greene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2022-02-01T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Six months later, Ruth sat at the kitchen table with a cup of black coffee. Usually, the bracing bitterness was the perfect jump-start to the day, but on this particular morning, no stimulant was needed. If anything, she might require something to slow her racing heart. The morning papers, piled neatly for her when she came down to the kitchen, were now scattered everywhere, folded open to the relevant pages. The date at the top of each one, January 23, 1947, was one they would remember forever.

She looked out the window toward the water, but even the tranquil view was not enough to calm her excitement. Her body vibrated to the rhythm of her bouncing foot, and at the sound of footsteps, she nearly leapt out of her chair. “Robert?”

“Expecting someone else?” He was dressed for the day in a three-piece suit, with his walking stick. Ruth wasn’t sure the apparatus added the gravitas that Robert believed it did, but like all his flamboyant affects, she was powerless to change it, so she chose to find it charming. She smiled at her husband and stood to pour him a cup of coffee. As she crossed the kitchen, she dropped the New York Times in front of him, open to the headline: “The Ice Pick Lobotomy: A Ten-Minute Miracle Cure for the Insane.”

Ruth watched Robert as the corners of his mustache lifted and his entire face expanded into a triumphant smile. He began to read aloud, “‘Earlier this week I was one of a select group of reporters invited to a special presentation at the Emeraldine Hospital . . .’” Robert muttered, skimmed the next bit, and then read on. “‘This is not the first time that I have written about the promising work of Dr. Apter in his quest to find a more effective treatment for mental patients.’” Robert lifted his eyes to Ruth to be sure she was listening and then continued. “‘He is the man responsible for the prefrontal lobotomy, a surgery that involves drilling into the brain . . .’ Oh, I think I know how it’s done,” Robert murmured good-humoredly as he continued to scan the article. “‘. . . For a decade, Dr. Apter has been using his lobotomy to help the most violent and incurable patients at the Emeraldine Hospital here in New York.’ Yes, yes. More about the old procedure. Ah, here we go, a direct quote from me in the New York Times!” Robert straightened up as he read his own words to Ruth. “‘For several years I have believed that there must be a more effective way to enter the brain. One that would have the same efficacy as the prefrontal lobotomy but that was not a surgery. This new method is a simple procedure that can be performed in any office in the country.’” Robert paused and looked across the kitchen to catch Ruth proudly smiling at him. His own smile grew as he continued to read, half to himself and half aloud.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.