^^^June, 1972. In a nursing home outside of Philadelphia, PA^^^
"Oh, my God!"
Charles shouted those words when a woman unexpectedly bent over in front of him to pick something off the floor. She gave the eighteen-year-old a downblouse view of the largest breasts he'd ever seen. He stared at them with wide bulging eyes.
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the young man's face turned red and he regretted his outburst.
"Sorry," he said. "I can't believe I said that. I apologize, Ma'am. I shouldn't have cried out, and I shouldn't have looked."
The chubby, thirty-something woman grinned and said, "It's okay. It's been a while since a man has reacted to me with such enthusiasm. I've put on some weight, and the girls have gotten pretty big. When I leaned over, they spilled out of my top. You'd have to be blind not to notice."
^^^Earlier that morning^^^
Charles entered a nursing home run by the local church. He signed in at the desk and went to the wellness clinic.
"Hello," he said to a woman at the desk, "I'm Charles, the new assistant for the visiting doctors. Today, I'm working with Dr. Harvey."
"Hi, I'm Cindy," she responded. "You're the son of missionaries who live in China. I was told to expect you."
"I lived there for ten years."
"Your parents are still in China, and you're back in the States to go to medical school?"
"Yes. I start college in September and, if all goes well, I'll go to medical school after that."
A short, bald man walked briskly into the room and said, "Ah, Charles, I see you've met our receptionist. Cindy, Charles will be helping the other doctors and me this summer. He's getting some hands-on experience as well as a sampling of different disciplines."
The two men went into the exam room. The podiatrist gave his new assistant a sheet of paper and said, "Here is a list of patients I'll be seeing today and the scheduled procedure. Beside each name is their room number. Your job is to bring the patients to me and assist me."
Charles nodded and glanced at the page.
The doctor said, "The residents have physical and cognitive limitations. Some have Alzheimer's. Almost all of them have trouble hearing. Don't assume you have the correct person because they are in the specified room or respond when you call out a name. Ask the staff. They will point out the right person."
Charles nodded.
The bald man laughed and said, "There's nothing magical about the list. If the first person isn't dressed or hasn't finished breakfast, bring me who is ready. I'll see them in whatever order suits them."
The eighteen-year-old left the room and got a patient. After the doctor saw her, he took her back to her room. He repeated the process.
By mid-morning, many of the residents were in the activity rooms.
Charles walked into the activity room on the third floor and saw a dozen people. Some were sleeping. Others watched a nature show on the television. Two women were folding towels. An overweight, middle-aged woman wearing a colorful uniform was watching over them.
Charles addressed her politely. "Hello. My name is Charles, and I'm getting patients for the foot doctor. He's ready for Mrs. Schmidt; is she here?"
The attendant pointed to an old woman sitting in a chair and said, "That's her in the pink blouse. We better put her in a wheelchair. She doesn't walk well." The big woman rose slowly as if standing took a great effort. She grabbed a wheelchair. Together, they got Mrs. Schmidt into it.
"Wait a second," the older woman said breathily. "I need to put the foot pedals on. Otherwise, her feet will drag on the floor."
She fetched the pedals and bent over at the hip to put one on the chair. Her scoop-neck top fell away from her chest and exposed her huge breasts.
Charles gasped loudly and stared wide-eyed at her boobs. The embarrassing words were out of his mouth before he realized that he'd said them.
"Oh, my God!"
He immediately blushed and apologized.
The chubby woman grinned sheepishly and said it was her fault. Charles studied her face and was relieved when it appeared that she wasn't upset with him.
^^^
When the doctor went to lunch, Charles went to the employee dining room. He stood in line, got his meal, and went outside to a picnic table to eat in the shade of some large oak trees. It was a beautiful sunny warm June day.
He took a bite of his Reuben sandwich and heard a voice he recognized. It belonged to the aide whose bosom he'd seen. She came up to him and said, "I try to get out and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air whenever I can. May I join you?"
He nodded. She went to the other side of the table and put her tray down.
"My name is Betsy Summer."
"I'm Charles Young."
She sat, and they ate their sandwiches. She made a couple of attempts to talk to him. He responded with monosyllabic answers, and the conversation fizzled.
She chuckled and said, "You're not much of a talker, are ya?"
"No."
"Are you being shy because of what happened earlier?"
Instead of answering, Charles's face turned red.
She laughed and said, "Don't worry about it. Dozens... no, probably hundreds of guys have seen my boobs. The best place to party around here is at the lake. When my girlfriends and I turned eighteen, we went there every chance we got and started what we called the 'Boobs for Beers' campaign. We'd flashed any guy willing to give us a six-pack."
Charles' face blanched with horror. Betsy noticed, laughed, and said, "Sorry, if I shocked you. We were young. Haven't you ever done anything like that?"
Charles answered quickly, "No." He looked aghast.
"Too bad. Sounds like you haven't had enough fun in your life." She looked at him with a twinkle in her eye and added, "For a second this morning, you made me feel eighteen again. Beautiful and desired. Revisiting those happier, carefree days was worth a moment of embarrassment."
That broke the ice, and they had a nice conversation. Charles learned Betsy was thirty-six. She'd been married and divorced three times, and she had a child with each man. Her daughters were fifteen, twelve, and nine, and she called them Sissy, Boo, and Mouse.
Charles gave her a questioning look. The mother laughed and said, "They're nicknames. Didn't you ever have one?"
"Sometimes people call me Charley," he offered.
She shook her head and, said "Sissy is the eldest. The others tried calling her sister, but it came out as sissy. My middle daughter loved to play peek-a-boo and insisted we call her Boo. My youngest was born small and has always been small for her age, so we call her Mouse."